CONTAINER SOILS - WATER MOVEMENT and RETENTION XXII
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 years ago
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Container Soils - Water Movement & Retention VI
Comments (152)4-6 lbs of dolomite will generally raise the pH of 1 yard of media by 0.5 - 1.0 point. 16 (fl) oz of dolomite weighs about 1 lb, so we can use ounces interchangeably (fluid vs weight) for lime. Bark/peat soils usually come in at an unlimed pH of 4.0 - 5.0, so we want to raise them about >1.0 point. There are 80 oz in 5 lbs of lime, or 160 tbsp, which will raise the pH of a yard (202 gallons) of soil about 1 point. The big batch is about 35 gallons (4.5 cu ft) or 1/6 of a yard. We need 1/6 of 160 tbsp or 27 tbsp to raise the pH about 1 point. There are 16 tbsp in a cup, so 27 tbsp is 1.7 cups. Since we need to raise the pH more than 1 point, we round the 1.7 cups up 0.3 cups to 2.0 cups. The change comes as a result of realizing that supplying a single cup of lime might not have raised pH high enough. This can ensure that Ca remains reactive and relatively unavailable instead of (in the case of adding more dolomite) residual and exchangeable. Al...See MoreContainer Soils - Water Movement and Retention XVIII
Comments (229)When it comes to root health, pots with gas permeable walls carry the day. Terra cotta clay pots are better than plastic or vitrified clay pots and fabric pots are better than terra cotta clay. The reason is greater gas exchange through container walls and the fact that an increase in gas exchange comes with an increase in evaporative water loss, which can be a lifesaver when using water retentive media. There will still be a PWT in these pots, and for any given medium it will the same ht in a pot with rigid sides as in the fabric or air pots at container capacity. Container capacity is a measure of how much water the grow medium in a pot or container holds at the moment it has stopped draining after having been watered to the point of complete saturation. The ht of the PWT and how long it affects root function is usually key/critical in determining what opportunity a plant will have to realize as much of its genetic potential as possible (within the limiting effects of other cultural influences). The factor that most affects the ht of a PWT is the size of the particles from which the medium is made. So, reducing the duration of PWTs limitations increases the opportunity for plants to realize a greater measure of their genetic potential. But wait! There's a more important consideration. If you place your fabric containers directly on the ground/soil, from the perspective of hydrology it changes the fabric container to a raised bed; this, because water is free to move through the fabric between the grow medium and the earth, with the earth acting as a giant wick. This means, because of the increase in the force of adhesion in the mineral soil beneath the pot (due to a mineral soils much larger o/a surface area on a per volume basis), water in the soil will be pulled downward with enough source to overcome the capillarity holding it perched in the container. As long as you don't place the fabric container on coarse sand, peastone, or other large particles, the earth will likely pull all perched water from most media one is likely to use in a container. I've mentioned this and the fact that healing in your pots situating them directly on top of soil turns them into raised beds. the only caveat being it's essential that there is a 'soil bridge' so there is continuity of the soil column between the soil (earth) and the grow medium in the container, through the drain hole(s), so water doesn't have to jump an air gap to exit the container. This applies more to pots with rigid walls and is not a factor when discussing fabric containers. Al...See MoreContainer Soils - Water Movement and Retention XVI
Comments (164)Hi Al and others, I would appreciate advice on saving sick/dying Picea glauca, in pic.1, please. I bought it on post Xmas sale and it was ~50cm tall, looking healthy, with very bushy top. I repotted it without much root cleaning to keep most original soil with fungus, which I read Picea, like other pines, needs. I planted the rootball with old soil into gritty mix, mostly pine bark fines with seramice, with a bit of gravel, see in pic.2 very "gritty" indeed :); trunk is ~1/2" at the bottom). I used a biggish pot to let it grow freely for a year or two. I also cut the top to encourage lower branches growth but it never happened. Water it when the pot feels light, ~ weekly (it is early autumn here in Sydney) by bottom watering in a bucket, then drain well by keeping the pot at ~45 degrees for a while. Use diluted Nitrosol liquid plant food every two weeks. Keep it on sun for 2-3 hrs, then half shade. Despite all my care (or coz of it ? :), the picea never showed any new growth but started developing warning signs for last 2-3 weeks. Those few thin branches started dying. Their stem turns from brown to greyish-green and gets soggy before dying. See in pic 3&4, that branch in front which is dying now, with grey stem. Other branch died a few days ago. Only three normally looking branches are left. But I am afraid they are facing same fate. Anything I can do to rescue my future picea bonsai at all? Thanks and cheers, Sergey...See MoreSoil mixture questions.
Comments (9)Hi, thanks for joining in Al. The way I have went about making the Gritty Mix is this: since I didn't have insect screen yet, I screened 5 gallons of Turface through a 2.5mm screen, thus having a closer to ideal particle size than using insect screen alone. ( In the meantime I saved all of the Turface that passed through the 2.5mm screen. I am slowly but surely running that over insect screen, what does not pass through I will reincorporate at a later time as I see fit ). I did the same with the grit. After screening, I thoroughly rinsed both materials with water, let dry and stored in separate containers. I managed to screen out two different sizes of pine bark for the Gritty Mix, from two different sources, both are close to ideal and stored in separate containers. Currently, that is the process and the mix I am using. I was also thinking about posting a thread, to show this process in a more technical, step by step format, using text and photographs. I think it would be very helpful to people doing this for the first time. As far as Haydite goes, Al has said-he has never seen it being sold in a small enough particle size to be useful. however I am fortunate enough to have procured a sample of 1/4-1/8 inch blend of Haydite, which I have posted pictures of, as a size comparison to the grit I'm using. So, I have that to play around with. Also, I have just finished up a preliminary experiment: testing the water holding capacity of Turface and Haydite, If for no other reason than, me knowing what-is-up. Lastly, I think "moochinka" (above) is referring to: Soil Permeability - "The ease with which gases, liquids or plant roots penetrate or pass through a layer of soil"- biology-online.org Rob...See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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4 years agoGregório Miranda
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4 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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