Your ideal Hosta soil ?
koffman99
8 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years agokoffman99
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Ideal raised bed depth over soggy soil?
Comments (6)So your are trying to balance the issue of overly soggy native soil that can't be drained apparently against the need to provide any supplemental water for the location and the water needs of 2 very different crops? That is quite a complex situation and I'm not sure it is even possible. If the only issue was the depth of a raised bed over soggy soil - the goal being to allow for proper drainage and moisture for the crop growing there then I'd agree that 12" would be great. People solve that problem that way often. But we can't have our cake and eat it too. :) (a) Build a 6" deep bed and grow shallow rooted crops. there and let the soggy soil provide the water. Things like onions, cauliflower, cabbages, lettuce, etc. (b) or build an 18" deep bed, grow whatever you want in it but water it normally and disregard the ground water. (c) trench in vented drain pipe to drain the area and build an 8-10" bed, grow whatever you want in it and provide it with needed water. (d) treat it as a bog garden area. No raised bed just raised ridges alternating with furrows and plant edible bog gardening plants there, things like celery, cranberries, rhubarb, onions, etc. Make the raised ridges high enough and you can grow corn there and let the boggy ground provide the water. Dave...See MoreIdeal Potting Soil ??
Comments (8)Furo - Just a thought - you may wish to skip the supplemental iron (Fe) in soils with a substantial part being conifer bark. It's usually always available in adequate amounts. Fe in anything greater than a 2:1 ratio with manganese (Mn) can prevent Mn uptake. This causes what most perceive as the same chlorosis (even though it's different) as an Fe deficiency and often prompts the addition of more Fe. Ironite also lowers pH which increases the possibility of Fe toxicity. *************************************************************************************************** Wow - I'm glad to see you guys are happy with a variation of the same mixes I use. ;o) You've done such a good job of addressing the original question, I don't have much specific to add to it, but I have a few generalities & some musings. Container soils are only "ideal" for a very short time. Containerized plants and the soils they are growing in are in constant flux. As the plant grows and needs more water, the soil is breaking down (hopefully slowly, too) and holding more water. Ideally, we would start with a very highly aerated soil with small plants and end at repotting time with a mature plant in a soil that holds more water, but still an adequate volume of air. The growers above recognize that, and are striving to build that mix. They recognize that it's unlikely to be found in a single bag. Still general information, and measurable: An ideal soil will have about 60 - 70% total porosity (air and water) with at least 30% air porosity at container capacity (this is the level of soil saturation after soils are completely saturated and then allowed to drain. Just as drainage stops, soils are at container capacity. There should still be 30% of the total volume of the soil occupied by air at that time). Al...See MoreIdeal Japanese Maple Soil
Comments (3)I do not know whether you are amending soil or not ..but your post suggests so...generally speaking amending is now frowned upon ...that being said if your have that bad of soil you probably have no choice IMHO and the current wisdom of the JM "experts" should be ignored. sand is NOT recommended PERIOD since it is usually too fine I would suggest crushed granite ( turkey grit #4..) also peat should be kept to a minimum it dries to fast and matts out ponding water... the soil is ok as long as NO additives...my suggestion would be close to a container mix with the exception of the soil 10% ( maybe 15%) turkey grit,40- 50% pine bark of a couple differnt sizes 20% pine bark fines (Lowes black forest hardwood mix works good), 10-15 % pro mix (maximun) if you can get pro mix BRK it's best limited peat has pine bark and root stimulator)...15 % soil mix your choice but no fertilizer or water holder just plain top soil... ( may or may not be over 100% but you can adjust) that as I said is similar to my container mix but I use a bit more Pro mix BRK and no top soil ...others will have their own ideas ..just mine ..David...See MoreShould I repot Croton and Rubber Plant now if soil is less than ideal?
Comments (7)You can pot up anytime, though very late spring to early summer would be ideal. I'd wait until mid-June to do a full repot, which includes bare-rooting and root pruning. Plants have natural rhythms (search Circadian and/or endogenous rhythm). Over the course of the plant's rhythmic growth cycle, their stored energy levels and their ability to create energy/food waxes and and wanes. In most cases, to repot (as opposed to just potting up) a plant when its energy stores and ability to create energy are both on the wane is to ensure a much longer recovery period. Repotting and root work is a heavy hit for the plant. It draws down the plant's energy reserves much faster than would occur if you repotted in June, when both energy stores and current photosynthesizing ability are reaching peak levels would be at peak. Since a plant's natural defenses are a byproduct of it's metabolic rate, it's not difficult to see how a significantly weakened plant with compromised ability to defend itself, combined with a longer recovery period work in concert to make the plant far more vulnerable than it would be if you were patient enough to sync with the plant. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Your plants aren't in danger of serious decline due to root congestion, and they are small enough that, even if the soil they're in is VERY water-retentive, you can use a work-around that requires no special tools, materials, or knowledge, other than an understanding of how to put Newton's First Law of Motion to work on behalf of your self and plants, which I'm about to describe. When you water, water to beyond the point of saturation. The entire soil mass should be at maximum capacity and a good measure of the water used in your watering exercise (at least 15-20%) should have exited the drain hole. After the pot has stopped draining of its own accord, hold the recently watered planting over the sink and move it up and down. You'll soon see that on the reversal from downward to upward motion, quite a bit of water exits the drain hole, and the sharper the reversal, the more water exits the pot. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion [the water in the pot] stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. When water ceases to exit through the drain hole, you'll have removed ALL perched water that has the potential to be of any consequence. Last, but not least, we all have a 'nurturing bone' - we like to take care of things. Knowing that you're planning for your plants' future in a way that allows you to take advantage of its strengths and make allowances for it's weaknesses for no reason other than it's in the best interest of the plant, offers the grower a much greater sense of personal gratification than an approach that lacks that planning. Al...See More
Raye Lunceford
8 years agokoffman99
8 years agokoffman99
8 years agoUser
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
BungalowMonkeys
8 years agobkay2000
8 years ago
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