Help - Too much fertilizer or not enough?
J J
6 years ago
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gorbelly
6 years agoJ J
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Only too much is ever enough
Comments (19)Hey Bart - your situation sounds somewhat similar to ours - you are surely right about getting creative - but then again, surely this is why hazel has been grown - we are making great use of hazel poles as lashed together tripods. Regarding differences between ramblers and climbers - I have usually worked on a loose definition according to how the plants grow and are pruned. Ramblers, as far as I know, regularly regrow from new basals so the entire old woody basal canes are removed during pruning. Climbers, which I confess to not loving so much, will grow from all over the place, often flowering on the new seasons wood (so pruning can be less fussy and more about shaping and control) and is generally more of the heading back rather than complete removal of canes. I should say that when (or if) I prune, I do it willy nilly, whenever I have secateurs to hand or have been lashed by stray villainous canes (off with their heads!) If you have a hilly topography, ramblers can possibly come into play by allowing them to be used as ground covering plants -although, there are also some cunning set-backs to this idea, as anyone trying it will soon find out if general weeding is required (can you tell I have been pulled into this, to my regret) but on a wild and unused bank, there is nothing nicer than a sort of vegetative barbed wire with seasonal flowers. Growing ramblers in a poplar wood is a definite possibility for us since the canopy is both high (very high) and light - I am intending to actually grow ariel swags suspended from tree to tree on high ropes between the poplars (Oho, all those gigantic ramblers which I have never had room for). Because it was a non-natural plantation, the trees are both regularly spaced and of the same size and age - we are going to try to build platforms and ropewalks as well - especially since we have spotted purple emperors flitting about the canopy (we also have oak and sallow - perfect caterpillar food plants). I am excitedly ordering hundreds of wood anemones and little blue bulbs(and have been in a seed sowing frenzy - there are now no seats or tables or walls available anywhere throughout the house, garden or allotment, while the greenhouse is so full, I have been suspending shelves from the roof). Needless to say, at least one day a week is spent in a kind of slumped torpor (usually after a stay in the woods) since we are glazed with exhaustion, somewhat numb and vacant. Reuben spends his day reading the sports pages in rubbish rags.....while I sit at the keyboard, listlessly flitting between screens (obviously, this is such a day). Sometimes, we barely make it into adult clothing (instead of the old t-shrts and slipper combos we favour - we are not at the level of 'onesies' yet!). The rain falling outside even provides a guilt alleviating reason to stay semi-dressed indoors (eating biscuits and toast) although I am still horribly conscious of the many hours of berry picking still to be finished. My tomatoes though, are, without a trace of modesty, the best on the allotment (more to luck than judgement) having romped through the growing season without a single check to growth (this is a rare occurrence) and are as tall as I am (not very) with 5 or 6 good trusses - so as well as the endless jamming, there will be weeks of saucing.....but after last years utterly dismal fail, a break in the sweaty spoon waving has dimmed my memory so it seems like a pleasant prospect still.....and we do get great ketchups and passatas....See Moretoo much fertilizer need help
Comments (4)Is it just one plant in a pot? If the plant is really being 'burned' by the fertilizer, I would suggest that the best thing to do is remove it from the fertilized soil and reduce any outside stress (like adding too much water, heat, etc). You could try something like removing the plant from the pot, repotting in something that drains really well and doesn't hold onto a lot of nutrients, like sand or sand mixed with vermiculite. Then you could flush it with water and let it drain really well. I'd place it in a shady spot, or in a humid spot, to reduce water stress, until it recovers. good luck!...See MoreToo much Ca / not enough Mg?
Comments (12)I did my own measurements with a pH meter, but unlike $10 HomeDepot specials, this one is supposed to be fairly accurate.This is the meter I used. The results were pretty consistent (yet variable) across different spots in my backyard. Having said that, plugging this meter into soil would measure very top layer of the soil, vs a bit deeper that I've sent for analysis. I don't doubt lab measurements, but am wondering if my sampling was not good. What I did is this: first, I cut existing sod on a small patch of the lawn (~25 sq.ft that I was re-sodding), so top 0.5-1" of soil were removed. Then I core aerated this patch, so there were plenty of ~2" plugs (aerator goes ~3-4" down). Then I randomly collected ~1 lb of plugs in a plastic can, mixed it, and this was my soil sample. I should try chemical home method, to see if I can get similar reading to the lab. Any pointers on improving sampling (should I go deeper, take top soil/thatch into consideration, etc?) Now when I am thinking about this, there is a lot of hardscape (interlock, flagstone, retaining wall), all of which have limestone screenings as compacted base. Could it be leaching Ca / raising pH? There are no screenings under lawn itself (but it's small, about 20x15'). And what would be specific Mg deficiency signs for a lawn (considering it is not in full sun conditions, so some lack of vigor can be attributed to that)?...See MoreToo much water or not enough?
Comments (9)I mentioned it in another thread, but it bares repeating~two, three year old Crepe Myrtles, approximately 8' tall x 6' wide died over the last couple of months. I didn't do anything differently this year than I did last year, and the heat was just as intense. In the last 2 years, i've also lost 4 trees, two had rotted from the inside, a third went from green to brown, and the fourth kept leaning in every direction as I kept restaking it. and it AND I, finally gave up, after one of the many rain storms took it to the ground. It was as though the root system came detached from the soil. The only thing hanging on are the five Crepe Myrtle trees which were put in at the same time as the Wax Myrtles, and I should probably be knocking on wood! I keep thinking not enough of the caliche was removed and enough good soil added. I'm afraid to replant anything, but I would like trees in my backyard! The builder planted an assortment of bushes in the front yard, and in the seven years i've been in the house, none have died. The bushes haven't grown huge, so I think they may all be dwarf varieties, which leads me to believe the root system isn't as deep, reaching to the caliche. Does any of this make sense?...See Moregorbelly
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6 years agoJ J
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