Using Ballast to Combat Excess Water Retention
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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Ekor Tupai
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Container 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 & Retention XV
Comments (155)Hi, rina. I know wood chips are different than bark, but I saw a nursery that was using these mixed with some alder saw dust. In about a year it turned to this incredible black, rich "soil". The guy as the nursery said it breaks down better and more nutritious for the soil and depletes less nitrogen in the process. The wood chips I was seeking are about the size of medium bark in nurseries. In retrospect, I am glad I didn't try that. Works great outdoors, not sure about containers! The black bark is essentially composted evergreen tree bark. I say evergreen because it could be a mix of a number of different types here in the Pacific NW --- hemlock, fir, ceder, spruce, etc. I didn't screen it, it seemed plenty loose initially; small to medium size in comparison to bagged nursery store bark. It would have been o.k. had I added the peat and perlite per the formulas given here. Screening would have left just the larger pieces, but that would be quite a chore for the volume I was using! I repotted some of the plants using the 5:1:1 formula with my black bark and those are doing much, much, better. A gardening friend said "Think of it...bark is like big saw dust. If you pack it down it gets as hard as a board". That is essentially what happened when I used the black bark alone without the the perlite and moss. ;(...See MoreCONTAINER SOILS - WATER MOVEMENT and RETENTION XXII
Comments (1044)Over the years, I've saved a ton of word documents that answer common questions. One of those documents is about particle size: Particle Sizes (ideal) In a perfect world, the mineral fraction for use in the gritty mix would range in size from 1/10 - 5/32" (.100 - .156", or 2.5 - 4.0mm). The bark fraction would be slightly larger to allow for some breakdown over the life of the planting ........ from 1/8 - 1/4 is about ideal (.125 - .250" or 3.25 - 6.25mm). For the 5:1:1 mix, particle size should be from dust to 3/8". (0 - .375", or 0 - 4mm), with most of the bark ranging in size from 3/16 - 3/8" ( .188 - .375", or 4.8 - 9.5mm). The perlite should be on the coarse side - something like the all purpose or super coarse shown below. If you read the size gradation next to the images, you'll see the images are misleading as the product appears to be much larger than the size listed in print. starter: 1/16 - 3/32 inch (1.6 - 2.4mm) you can sub #1 cherrystone/quartzite if available grower: 3/32 - 3/16 inch (2.4 - 4.8mm) you can sub #2 cherrystone/quartzite if available developer: 3/16 - 5/16 (4.8 - 8.0mm) you can sub #3 cherrystone/quartzite if available turkey: 5/16 - 7/16 inch (8.0 - 11.0mm) turkey finisher: 7/16 - 5/8 inch (11.0 - 16mm) The last 2 sizes of grit can be used as ballast in the bottom of shallow pots by mixing 3 parts of grit to 1 part of your soil; this, to avoid water perching above the layer. The layer should be as tall/deep as the PWT your soil supports. Skip this if using a properly made gritty mix. Al...See MoreHelp my Fiddle Leaf fig tree!
Comments (10)I don't want to overwhelm you to the point where you decide "this is too much info", and give up; but, the rocks are large enough that they probably were acting as ballast instead of a drainage layer. If a medium supports a 4" column of excess (perched) water, it supports the same 4" of excess no matter what the pot size or shape happens to be. The shaded part below represents perched water: I don't want to overwhelm you to the point where you decide "this is too much info", and give up; but, the rocks are large enough that they probably were acting as ballast instead of a drainage layer. If a medium supports a 4" column of excess (perched) water, it supports the same 4" of excess no matter what the pot size or shape happens to be. The shaded part below represents excess/perched water, and that portion of the medium is 100% saturated. A few rocks in the pot bottom displaces soil that would otherwise be saturated, so it reduces the amount of water the container can hold. The perched water column is still the same ht, but because of the bricks/stones, there is less soil (and therefore, water) within that height. IF the layer at the bottom is such that disallows a continuous soil column from the upper layer of the soil to the pot bottom, the water will perch above the drainage layer. The water must follow a path through the soil to the bottom of the pot, then out the drain. The image on the right works as ballast because there is a continuous soil column from top of soil to pot bottom. Water perches in the middle image because there is no continuous column of soil from top of soil to pot bottom because it's disrupted by the "drainage layer". I'll leave you 2 links to look at when you have time. In the meanwhile, keep using a tell to avoid over-watering. It won't matter if you take a couple of weeks or a month to plan your course. Once you understand how important aeration is to root health and thus to the health of the entire organism, and how to effectively control that air:water relationship in the root zone, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how large was the step forward you took. A basic overview of good growing habits. Using ballast to combat excess water retention. Al...See Moretropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agolast modified: 5 years agoEkor Tupai
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
5 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)Ekor Tupai
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agosomegu7
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoHU-43480125137
5 years agoEkor Tupai
5 years ago
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