Have I been making coffee wrong for 6 years?
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agochas045
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
planting shrubs - have I been doing it all wrong?
Comments (12)when in livonia.. where i had a great MI peat soil ... i could GET AWAY WITH ... sticking a potted plant.. right into the soil.. and never looking back ... the MI peat was 'close enough' ... then i moved to adrian.. where it is all mineral sand ... if i plant a pot with VERY HIGH PEAT potting media.. in sand.. EVENTUALLY ... the sand will wick all the moisture out of the peat ... and once that happens.. peat can become nearly water repellant ... and eventually.. the plant will die.. and this goes from perennials.. thru conifers.. and into trees ... though if the plant is aggressive enough to grow out of the peat.. its a non-issue ... so for me.. its the DIVERGENCE OF SOIL TYPES... which is a killer ... so over the years.. i have found that PROPER PLANTING ... at the PROPER TIME [FALL/SPRING IN MI] ... allows near full bare rooting.. and removal of the problem media/soil .. and while the roots are nudie.. some root pruning if horribly root bound ... and then planting into the native soil ... the issue would be NO DIFFERENT.. if you were in bad clay.. with peat potting media .. the clay MIGHT hold too much water at certain times of year.. and the peat would only hold more .... and very often.. a plant that rots its roots in spring.. will not LOOK dead.. until the heat of summer ... burns all the leaves off it ... and then we have a hard time.. figuring out.. when it really died ... ken...See MoreWhat to do now if I have used the same soil for 6 years?
Comments (16)Give it a test run. Pot#1. Best potting soil you can buy Pot#2. Permanent mix or Sandy loam with no composted tree parts See what happens after a year. Which plants did better. They both start out great but as the potting soil ages the oxygen content decreases so root health declines. I watched this happen every year to me. I tried the experiment in almost all sand. Plants grow with no problems. They don't need dead tree and they don't want dead tree around their roots. Dead tree is a cheap material to sell and light to ship. The growers that plant in ground up composted wood know their plants are going to have problems months later. They tell the nursery or big box store to get rid of them before then. watering becomes tricky then. To help keep the mix from rotting too fast you need to let the mix almost dry out before you water again. This stresses the plant. Plants like cool, even moisture and oxygen at the root zone. Some of the 5 gallon shrubs will die a year or two later after planting. The roots continue to decline in the rotting mix. Adding ground up tree amendment to the hole only makes it worse. Sometimes you can carefully shake the grower's tree compost off the roots and replace it with mineral soil and plants will be fine after a few weeks in the shade adjusting. I know this is controversial. The nurseries sell the mix and schools teach these practices but it is not what the plants want. ( a NASA guy told us this when they researched what plants want for the space station ) They want to be in a mineral soil with the organic matter breaking down on top. A study was done of undisturbed natural soils in a variety of locations. The organic matter found in the soil was all living. Roots, fungi, bacteria, worms, etc. Not dead tree bark branches and leaves. That stuff is on the top of the soil and fungal networks break it down so the plants can use it....See MoreIt’s been 6 years and I still have not decorated our bedroom!
Comments (22)Nice room, you have a good start with that soothing wall color! Love suggestions above for the more colorful or patterned rug and drapery panels. It might feel crowded to have the tall dresser, TV stand, AND little seating area all on that wall. If needed, could you move tall dresser to where the low dresser and mirror are now? Then, move the low dresser to wall facing bed, and hang TV over that. (No need to buy a floating TV console) Is there another spot you could use the mirror? Maybe a floor mirror in this room instead?...See MoreI have been doing all wrong, but not know why or what!
Comments (7)Watering, properly, is the single most important part of having a nice lawn. Here is the GENERAL idea. You can adjust this, but it only needs a tweak for your situation. There are too many elements to watering for the brain to factor, so I've boiled it down to what seems to be the most important - daily high temperature. Here are the "rules" for bermuda management. Watering: Water deeply and infrequently. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. You can measure 1 inch by placing several tuna or cat food cans around the yard and turning on the sprinkler. I like the modern oscillator sprinklers, because they throw water, evenly, over a very large area. With my oscillator sprinkler on full sweep it takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your sprinkler, your hose, and your water pressure all combine to give you a different time. Whatever the time is, memorize that and water for that time every time you water. Infrequent watering means you NEVER water every day. With temps below 70 degrees F, deep water once every month. With temps between 70 and 80, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps between 80 and 90, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 90s, deep water every week. With temps above 100, deep water once every 4-5 days. Mowing: Mulch mow bermuda at or near the lowest setting on your mower every week. Sometimes in the spring when it is growing very fast you may need to mow 2x per week. Fertilizing: You can start to fertilize bermuda after the second mowing of the year. The reason you wait is to be sure you are fertilizing active roots and not dormant roots. Bermuda can take a high nitrogen, fast release, fertilizer every 4-6 weeks for best appearance. Don't use weed and feed. For anyone else reading this, this is the fertilizer plan only for bermuda. This will kill other grasses. Please let me know if you would like to fertilize with organic products. I would urge you to use organic fertilizer for at least one application per year even if you do not fertilizer every month. Weed control: In mid April spot spray the weeds with Weed-b-Gon or Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer. Mist the weeds - these products are not soil drenches. Give this three weeks to fully kill the weeds. Then in mid May, write back here to tell us how it looks and ask more questions. Following the above rules will give you a very nice bermuda lawn....See Moreritaweeda
4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agoarkansas girl
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4 years agoannie1992
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4 years agofoodonastump
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoarkansas girl
4 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSherry8aNorthAL
4 years agofoodonastump
4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agoLadydi Zone 6A NW BC Canada
4 years agocarolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
4 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
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4 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agofoodonastump
4 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
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4 years agojerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
4 years agonickel_kg
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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