Re: San Francisco area gardeners question

**N* S* <s*@earthlink.net>**

Denise, I think a mix of  choir and Canadian Sphagnum would be a  
better choice. Is the black top soil reed sedge base?  Here in the  
states it's often referred to as  Michigan Peat. We have large tracks  
of it about five miles from my home, Imlay City, Michigan.  Hyponex  
digs and bags it. It's very fine but bakes hard as a rock when dry.  
The area is used for truck gardening, celery, and carrots are main  
crops. It's what comes in $2 bags of soil from Walmart. I have been  
researching bagged planting materials for years. Hoping that wood  
fibre, now used in Europe will soon make it in the U.S. I have 10  
acres of pines I want to get rid of:-) Nancy Szerlag
On Jul 12, 2012, at 1:11 PM, Mary Fran McQ wrote:

>
> Denise: I'm one US zone colder here in Toronto, ON, and I have  
> limited space in a city garden, so I grow lots of things in  
> containers. Ornamental grasses (not the giant ones!), annual and  
> perennial herbs, tomatoes and peppers, small evergreen shrubs,  
> clematis and Black Lace sambuca. I know people who grow hostas,  
> heucheras and even figs in containers here.
>
> I don't use soilless mix because it dries out too quickly. I make my  
> own blend of bagged black soil, vermiculite/perlite and composted  
> manure, stirring it in a big bucket like a garden witch. (It is  
> heavier than soilless mix, though.)
>
> In winter, anything perennial goes into my unheated but protected  
> shed. I often wrap the pots in several layers of newspapers, for  
> extra insulation. My friend, the fig-grower, takes his trees into a  
> slightly heated garage, so they can go dormant without freezing.
>
> I'm just catching up on mailing list topics, but I hope this opens  
> some new possibilties for your Pittsburgh friend.
>
> Mary Fran McQuade
>  		 	   		
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Nancy Szerlag
Columnist for Detroit News
szerlag@earthlink.net

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