Re: HYB: CULT: pushing seedlings
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] HYB: CULT: pushing seedlings
- From: w*
- Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 18:00:16 -0500
- Priority: normal
On 18 Jul 01, at 12:27, Linda Mann wrote:
> As an experiment this year, instead of moving this year's seedlings to
> small pots, I put them all in one big $6 plastic window box type planter.
> Filled it half way with alfalfa cubes (they were temporarily out of
> pellets), then topped it off with a mix of creek sand, potting mix from
> the local nursery, and a good dose of ground dolomitic limestone &
> 6-12-12. It is in partial shade with a lot of indirect light, close to
> the water hose. I plan to dose them with Miracle grow every time I think
> of it.
>
> Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
>
>
Linda, as you may remember over the last several years on iris-l and iris-talk,
I have been skeptical about the benefits of alfalfa in my soil.
Last year I tried an experiment with potting rhizomes. I filled
the pot half full with alfalfa bits. Then, I placed a soil mix on
top of that and pushed a rootless rhizome into the soil mix.
The rhizomes did not send out new leaves like they did in the pots
without the alfalfa base. They remained stunted for the two or three
months they were in the pots.
When I got ready to unpot the rises with the alfalfa base, I
found that there wasn't very much of a root system. The roots went
to the pure alfalfa base but would not grow into it. I also found
out that the alfalfa had soured and some pots had maggots working the
sour alfalfa.
I hope your luck with this experiment will be different from
mine. It might be with baby seedlings, but I would not recommend
this procedure for mature rhizomes. Keep us posted.
Walter Moores
Enid Lake, MS USA 7/8
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