Re: HYB:Potting soil
- To: i*@egroups.com
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk]HYB:Potting soil
- From: B* S*
- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 11:38:28 -0400
>The next spring, all pots burst forth with life (actually it was the best
>germination I've had) and things went great, until the seedlings all reached
>just under 2 inches in height. Then, the last set of pots stopped growing
>completely. None died. When I realized what had happened, I started
>watering the pots vigorously in an attempt to flush out the growth
>retardants, but it still took an entire year before they grew any. Why would
>any company put growth retardant in potting soil? Poor soil collection?
Why would you assume there were growth retardants in the soil? Seems to me
the same effect could be had if the soil were poor in nutrients, or with
too much salty steer manure, etc., etc.
I make up my own potting soil as follows:
1/3 fine Canadian peat moss
1/3 screened ground bark mulch
1/3 well-rotted leaf mold
To each bushel, add several quarts of perlite, a quarter-cup of ground
dolomitic limestone, and a similar amount of a slow-release granular
fertilizer. You can omit the fertilizer if you are a purist.
Works great for me for just about everything. It has a very open texture,
so you do have to pay attention to watering.
Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills@mail.hsc.edu>
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