Re: CULT: Raised Bed Soil Too Light

In a message dated 5/9/2006 3:07:18 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
jgcrump@cox.net writes:

<< Both Clarence Mahan and I have used a couple of inches of  
mushroom soil tilled in as an additive to garden soil with good results.  
Too much of it, I suppose, could produce a bed that stays damp too long.  
But we only used it as an additive.  It is very, very light  stuff.  The 
difficulty for me, however, is that the nearest source of  the stuff is about 
2 hours away.>>
 
Thanks. There are bags of the mushroom stuff at the local Home Depot,  put up 
by the Black Kow folks, upon whose composted moo doo I rely. I can  see that 
with an operation your size bags would be less  feasible. I am thinking of 
putting in some if I can determine that there  is no perlite in it
 
<<  The topsoil is commercially produced and is composed of  equal parts 
dirt, sand and composted leaves (sometimes called leaf  mold).  The fellow I hire 
to 
deliver and spread the mix used to shake  his head and ask why I was adding 
sand to a mix already containing  sand.   The answer is that, over the years, 
I have seen the  commercial-mix-plus-garden-soil-only turn hard as a rock 
(well, almost) in  just a season.  The additional sand has made my beds very 
friable,  has improved drainage, and the iris love it.>


I don't share your enthusiasm for this sort of product. Everyone I  know who 
has ordered it in around here has ended up with some bizarre  sludge, possible 
real sludge, or river bottom stuff, that has turned  to concrete in short 
order without sand, and turned to  charcoal bricks with it. And it is dead stuff. 
Nothing vital about it, no  worms, no little bugs, nothing. There must be 
other suppliers, but this  is the current story.
 
I put a lot of sand in when I did this bed, and it is so bigtime  friable 
that a couple of the taller irises are leaning badly  and if I reach in to snatch 
a dry leaf away here and there I  occasionally pull up a plant. It is really 
too light. 
  
<<My test for density of soil is  this:  If, when the ground is dry, I can't 
poke a bamboo tomato stake  into it, then it's too dense.>>


Well, that makes sense, and verily have I thought the same, but now  am 
reconsidering. I have seen some mighty strong feral irises rejoicing in  pure red 
clay. Speaking of which, what about that Turface stuff? Know anything  about 
that?  
 
<<The risk in all of this is that the topsoil producer errs in his  mix and 
you 
get a batch that is out of balance one way or  another.>>
 
Or you get hold of a batch that contains unspeakable cooties you  don't 
already have. 
 
Thanks, Griff, for your ideas. 
 
Cordially,
 
Anner Whitehead
Richmond VA USA USDA Zone  7  

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index