Re: rebloomers

> Linda, I use raised beds, and good soil, divide, water ocassionally and 
> fertilze heavily!  I double dig my beds (WHAT A CHORE IN MASSACHUSETTS!) 
> and put compost or manure in the bottom (IN the south, I used Sewage 
> sludge) and then till and add:  alfalfa pellets, lime, superphosphate, 
> 13-13-13, gypsum, and extra potash. And then throw the topsoil back on and 
> then leave the beds for two years and do nothing to them until time to 
> remake.  So far it has worked well for me.  A lot of work, but I beleive 
> irises to be heavy feeders.  

Wow, this is exactly opposite from what I've heard.  I've heard that
bearded irises do NOT want to have a lot of organic matter in their soil
-- that they will then rot.  So I can see the lime, superphosphate,
chemical based 13-13-13, gypsum, and potash, but the sewage sludge?
maybe down in the very very very bottom!

Am I doing something wrong here?  I have my BI's planted in the most
inorganic soil I have.  I top dress with alfalfa, super phosphate, and
cedar flake mulch (the lightest mulch I can use -- otherwise I get
weeds, too much and I get rot).  The cedar flake does raise the pH a bit
but not much -- we have VERY alkaline soil and irrigation water here.
-- 
Amy Moseley Rupp
amyr@mpd.tandem.com, Austin, TX, zone 8b
Jill O. *Trades
Mistress O. {}
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