Re: Drainage in large pots?
- Subject: Re: Drainage in large pots?
- From: T* &* M* R*
- Date: Wed, 02 May 2001 19:22:13 +1200
susannah wrote:
>
> I have a bit of a gardening mystery. I live in rainy western Oregon, with
> heavy clay soil. The drainage is good, for clay, but there are a few
> things I grow that need drier roots. I decided to create a large planter
> for things that need better drainage. I took an old metal wash tub,
> drilled some quarter inch holes at the bottom (the biggest drill bit I
> had), and filled it with the following mix:
>
> one part perlite
> 1/2 part beach sand
> 1/2 part rock dust
> one part compost
> 1/2 part funky commercial potting soil (basically peat, mixed with perlite)
> 1/3 part dirt from the yard (mainly for worms, microrganisms, etc.)
>
> In other words, I put in a little bit of everything I had lying around
> :-). I gave it a good soak with the hose, and to my surprise it didn't
> drain at all! The water just formed a big lake on top, wth perlite
> floating in it. I put sticks into the drainage holes to unclog them in
> case they were clogged; I dug holes from the top down to the drainage
> holes; no help. Eventually the lake diminished bit, but it didn't seem that
> any of it came out of the holes. I dug around in the center of the pot,
> where I found that the mixture was damp, but not as wet as the top and
> sides. In other words, my new mix is ABSORBING a huge amount of water. Not
> exactly what I intended. So I guess it's clear by now that I know nothing
> about soils :-). Can anyone suggest what I can add to this, or what I can
> do starting from scratch, to make something that will drain more quickly?
Susannah
The only thing which strikes me is that your drainage materials (sea
sand and perlite) may well not be coarse enough. I would be inclined to
try putting in quite a lot (1/2-1 part) of a coarse gravel to open
things up.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
