Re: back to oranges and modern potting mixes
David Poole wrote:
>
> Janet wrote:
>
> >Our Valencias also ripen orange. Don't know if maybe 'Valencia' is a type,
> >having many cultivars within its group?
>
> I've always though of it as being a sort of generic name covering many
> varieties - in fact almost anything that isn't a navel , blood or
> Seville type. No doubt experienced growers here will put me right.
>
> I've got just one plant - a small bush just over 5 feet tall which, so
> I'm assured by the supplier, is a cool tolerant form of the 'Valencia
> type' as opposed to one of the 'hardy' hybrids with lemon or Poncirus.
> The full hardiness remains to be seen. It overwintered well and
> flowered, setting a good amount of fruit in the spring. By June the
> oranges were rather larger than golf balls promising to get to a good
> size and ripen before the onset of colder weather. An horrendous hail
> storm during the second week lashed everything in the garden for over
> an hour. Later I saw that all of the fruit had been broken off.
>
> By late July it was in flower again and now there is another crop of
> small oranges - most of which are about 1 - 2" in diameter. I'm just
> hoping that they will carry on growing slowly and mature as summer
> returns. The bush is against a sheltered, sunny wall and I'll cover
> it with a layer of horticultural fleece if it gets anywhere close to
> freezing. Fingers crossed.
Dave
Just when I think your garden could not surprise me further you come up
with another marvel! I wouldn't dream of even attempting any orange in
my garden. I don't doubt it would flower, but the chance of getting
useful fruit would I am sure be nil. I am certainly crossing my fingers
for you.
>
> I've just been leafing through the 1945 revised, 'enlarged' edition of
> Sander's Encyclopaedia of Gardening.
It.. recommends growing them in pots filled with 2
> parts turfy loam, 1 part dry cow manure, charcoal, crushed bones and
> ballast.
>
> How things have moved on since then!
Personally, I am not so sure which direction they have moved in. I have
had a gutsful of most modern pot mixes with their tendency to dry out
and their demand for food and yet more food. I now use mainly a mix of 1
part of my own home-made compost and 1/3 part of a sand mixture (half
sharp sand and half coarse ground pumice). To this I add 2 tablespoons
seaweed powder (for trace elements, growth substances) per 9 litre (2
gall) bucketful. This I find adequate for small pots with a very
occasional feed of liquid fish fertilizer, but for large containers I
would fortify it with a small amount of good garden soil, a watering of
mycorrhizal fungal culture (Trichoderma spp) and a handful of pellets of
sheep manure to each pot.
I find this gives really good growth and holds moisture well. Moreover
I never seem to get root problems or damping-off any more in spite of
using no pasteurised (sterilized) ingredients.
It also works out very cheap, even after purchasing sand, pumice,
seaweed powder and sheep pellets it is only about 1/5 or 1/4 the price
of our average commercial product..
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
