Re: back to oranges and modern potting mixes
Moira wrote:
>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.
Well Moira, this of course remains to be seen. However, even if it
never produces useable fruit, I won't be disappointed - the fragrance
from the blossoms and the freedom with which it flowers more than
compensates for a lack of fruit. I reckoned that seeing as Meyer's
Lemon is generally quite a reliable performer in sheltered spots over
most of the south here, a supposedly cool tolerant orange might be
worth risking. So far so good - but it has its second winter, the
first with fruit to get through yet, so I'm keeping a very open mind.
I'll not be disappointed provided it gives another show of flower next
spring. Everything or anything else is a bonus.
>> I've just been leafing through the 1945 revised, 'enlarged' edition of
>> Sander's Encyclopaedia of Gardening....
>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 couldn't agree with you more and these old mixes which were used in
conjunction with big clay pots and often rammed in with the aid of a
potting stick and a strong forearm worked very well for a couple of
centuries. Compost making was an art and often a gardener's skill was
judged by the quality of his plants which relied heavily upon the
quality of his home-made compost. Here in the post war years, the
introduction of the John Innes formulae enabled a standard to be set,
but even that was highly variable depending upon the quality of the
loam and coarseness of the sand/grit used. Peat/coir/coco shell based
composts have largely superseded these on account of their ease of use
and comparative lack of weight. Personally, I loath them because they
cannot sustain nutrient levels for long, all manner of trace element
and mineral deficiencies crop up with alarming ease and invariably,
the structure breaks down creating sodden, over compacted conditions
after a short time.
For convenience, I use an expensive and extremely good quality John
Innes mix together with a soilless compost to provide a degree of
lightness and plenty of good sharp sand to improve drainage. A big
handful of pelleted chicken manure per barrow load completes the
mixture and this has worked remarkably well as a base for diverse
groups such as Boronias (more sand added) bananas (more chicken ****
added) and bromeliads (no chicken **** added). For plants in pots and
large containers, this mixture lasts well and is still in 'good heart'
2 or 3 years later.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
