Re: back to oranges and modern potting mixes
Do you buy the John Innes mix or make your own? I too have been very
disappointed with the performance of commercial potting mix, but am hampered
in making my own by the total lack of loam anywhere within miles of my
neighborhood.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Poole <dave-poole@ilsham.demon.co.uk>
To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Sunday, September 19, 1999 4:35 AM
Subject: 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composts have largely superseded these on account of their ease of use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
>
>
