Re: I believe there is another unknown factor at work too.
On Tue, Feb 02, 1999 at 07:04:29PM -0800, Vickie Brock wrote:
> This is soooo true. When ever anything is pruned ,cut flowers etc, a certain
> % of nutrients are taken away. There are complete companion charts that are
> reccomended for gardeners. There must be some medicinal properties or
> stimulants that are excreted or dropped. Go figure?? The one thing I can't
> figure is trees they have been in the same spot for years 100's in some cases.
> How do they do it? They drop what they need or is the way the soil structure
> is left alone???
Tree roots extend deep into the subsoil and are adept at pulling trace
minerals and nutrients out that are more difficult for plants with
shallower, (spoiled?) root systems. Trees are one of the major forces of
turning barren areas into fertile areas. Once enough soil has piled up
from shrubs and grasses for trees to get established (which takes a
really, really long time) soil buildup accelerates since trees are such
efficient producers of organic matter. (But not as efficient as hemp
plants, but that's another topic). "Top dwellers" with shallow root
systems benefit from the nutrients trees bring up from below and deposit
on the forest floor as leaves and dead branches when they decompose.
Also, when a tree dies, much of the root system remains in the ground,
enriching the subsoil and leaving some material for future trees.
Not a heck of a lot about pumpkins there, but with genetic engineering
making such great strides perhaps we'll be able to grow pumpkin trees
in the not too distant future. Imagine a cross between an atlantic
giant and an apple tree: perennial, winter hardy, 10 meter deep root
system... after a few years of growth you'd have a pumpkin as big as
a house! Maybe we'd also finally have something that could give kudzu
a run for its money. :)
Shaun in Spokane
(obviously suffering from a very long, cold winter and anxious to
get some of these hot new seeds in the ground)
--
Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the
fragile blossom that opens in the snow. -Alice M. Swaim
polaris@wolfenet.com ++ PGP email welcome
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