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Re: African Violets - Rock in the pots

John,
I was fearful that my description would not be clear. 
The rock level is above the the water level so it matters not the height of
the column of media. All of the water drains except that retained by the
soil. The moisture holding capacity of the soil isn't addressed by this
post only the full drainage of the system which I've used for years on a
wide variety of plants. The second advantage of this method which I
developed and was later patented by others is the full air circulation
around the root mass. Air circulation is reduced in pots as apposed to
growing in the ground.
If you doubt this then ask a few more questions and prove the negative.
We grew 300,000 violets a year for 10 years with this method.

Covey says "Seek to understand before you can be understood"

>At 09:31 PM 97-11-26 -0500, Butch Ragland wrote:
>>Over watering AF can be problem so place rock in the bottom of the pot
>>above the saucer height then build a rock wall with soil in the center all
>>around the center root ball. This root ball surrounded by rock can not be
>>over watered. 
>====================================================
>
>It is a misconception that rubble or rock in the bottom of a pot will
>increase drainage. In fact, just the opposite occurs. This is a case of
>people writing books by simply taking information from older books and not
>checking facts. The taller the column of soil, the more quickly it will
>drain. A wide squatty pot is the worst sort for plants which require fast
>drainage. If you doubtthis check your physics text book or do a simple
>experiment in your kitchen sink with a set of three identical sponges.
>
>If the idea is to provide a humid apmosphere by having the plant sit above
>a source of evaporating water, then rocks to the level of the saucer top
>would serve the purpose but better would be to fill the pot with soil and
>place the rocks in the saucer.
>
>John Montgomery
>Monashee Perennials
>Vernon  BC  Zone 5
>
>

"Conflict is as addictive as nicotine, alcohol, drugs, etc.
I'm sorry to report that cooperation is not."
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