Al's (Tapla) Greatest Hits
Treegeek Z6a (Boston)
5 years ago
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Treegeek Z6a (Boston)
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Al 'The Soil Master' Tapla
Comments (24)Al, Thanks for that explanation. Didn't realize that paper/cardboard would cause N immobilization! (Ya learn something enw every day!). I guess I'll work the paper into the next batch for future use. Spag, Yeah the soil is clay (masquerading as concrete) over here. I am lucky enough to have a neighbor who has a serious rototiller that I can borrow (I did the whole of my plot over the last few months where my raised vege beds will be). The whole section was, at some time, "amended" by some lunitic with pea gravel to "break up" the clay. So in the last 6 months I have screened out about 3 cubic yards of this clay soil and the pea gravel and replaced it with 2 yards of year old horse manure (there was a water run-off issue near the hosue). Now I have put up 3 x 8'x4' raised vege beds (12" in height and dug down another 12" into the clay) and added another 1.5 yards of manure to those with the existing soil. I have then layered on some leaf/chips with a mixture of vege waste and some coffee grounds in a semi lasagna bed to rot over the winter. So hopefully the vege department will be ready next spring. The flower garden beds I have are a complicated mess. My wife wants a "cottage garden" which is damn close to impossible to create when you have a triangular shaped back yard with 15" brick beds to work with. I can't take the beds out as we rent so I am stuck with what I have. I have worked that soil (mainly with miracle gro type stuff) for the last 3 years and finally planted last spring with some vines to run along the fence and spaces for annuals and small shrubs to get a cottage feeling going. I also took a chunk of grass out of the back corner and made a space for a couple of adirondack chairs for my wife. It's a funky triangle shape agaonst the beds and under the one big tree in the corner (no idea what the tree is). It's worked out well but I forgot when I laid the pavers up there that the roots from the big tree would expand and I will now have to rectify this next spring (still deciding how best to do that. But all in all the "projects" have worked well so far and the wife is happy with her "retreat" so it was worth all the swearing and back breaking labor... :)...See MoreWhat is eating my house plants?
Comments (7)It's a calcium deficiency. Even without the gnats, it appears you're significantly over-watering. The hook-shaped leaves and holes are almost certainly the result of a culturally induced (over-watering) deficiency of calcium, which must be in the nutrient stream at all times if cells/tissues are to form normally. It should be noted that there might be an adequate measure of Ca in the soil, but root inundation (waterlogging) limits the plant's ability to absorb it. If there is an insufficient supply of Ca in the nutrient stream, the newly forming walls of cells form imperfectly and become more permeable, allowing their liquid content to spill into intercellular spaces. Any concentrated absence of normal cells can cause voids (holes) and cracks in the leaves when they unfurl, or pits/holes/odd shapes in fruits. The best way to fix it would be to start using a growing medium which is highly aerated and difficult to over-water, and make sure your fertilizer includes both Ca and Mg. Short of that, there are other 'tricks' that allow you to somewhat alleviate the potential for waterlogging - ask if you have interest. Al...See Morepruning Benji ficus
Comments (9)Just noticed your PM. My suggestion would be to avoid rushing things. It's not a good time to do heavy pruning because A) the plant needs it's foliage to produce enough food to avoid the need for the plant to rely on stored energy reserves. Reducing the foliage mass can limit the plants ability to make food/energy to the degree it's using more than it's making. Obviously, this is an unsustainable condition for the long term, and pretty much ensures the plant exits the winter at very low level of vitality (health). B) There is also the consideration that pruning out of sync with the plant's natural rhythms can find you removing the desirable compact growth which occurs during the summer months, and keeping the long/ lanky growth you don't want - the stuff that occurs between now and May. The ideal pruning strategy allows the plant to grow freely during the dark months. Asa the summer solstice draws near, all the long growth is removed. This even makes a difference in any future back-budding you can force by hard pruning. Judicious pinching during the summer months forces the back-budding that keeps your tree full. If it was my tree, I'd maybe do some light pruning now to keep the tree in-bounds; or, if you consider it to still be in-bounds, do nothing insofar as pruning is concerned. Next late spring, prune it hard, followed by a full repot when it starts back-budding (about 2 weeks). If you live in Alaska and because of the radical shift in day length, the timing I mentioned would need to be adjusted so you can plan the work when the plant's ability to produce food/energy is about to peak. Consider this reply to be a broad overview of my thoughts. If you want to delve deeper into anything I said, or have questions about factors I didn't cover - feel free to ask. I can also put you onto other threads that provide an overview of good growing habits, specific advice about tending Ficus trees in pots over the long term, or more general advice about long term care of woody plants in general for the long term. The later goes into more detail about repotting, and I can also post a pictorial tutorial (I know that would make a good starting point for a limerick) about repotting. What say you? Al...See MorePonytail palm dying - Help
Comments (8)I noticed that the trunk is also soft when I press it. Same for the round part in the planter. Sounds like another case of root rot gone systemic. Not much to be done other than allowing the plant to go completely dry before you water it again. I suggest using a "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water (see below). If you're the proactive type, you could lift the plant from the pot, remove all soil from the roots, inspect roots and caudex carefully for symptoms of rot, and, if appropriate (you think the plant is still viable), repot into an appropriate medium (one that is very well-aerated and drains exceptionally well. What I use: Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al...See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)