Ideal Soil for Protea?
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
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westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
Ideal raised bed depth over soggy soil?
Comments (6)So your are trying to balance the issue of overly soggy native soil that can't be drained apparently against the need to provide any supplemental water for the location and the water needs of 2 very different crops? That is quite a complex situation and I'm not sure it is even possible. If the only issue was the depth of a raised bed over soggy soil - the goal being to allow for proper drainage and moisture for the crop growing there then I'd agree that 12" would be great. People solve that problem that way often. But we can't have our cake and eat it too. :) (a) Build a 6" deep bed and grow shallow rooted crops. there and let the soggy soil provide the water. Things like onions, cauliflower, cabbages, lettuce, etc. (b) or build an 18" deep bed, grow whatever you want in it but water it normally and disregard the ground water. (c) trench in vented drain pipe to drain the area and build an 8-10" bed, grow whatever you want in it and provide it with needed water. (d) treat it as a bog garden area. No raised bed just raised ridges alternating with furrows and plant edible bog gardening plants there, things like celery, cranberries, rhubarb, onions, etc. Make the raised ridges high enough and you can grow corn there and let the boggy ground provide the water. Dave...See Moreideal soil conditions for ocotillos in pots
Comments (5)If you mean Fouquieria splendens, I have two, one about 3-1/2 feet tall with ten or so stems, the other a single stem about a foot tall (and a few seedlings). I was told that these were delicate, and would surely die if I watered them outside the Arizona "monsoon" period (July-Aug), but I've just left them outside on the patio and after two years in the Virginia sun, they're doing fine. The larger one even lived through being buried under snow for close to a week. My conclusion is that they're fairly hardy, and probably any reasonable succulent soil would be fine -- mine are in my standard mix of 1/3 washed Napa 8822 and 2/3 Scotts Topsoil. This is what the seedlings look like. For the first few years, they grow very slowly...then get a growth spurt and grow close to an inch a year! -R...See MorePremade Raised Bed soil - is this mix ideal?
Comments (13)You will find a lot of disagreement about whether sod needs to be removed or not, but if you plan on putting a raised bed, 6 plus inches, over the sod there is no need to remove it since the raised bed will smother the grass. On the other hand I have created numerous ground level planting beds simply by covering the existing sod with newspaper/cardboard and covering that with shredded leaves and that has killed the grass growing there and left the soil in a very good workable condition. There is nothing wrong with clay that adequate amounts of organic matter will not help, in time. Texas A & M does a good job of soil testing, and you have the added benefit of having a resource readily available to answer questions from both the horticulturist and maybe Master Gardeners. Visit the campus and you will find there are demonstration and trail gardens, not just farm studies. In addition to the soil tests done by Texas A & M you might want to dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsâ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to9 a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what your soil looks like....See MoreIdeal soil for Hostas ??
Comments (11)Hostas do prefer a good healthy soil, one well endowed with organic matter with a soil pH in the 6.5 to 7.5 range that is well drained but does retain moisture fairly well, ie. a good garden soil. Adding sand or pea gravel will not do much to help poor drainage unless the amount put in is about 45 percent of the total soil by volume, a lot of that material. Organic matter will do more to correct poor drainage, except where that drainage problem is the result of a high water table. A simple method of checking soil drainage is to dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep in the proposed planting area and fill that with water. Wait for that water to drain away and then refill the hole and time how long it takes for that water to drain away. Less that 1 hour and the soil drains too quickly, A soil with good drainage will allow the water to flow out at the rate of about 2 inches per hour. kimmq is kimmsr...See Morewestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years ago
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