Specialty Gardening: Container Soils and Water Movement in Containers (long post), 1 by tapla

tapla wrote:
I'll go right down your post & comment on what I can. It's funny you'd mention Amaryllis. Up-thread, I mentioned a discussion with a grower in Antwerp. Chef Michel. Of course it took me a couple of messages to determine that Michel was Michael and not Michelle, but I'm off the track now. I bring this up because a good part of the discussion was about the Amaryllis he was growing in a passive hydroponic set-up. It was really interesting & the plants looked perfectly healthy. He had maters, peppers, and lots of other interesting things in a set-up he made himself. A handy guy.

Raised beds are very close to growing in the garden, but with better drainage, so much of what you learn about container growing will not apply. You can use a soil in raised beds that would drain far too poorly to even consider in containers. You can also take good advantage of compost and sand if it pleases you because it will not impact drainage aeration like it does in containers.

Of all the Irises, siberica is one of the easiest to grow. They are like potatoes or blueberries in that they really like water, but won't tolerate wet feet. A fast draining soil that you can water often will keep them from rotting. A tomato fertilizer or one with a low N content is a good choice.

"Do you know how a lay person/amateur finds out about Soil Science on the Web?" Read read read, then pay attention to what you are seeing in your own plants & what they are trying to tell you. I have no formal education other than HS, but my interest in bonsai and container culture has kept me studying whatever I find about soils and plant physiology for a good number of years. I also seek out educational opportunities through the several plant-related/garden clubs I belong to and travel to various functions that offer good speakers. I always go with a list of technical questions that have been bothering me & am persistent enough to usually get them answered.

Don't worry about the mud in the garden. God has it under control and your worrying will not help. ;o) Resist the urge to work the soil until you find that when you pick up the soil and squeeze it in your hand, then release it, it crumbles like chocolate cake. If you say that would/could never happen, you have work to do and it looks like organic matter.

Al

A 5 year old soil from a raised bed. Notice the tilth.