Specialty Gardening: Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention III , 1 by tapla

tapla wrote:
Hi, Katherine. We're almost neighbors, eh? ;^) First, let me thank you for the kind words and the compliments. I really appreciate your making the effort. I'll probably seem to skip through topics like a kid through spring puddles, but it's because I'm following your post and commenting as I read. I do grow a few hardy terrestrial orchids in the gritty mix, and they do exceptionally well. Great looking foliage & excellent bloom quality and quantity. I've had a number of others contact me to say they use it for non terrestrials too, but not being well versed in orchid nomenclature,I can't be helpful in sharing what they were growing. Sorry about that part, but its would seem worth some experimentation?

MSUs's orchid fertilizers are similar to Foliage-Pro in that they don't derive their N from urea, and they relegate P levels to something more realistic than 1:1:1 ratio fertilizers like 20-20-20 solubles or 14-14-14/15-15-15 controlled release. These fertilizers supply excess amounts of P for all plants, and the 'bloom booster' fertilizers are worse offenders, some of them being so far out of line for containerized plants as to be ridiculous. 10-52-10 (a commonly found 'bloom booster' blend), after applying the the required factoring to determine the actual P supplied, (X.43 of what's reported) supplies almost 14X as much P as the plant can use in relation to N. That's ridiculous to the point a case could easily be made it's irresponsible. MSU's fertilizers also contain a full compliment of all nutrients, including Ca/Mg, and in favorable ratios. I would have no problem using it if I couldn't get the FP 9-3-6.

That I haven't used it doesn't mean much. The science involved with how it's made and what it's made from, as well as what it provides, is quite clear - you don't need to be a bus driver to understand the wheels go round & round. ;-)

I'm familiar with P radiata, which is the tree the Orchiata brand bark comes from. Lignin is what makes trees stiff & woody, and suberin is a lipid. Both are bio-compounds shown as having extremely difficult hydrocarbon chains for microorganisms to cleave, which is what makes conifer extremely difficult for soil biota to break down. Whether it is in FACT has 2-3 times the useful life of other pine/fir/redwood bark products, or if they are referring to hardwood bark products that contain only fractions of these products compared to conifer barks is a question that would need clarification before I would take the claim at face value as being superior to ALL bark products. I just don't know and retain some degree of skepticism about the statement. It may even be a moot point because I've NEVER seen the gritty mix with for or pine bark break down before it was well past being prudent about repotting due to root congestion. IOW - why pay for a product purported to last for 10 years when the state of root congestion might require repotting at 2-3 year intervals?

Tomatoes: For soils I really like the 5:1:1 mix. I get loaded plants to 8' tall in 18 gallon tubs. I use a 3:1:2 RATIO (different than NPK %s) until the vines are 5' or so, then I cut the fertilizer in half & supplement with some additional K, in the form of ProTeKt 0-0-3. It works great. I don't have a problem with spraying my plants with Daconil, so I use that prophylactically & I never seem to be troubled with early/late blights, PM, or anthracnose (gray mold).

I use partially composted pine bark fines (usually) in the 5:1:1 mix when I can find it. If I can't, I use fresh/ uncomposted bark. I've never gone more than 3 years between repots for any of my plants due to root congestion that was obviously affecting growth and vitality by that time. What you may have witnessed turning to mud were other soil ingredients? Also, organic fertilizers can be counted on to hasten soil structure by promoting larger populations of soil biota. I look at that fact as a disadvantage and use soluble fertilizers like the FP, but the MSU fertilizer would be similar along those lines. You don't need a thriving microherd in containers to raise perfectly healthy plants, and courting their populations often proves to be an exercise in futility.

You should be able to grow onions, garlic, shallots .... in pots once you get that PWT under control. Partially burying your containers (just so the drain holes are covered) or using a wick can also be helpful. Tilting your containers on a 45* angle with a drain hole at the lowest pot (until pots/containers stop draining, will make a BIG difference in how much residual PW remains in the soil.

You're welcome .... and thanks again for the kind words.

Al