Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Soils, Soil Mixes, and Drainage Issuesby Tapla (Al)., 1 by tapla
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In reply to: Soils, Soil Mixes, and Drainage Issuesby Tapla (Al).
Forum: Mid-Atlantic Gardening
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tapla wrote: Just for the sake of argument-----IF a plant is watered carefully, NOT soaked to the bottom, is it possible to avoid having this The ideal way to water is to moisten the soil to the point where water is almost ready to exit the drain (takes an educated guess). Let the plant rest for a few minutes, then water again so 15-20% of the total volume of water applied in both waterings exits the drain hole. Your pot should always be lifted above the effluent that drains into the saucer so the salts being flushed from the soil have no way of getting back into it. A knowledgeable plant person would not pour a quart of water into a 10" pot, as this would "drown" the plant.Sure they would. Why not? ;-) In the summer time, I regularly apply at least a half gallon of water to my 10" pots, and in the winter time, I'm sure it's always more than a quart. The reason is ..... I can. The soils I make hold little or no perched water, so I can run a gallon of water through a 4" pot every day if I like, and no harm will come to the plant from over-watering. My succulents and cacti can stay outdoors on the growing benched in rain for a week straight w/o me being concerned for root health or root function ...... because my soils are very coarse and well-aerated. If watering carefully, and only when needed, water should not collect in the amounts you are talking about to create this PWL. Is this a logical expectation? We have seen why this approach is less than ideal - perhaps the lesser of two evils, but the lesser of 2 evils is still an evil. ;-) If you gain an understanding of how to put together a soil that will work FOR you, instead of against you, you can A) avoid watering in sips and water copiously every time you water, B) stop worrying about the effects of perched water, and C) remove accumulating salts from your list of things to worry about because you'll be flushing the soil every time you water. Also--if using clay pots--this (the Al |