THe context of this thread has to do w/ making up a potting soil.... not
upseting any "herd" here- just trying to make more hospitable w/ the
addition of the limeing materials.
Peat is easy to come by, in bulk, hence the reason it is in so mnay pot
soil recipes.
That's another thing I have against peat. Why on earth should one upset
the pH of the soil system to such an extent merely to get a bit of
organic matter into it?
Agree with that, Moira, and with all strange additions that disturb the microherd, worms, etc.
But it IS strange that one can put fresh horse manure on grass in the fall and have a great garden the next summer, if one can cover up the fresh manure with less fresh manure or some soil. Worms move in the moment the fresh manure is okay for them, after perhaps nine months (where winters are very cold, that is!)
Carol
billevans wrote:
That's another thing I have against peat. Why on earth should one upset
the pH of the soil system to such an extent merely to get a bit of
organic matter into it? Normal soil amendments, like leaves for
instance, could easily supply the necessary humus without a major
disruption to the living conditions of the microherd, necessitating
equally violent correction..
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan
Wainuiomata - at the Southern tip of North Island, NZ,
Lat 41??15'S, Long 174??58'E (Antipodes of Spain/Southern France)
Not much oxygen then. Margaret L
Beg to disagree, Bill. If I use soil as part of my potting mixture, I get both a couple of worms and part of the fungus web into the pot - can't help it! Sure it gets mixed up, but after some time it will reestablish itself.
I would use only soil, but I DO like the black colour of the peat moss or the city compost as well as its coarser structure. My soil is of course very fine, being clay silt.
Carol
Do you mean in clay silt, Margaret? If so, it's news to me.
Carol
Silt is usually so fine it occupies all of the spaces that oxygen would
occupy in normal soil. Margaret L
YOur forgeting Margaret that soil structure built up by roots and
microherd can correct almost any soils physical properties..... SUre plain
silt- w/ no life in it- will compact and be very impervious to
percolation.... but, enter roots and other critters - that opens it up.
Behalf Of Margaret Lauterbach
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2002 7:11 AM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Potting soil recipe..................clayey soil [a
bitlongbut worthwhile IMO]
Silt is usually so fine it occupies all of the spaces that oxygen would
occupy in normal soil. Margaret L
Yes, that's true, but there are loads of worms and other stuff in the clay silt, so when you dig in it you see all the holes and burrows.
Carol
