Post by Peter on Dec 20, 2014 18:46:49 GMT 10
I recently read a book on "Square Foot Gardening", which amongst other things recommends the following soil mix:
1 part compost
1 part vermiculite
1 part peat moss.
It is essential that components are thoroughly mixed.
Last Monday I set up a couple of long pots with this mix, although I used potting mix as I didn't have any compost. Apart from the initial watering in (and it holds a LOT of water at first), I watered it once Tuesday night (even though the soil was still very moist). I checked it Friday morning, and it was still very moist. As Friday was 40 degrees - and the pots are in a sunny spot - I watered them that morning. Today (Saturday) was around 30 degrees, but with strong winds all day. Every other pot and bit of the garden dried out completely, but these pots are still holding heaps of water as at late afternoon.
I'll definitely be looking into this over coming weeks as I seek to develop other parts of the yard, as I think watering once a week may be all that's needed (bearing in mind that I'm raising seeds in these pots - larger plants will consume more water. Obviously this will be useful in a water shortage, post-crunch, etc.
The downside - vermiculite and peat moss are quite expensive, but I'm hoping to find a bulk supplier and buy it by the trailer or sacks of 100-200kg each.
1 part compost
1 part vermiculite
1 part peat moss.
It is essential that components are thoroughly mixed.
Last Monday I set up a couple of long pots with this mix, although I used potting mix as I didn't have any compost. Apart from the initial watering in (and it holds a LOT of water at first), I watered it once Tuesday night (even though the soil was still very moist). I checked it Friday morning, and it was still very moist. As Friday was 40 degrees - and the pots are in a sunny spot - I watered them that morning. Today (Saturday) was around 30 degrees, but with strong winds all day. Every other pot and bit of the garden dried out completely, but these pots are still holding heaps of water as at late afternoon.
I'll definitely be looking into this over coming weeks as I seek to develop other parts of the yard, as I think watering once a week may be all that's needed (bearing in mind that I'm raising seeds in these pots - larger plants will consume more water. Obviously this will be useful in a water shortage, post-crunch, etc.
The downside - vermiculite and peat moss are quite expensive, but I'm hoping to find a bulk supplier and buy it by the trailer or sacks of 100-200kg each.
