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Posted on 6:45 PM by Wanto and filed under
By Anne Vivian
Humus is essential to good soil mixtures for two reasons. First it helps the soil to obtain and retain the correct crumbly texture which will hold moisture. Second, it provides the necessary conditions for bacterial activity.
Always use a new pot just one size larger. If the pot is clay or terracotta and has been used before make sure that it is clean and well scrubbed, and if it is new soak it in clean water for several hours before using it.
Little of this natural activity takes place in the cultivated garden, for leaves are swept up as they fall, grass is cut and removed, animals are either nonexistent or so few in number that no appreciable amount of animal manure is deposited. All the emphasis in the garden is on taking from the soil and none is on putting back into the soil.
This is why gardeners make compost, import farmyard manure, peat, spent hops and other similar bulky organic matter that will rot down to make the humus that the soil must have if it is to be alive and active. And this is why soil composts for our house plants must have on average a higher humus content even than garden soils, for compare the amount of soil available in a pot to the amount available to the same sized plant growing in the woods or the garden !
It is a comparatively simple matter to discover whether a plant is in need of re-potting. If water courses through the soil quickly and little or none is retained in the soil then almost certainly the plant has used up the major part of the soil in which it is growing and this should be replaced.
Anyone can now make and sell John Innes mixtures according to the formulas laid down. There are both seed mixtures and potting mixtures, the latter available in three strengths and numbered 1, 2 and 3. For mature and healthy potted plants the John Innes Potting Compost No. 3 is probably the best. It is made up from : 2 parts by loose bulk of loam; 3 parts by loose bulk of peat; 2 parts by loose bulk of sand added to which is the fertilizer mixture made up of : 2 parts by weight hoof and horn meal; 2 parts by weight superphosphate of lime; part by weight sulphate of potash. The fertilizer is added to this mixture at a rate of 4, 8 or 12 oz. per bushel to make up No. I, 2 or 3 potting mixtures respectively.
Always use a new pot just one size larger. If the pot is clay or terracotta and has been used before make sure that it is clean and well scrubbed, and if it is new soak it in clean water for several hours before using it.
Little of this natural activity takes place in the cultivated garden, for leaves are swept up as they fall, grass is cut and removed, animals are either nonexistent or so few in number that no appreciable amount of animal manure is deposited. All the emphasis in the garden is on taking from the soil and none is on putting back into the soil.
This is why gardeners make compost, import farmyard manure, peat, spent hops and other similar bulky organic matter that will rot down to make the humus that the soil must have if it is to be alive and active. And this is why soil composts for our house plants must have on average a higher humus content even than garden soils, for compare the amount of soil available in a pot to the amount available to the same sized plant growing in the woods or the garden !
It is a comparatively simple matter to discover whether a plant is in need of re-potting. If water courses through the soil quickly and little or none is retained in the soil then almost certainly the plant has used up the major part of the soil in which it is growing and this should be replaced.
Anyone can now make and sell John Innes mixtures according to the formulas laid down. There are both seed mixtures and potting mixtures, the latter available in three strengths and numbered 1, 2 and 3. For mature and healthy potted plants the John Innes Potting Compost No. 3 is probably the best. It is made up from : 2 parts by loose bulk of loam; 3 parts by loose bulk of peat; 2 parts by loose bulk of sand added to which is the fertilizer mixture made up of : 2 parts by weight hoof and horn meal; 2 parts by weight superphosphate of lime; part by weight sulphate of potash. The fertilizer is added to this mixture at a rate of 4, 8 or 12 oz. per bushel to make up No. I, 2 or 3 potting mixtures respectively.
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Anxious indoor gardeners that don't have greenhouses or conservatories may be able to take advantage of a `boarding out' scheme sponsored by a local nurseryman that will care for their houseplants temporarily.
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