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Get the Most from Your Potting Soil With These Tips | The Spruce | Jon VanZile

Here's an excerpt:

"Most soil mixes are peat-based, often made with reed or sedge peat, and ​pH adjusted with lime. They are rich and loamy fresh out of the bag, and often they are enhanced with fertilizer or water-retention crystals. If you've been gardening for a long time, though, you may notice that plants rarely thrive in these kinds of soils for too long.

This happens because peat-based soils really aren't designed for long-term use. They're not actually designed for plants at all—they're made for your convenience. They're cheaper to produce, and they are lightweight and easy to bag and sell.

As these soils decompose, a number of negative forces will affect your plants.

Take these steps to ensure your plants have the soil they need:

Improve your bagged soil. It's not a long-term fix, but you can improve on peat-based growing mixes by mixing in a few handfuls of perlite. It won't slow the decomposition rate of the peat, but it will increase aeration.

Flush the soil thoroughly every month, at a minimum. Take the plant to the kitchen sink or outside and thoroughly flush the soil to wash out accumulated salts from fertilizer and deposits from tap water.

Wick your pots. Insert a wick through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. This won't help with compaction, but it will wick away excess water in the pot and help drainage, thus reducing the chance of root rot.

Make your own potting mix. Many growers mix up their own potting mixes based on composted bark, coconut coir, peat, perlite, vermiculite, pumice, and other soil additives. This is a more advanced option, but it is possible to build a soil that will last for two or more seasons if you make it yourself."

 

Pass-Along Plants

"You don't have a garden just for yourself. You have it to share."
— Augusta Carter, Master Gardener, Pound Ridge, Georgia

Pass-along plants have the best stories, don't they?

They have history.

They have a personal history.

One of my student gardeners had a grandmother who recently passed away from breast cancer.

Her mom was no green thumb. But, when her daughter started working in my garden, she let me know that her mom had some plants, and her dad was looking for a place for them. Would I be willing to take one?

Sure. Absolutely, I said.

Next thing I knew, a few weeks later, Mom was walking up to my driveway, carrying one of the largest Jade plants I’ve ever seen. The plant was in a container the size of a 5-gallon paint bucket, and it was just as tall.

I took the plant from her, promising to take good care of it.

When she turned to leave, I asked her mom’s name. I like to name my pass-along plants after the people I get them from, and that’s when the tears started.

When she left, I brought it over to the potting bench and let it sit for a few days. Then, my student gardeners and I set about dividing it and taking care of it. It was a good thing we did it, because the minute we started to take it out of the pot, it became very apparent that this plant was severely waterlogged. It wouldn’t have made it; a knot rescued it from the pot. We removed as much potting soil as we could. We split the plant in half and put them into separate clay pots, which were very heavily perlited, which was just what the doctor ordered. It’s the perfect environment, and now it’s doing fantastic.

But, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it had a little more special meaning to me than just your typical jade plant -because of the look on this woman’s face when she gave me this plant; passing on this little, living thing that her mom had nurtured.

 

Select herbs for both fresh use and drying.

Most herbs have a more concentrated flavor if they are not allowed to bolt or flower.

Frequent harvesting will also accomplish that.

As a bonus, harvesting encourages fresh, vigorous growth and prolongs it throughout the season.

 

Today is World Mosquito Day

Today’s poems are all about the Mosquito, the Minnesota state bird. Here are a few interesting facts about mosquitoes.

First, only the female mosquitoes bite.

The lady mosquitoes use blood protein and other compounds to help them produce and develop their eggs.

Second, they are attracted to Carbon Dioxide.

Mosquitos track CO2 to find their protein sources.

Three, mosquitoes are terrible fliers.

Windy days keep mosquitoes away. This is another reason why I drag a large fan around with me in the garden. The constant flow of air keeps the mosquitoes at bay as well as any bug spray.

 

Botanical History On This Day

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’s Day — the patron saint of beekeepers, bees, and candlemakers, known as the “honey-sweet” doctor for his eloquence and sweetness of speech. Read more about Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

1811 — Thomas Jefferson wrote to Charles Willson Peale, reflecting on his love of gardening and calling it “the most delightful occupation.”

1849 — Carlos Thays, the French-Argentine landscape architect who greened Buenos Aires, was born.

1940 — Elizabeth Lawrence wrote to her sister about her most thrilling bulb, Nerine undulata — “the most exciting bulb I have.”

1948 — Robert Plant, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin and a man whose name every gardener envies, was born.

Unearthed Words

Today is World Mosquito Day — a perfect excuse for poems with bite.
Poems about Mosquitoes by Doug MacLeod and David Sollis

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener's review of French Country Cottage Inspired Gatherings by Courtney Allison.

Buy the book on Amazon: French Country Cottage Inspired Gatherings by Courtney Allison

Today's Botanic Spark

1881 — Edgar Albert Guest, the People’s Poet, reminded us all that the cure for melancholy is to plant a garden.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener

And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.