Like my spaghetti sauces it is never the same....a lasagna layering of soil from the free range chicken scratch path,rotted wood mulch, free horse stall sweepings, sometimes soil from dead potted plants. First thing to go in always are dead stalks from my cassava and Tithonia diversifolia plants, each almost as tall as the container so they end up nearly vertical...the layers of soil components go in over them and settle into place, then in goes the rose then more soil and a final layer of mulch. When the stalks decay they become wicks for air and moisture flow while providing lignin to help host beneficial mycorrhiza and other fungi and bacteria. In many ways it is the Earth Box greatly simplified and with no standing water at the bottom....plus it is free.
John,...when you plant a rose in an above ground container ( and to remain that way), what soil mixture do you use?
ReplyDeletej
Like my spaghetti sauces it is never the same....a lasagna layering of soil from the free range chicken scratch path,rotted wood mulch, free horse stall sweepings, sometimes soil from dead potted plants. First thing to go in always are dead stalks from my cassava and Tithonia diversifolia plants, each almost as tall as the container so they end up nearly vertical...the layers of soil components go in over them and settle into place, then in goes the rose then more soil and a final layer of mulch. When the stalks decay they become wicks for air and moisture flow while providing lignin to help host beneficial mycorrhiza and other fungi and bacteria. In many ways it is the Earth Box greatly simplified and with no standing water at the bottom....plus it is free.
ReplyDelete