Soil Mix - Transplanting - Part 2

by Richard Chew



This is continuation of my posting on Soil Mix - Transplanting.



There are some new things that I learned in the past couple of months, that I like to share here.




Below is the soil structure that I used in my previous posting.

In the following, I like to share some changes made that I believe may help improve the soil structure.

I learned by adding perlite into the mixture it improves water drainage dramatically. I extracted the description of Perlite material as below.

Perlite is a unique volcanic mineral which expands from four to twenty times its
original volume when it is quickly heated to a temperature of approximately
1600-1700 degrees F. This expansion is due to the presence of two to six percent
combined water in the crude perlite rock which causes the perlite to pop in a
manner similar to that of popcorn.

When expanded, each granular, snow-white
particle of perlite is sterile with a neutral pH and contains many tiny, closed
cells or bubbles. The surface of each particle is covered with tiny cavities
which provide an extremely large surface area. These surfaces hold moisture and
nutrients and make them available to plant roots.

In addition, because of
the physical shape of each particle, air passages are formed which provide
optimum aeration and drainage. Because perlite is sterile, it is free of
disease, seeds, and insects.

The difference was very obvious. The potting mix that included the perlite material drained out very quickly, almost immediately, however for the potting mix without perlite, water retains above the soil for a few seconds longer. Therefore during continous heavy pouring rain, the mix without perlite is literally submerged in water due to poorer drainage.



Another advantage of mixing perlite is that it improves soil aeration. The soil organism need sufficient air to perform aerobic activities.

The other changes were the soil medium material that I used. I tried compost with mixtures of sand and silt in it; which is also known as Sandy Loam mixture. This helps improve a lot in drainage especially if it is exposed to heavy rain fall. I noticed for soil mixture without Sandy Loam mixture, the soil structure changed during rainy months. The soil became more compact and the heavier soil properties tend to make its way to the lower base, thus increased water retention and may impede water drainage at the base.

When soil is compact, soil aeration is reduced thus changes the organism metabolic activities in the soil. Lesser air in soil, raises anaerobic activities. The increased of anaerobic activities will affect the soil pH and eventually affect the nutrients availability for the roots.

Some of the symptoms of lack balanced nutrients are leaves defoliate rapidly, new buds turn black, some stems may suffer dieback and many leaves turning yellow.

The above is the improved version.

I realised each supplier/producer package the peat moss differently. Some of them are pre-mixed with compost, that makes up to soil pH of 6. However there are some that is not pre-mixed with compost, therefore their soil pH could go as low as pH 4.5 to 5. It is always good to check the peat moss pH before using for top soil layer.

The correct top soil layer should have a pH 6, slightly acidic.

In my earlier posting, I mentioned using 50% of peat moss for top soil layer, that is because the peat moss that I purchased was pre-mixed with compost, the pH was slightly acidic.

If your peat moss is less than pH6, then it is advisable to mix it with some compost, otherwise the soil will be too acidic and may stunt the growth.

Apart from using brown mulch, coconut powder can also be applied if loose brown mulch is not available. The objective of including brown mulch or coconut powder in the mixture is too loosen the soil and provide some additional organic material to fuel soil organism activities for decomposition.

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Soil Mix - Transplanting

by Richard Chew

I suppose most of you would likely have this common question to me.

What do you put in the pot that causes the roses to bloom with pretty flowers? How do you start?

Just to give you an idea, I made a simple diagram for ease of understanding.

Basically the purpose of the coconut mulch and charcoal is simply to hold the soil and prevent the soil from escaping through the drainage holes. Charcoal is good material against fungal infection.

Based on experiences so far, it is best to mix soil with grass cuttings, a ratio of 9:1 would be sufficient before you transplant your roses into the soil. The purpose of this is to improve drainage and also to kick start the microbes activities beneath the soil. The new bag of soil that you got from your gardening shop is very likely had been dormant for couple of weeks, so by mixing grass cuttings into the soil, you induced (or 'instigate') the soil bacterias into action. Grass cuttings (dried type) is excellent source of nitrogen too.

Believe me, it really does make a difference. Even if you purchased a ready pre-mixed soil, it is still more effective to add in grass cuttings (of 1/10 portion) as you transplant. It also helps to improve the soil structure, especially to counter the heavy showers of rain.

As the rose is being transplanted, you may want to loosened some of the roots from the root ball. However do not attempt to remove the soil attached in the root ball. The last time I did that, my rose 'layu' the next day. There are probably millions of micro-organism living in the root ball that aids in nourishing the plant roots. You don't want to mess with them. These micro-organism forms an unusual Symbiotic relationship with the plant roots. Both needs each other to co-exist. Removing the dirt from the root ball is not doing a favour to your plants. It suffers when you break the mutual relationships.

Lastly I want to share is the Top Soil Layer. This is the most important ingredient or recipe for good flowers. I don't think I can share everything within a single posting as I am still learning the trade. However I like to share the purpose of dividing an equal ratio of peat moss and grass cuttings. The main reason is to form better aeration at the top layer. If too much peat moss, it tends to tightened the top layer thus reduces soil aeration and increases excess moisture retention. At such a rainy season, maintaining a ratio of 1:1 (peat moss and grass cuttings) is better.

It is necessary to have sufficient peat moss too, because it aids in decomposition of organic fertilizer. I will reserve my suggestions on fertilizer mix in future postings. Having said that, it is important to note when transplanting, the root ball has to be planted at least 5 cm below the container brim. This is to allow sufficient depth for your top soil mix.

I will conclude this here. If you are considering transplanting, try this mixture. Hope it works for you!!! I believe it will!!