Iris

I think you need to go through the posts again.

If you carry this "natural" soil argument to its ultimate conclusion, we
would
not grow bonsai at all.

It is a healthy discussion and not an argument. Many Bonsaiest around the
world still grow that way.

We would leave all the trees in the woods, live in
caves, and eat raw meat.

That is an overstatement.


If God didn't want us to develop technology, He would
not have given us a large brain and opposable thumbs. Even Betty the crow
makes
tools. If you don't want to use modern methods which research has
developed to
grow healthier trees, you don't have to. If your methods work for you,
fine.

You are barking the wrong tree! It is because of the large brain and
opposite thumbs that we can make Bonsai or recreate *nature in miniature*.
In fact Bonsai is an amalgam of Art and Science, and roll of Science and
Technology is indispensable in Bonsai practice. One can not do without the
Bonsai tools or the knowledge of Science of plants, but Bonsai culture
varies from place to place and we should share our perceptions and
experiences.

I will continue to use the methods that work for me, including soilless
mixes,
weekly feeding with organic and inorganic fertilizers, and insecticides
whan
necessary. And I will continue to keep myself & my plants indoors in the
winter.

Why not, that is your PREROGATIVE.


By the way, the products we use in soilless potting media: crushed gravel,
bark, perlite, vermiculite, and charcoal, are just as natural as garden
dirt,

What is garden dirt I don't know, what I mentioned was good FERTILE SOIL
from the country side from which grow different crops.

Regards

Anil Kaushik
Bonsai Club (India)
Chandigarh "The City Beautiful"

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