GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

18-09-2005, 04:52 AM

In article says...
Maybe watering them so frequently is leaching all the nutrients out of
the potting soil? Or perhaps the soil in the small pot had more
nutrients to begin with, if it's fresher than the stuff in the large
pots that have been used for a few years? Are you using any sort of
fertilizer?

These containers get recycled "new" soil every year. The only thing
different I did this year was add more sand to the soil to increase
drainage because I had a lot of extra sand to get rid of. My soils are
about 1/3 mushroom compost, 2/3 potting soil and then I mix in sand and
perlite for drainage. Perhaps I should have used more compost and
decreased the drainage of the morning glory containers. Once they got
big they were voracious water users and it's likely I could have washed
the nutrients from the soil over time. I fertilized a lot early in the
season but once they started flowering I held off but perhaps I should
have also kept with the fertilizer regimen throughout the summer.