On Nov 4, 4:21 pm, Don H3 wrote:
On 3 Nov, 13:11, "shazzbat" wrote:

"javawizard" wrote in message

roups.com...

Hi Folks,
Do you have any stupid yet interesting gardening mistakes you'd
like to add towww.stupid-mistakes.com?
Thanks,
- Jeff

No. Once it's on the compost heap, it never happened.

Steve

Do indoors count?
I just started container-gardening.
Following various recommendations I put on average
2 inches of 7/8's inch gravel in the bottom of each
pot and planter, expecting that to aid drainage
and avoid root rot.

(A) The plants I raised from seeds wrapped their
roots around the gravel and couldn't be dislodged
for transplanting or thinning without killing the
plant(s). About 99% of them.

(B) I just found out that an underlying gravel
bed actually RAISES the "water table" for a
given container because the upward "wicking"
effect of soil, all other things being equal,
is determined by *depth* of soil, which I
had reduced by 2 inches, thereby raising the
height to which water is nominally retained
by 2 inches.

Oops.

(This isn't a problem except with container
gardening, because the wicking effect
derives from the *entire* soil-column,
down to the underlying impermeable layer)

i was wondering what this group is all about?
thanks