GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

FarmI · 11-05-2009, 04:55 AM posted to rec.gardens

"Billy" wrote in message
"David E. Ross" wrote:
On 5/9/2009 6:45 AM, wrote:

I had an organic gardening book from Sunset many years ago - we're
talking decades - that contained a recipe for making your own soil.
It had peat, sand, dolomitic lime and low-nitrogen fertilizer.

I'm looking at Sunset's "Western Garden Book" (second edition, 9th
printing, December 1965). On pages 31-31, they describe "U.C. Mix: The
New Artificial Soil". According the the book, the mix was first
developed in 1950. The primary intent was to develop a mix for
container gardening and raised beds.

There are four different recipes for the mix, depending on the types of
plants:
* general
* cacti, succulents, and other drought-resistent plants
* azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, and other acid-loving plants where
drainage is restricted
* light-weight for azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias

The mix is hardly organic. Even your cited dolomite lime is inorganic.
All four recipes involve potassium sulfate and superphosphate. For all
four recipes, there is also a single, standard follow-up monthly feeding
that includes ammonium nitrate (which I think is restricted since the
Oklahoma City bombing).

If you want one specific recipe, let me know. I won't bother
transcribing all four recipes (almost 1-1/2 pages of small type).

You have the answer but you won't give it to him, because your's is
better? He didn't ask for your opinion. He asked for the recipe which
you acknowledge having. If you are a mench, you'll give him what he
asked for. Otherwise, know what you'll be? Yeah, you know ;O)

David's response makes sense to me.

I wouldn't want to type out a page and a half without more info from the OP.