L A Johnny

02/10/2022

Together, the trees' size and age mean they can have an outsized impact on forest diversity and reproduction.

The oldest trees in the forest carry outsized importance.

12/31/2021

Without the trees . . .

Repost: “We are excited to share that Chef Travis will be cooking under the stars and amongst the olive groves at Temecula Olive Oil Company for an Outstanding in the Field's dinner on Saturday, February 12th 2022.
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Tickets are on sale (link in bio.). Book now to reserve your spot 🗓
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“

12/08/2021

10/18/2021

The City of Ventura is activating the Ramelli Avenue entrance to the Aquatic Center Park. Make sure your jaywalking skills are up to date.

10/13/2021

Test

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

07/30/2021

Federal agents near New Orleans ordered a cargo ship to leave the U.S. after an inspection found wood infested with a type of Asian beetle that has been destroying trees in the U.S. for about 25 years.

02/23/2021

A woman called the Arborist Hot Line today. The red phone. Said her golden retriever had pruned her avocado tree and she didn't know what to do. I said send me a pic. I've seen worse. I recommended she get the dog a pickup trunk and put him to work. That way he might leave her trees alone. Guess what he's going to call his business?

01/22/2021

So, what should we do?
*Be sure planting containers have adequate drainage holes.
*Use a good quality potting soil in your containers.
*DO NOT add gravel or any other coarse material to the bottom of the pot.

HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD THAT PLACING GRAVEL IN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POTS IMPROVES DRAINAGE?

You'll never guess what research has to say about that!

Let's face it, some horticultural myths are REALLY hard to kill! Many gardening books, websites, and even nursery workers offer the advise that placing some sort of coarse material in the bottom of your planting containers will increase drainage. And, why not? It seems logical. Plants don't do well in water-logged soils and gravel or other coarse material in the bottom of pots would seem to allow for better drainage and eliminate the chance of soggy soil. Right?

This is one case when common sense just doesn't pan out.Over one hundred years ago, scientists made the discovery that water does not move well from a fine-textured layer of soil into one with a more coarse texture. In the intervening years, this study has been replicated many times. In fact, one study demonstrated that in a pot of soil with gravel at the bottom, MORE moisture was retained than in a similar pot of soil that had sand at the bottom. This showed that the COARSER the underlying layer is, the more difficulty water has crossing the interface between the two materials.

Even with the pull of gravity, water's movement is inhibited when faced with a need to cross between two very different materials. It only freely makes this journey after the upper layer has become thoroughly saturated. Therefore, adding a coarse material to the bottom of a pot forces the soil above it to become quite water logged before the water is able to pass through the coarse material and out the drainage hole at the bottom.

So, what SHOULD we do?

*Be sure our planting containers have adequate drainage holes.
*Use a good quality potting soil in our containers.
*DO NOT add gravel or any other coarse material to the bottom of the pot.

This is a summary of a report written by Linda Chalker-Scott Ph.D. To read her full report, click on the link below:

https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/container-drainage.pdf

Photo Credit: Canva