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  • From: Alliums <garlicgrower AT snip.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Problems starting plants
  • Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 20:30:45 -0500


Martin wrote:

> One question though-- Did I understand you correctly that carried
> over potting soil will degrade to the point that it will cause
> problems if you use it in another year?

No, you're right about keeping it dry, clean and in a cool place -- *good*
potting soil will keep for years most likely, but as yours had proven that
it was nasty, evil, *plant root strangling* potting soil, it seemed
that it has lost all claim to the title of "potting soil" and should be
downgraded to "soil amendment".

> Having listened to a great presentation on vermicomposting by Kelly
> Slocun at the VABF conference in early Feb and now am reading
> another article in Organic Gardening, I've got to get those worms
> ordered come hell or high water!

You want the worms -- I started my worm box in February 1997 and it has
changed my life! (Okay, maybe just the life of my seedlings, but if their
lives are happy, my life is happy! ;-D) Seriously, OG had an article last
year about a study saying that worm castings made seedlings grow faster -- I
thought my tomatoes were shooting out of the pots because they were rangy,
indeterminate heirloom things that live leaf out, but I'm thinking that the
worm castings in the potting soil is making the difference. I just planted
my tomatoes this week because the worm castings will get the plants large
enough in plenty of time to set out. . .

> Having grown up in conservative Mennonite circles, [. . .]

Hey, some of my best friends are Mennonites! ;-) In fact, one of those
friends is a Beachy Amish Mennonite -- gosh did he laugh when I informed him
that according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he belonged to a "liberal"
sect! ;-D

My grandfather was Church of the Brethern, but switched to the German
Reformed Church when he married my grandmother. Then the German Reformed
Church merged into the United Church of Christ (and that church is
practically the defination of liberal [Really! Check out www.ucc.org])! To
the great consternation of my mother, I am supposedly just as ornery, just
as stubborn and just as magnificant a grower as both my grandfather and my
great-grandmother. I think there's a compliment in there somewhere, but
gosh, if my mom doesn't feel betrayed by her family tree to provide it! ;-)

Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460





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