North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>]

Well, the company agrees with you.  Although the package (pictured on  
their website) says "Gardening Soil.  For potting outdoor containers &  
planting beds and gardens" the response from the company says in part:

"The Cobscook blend gardening soil is heavy for growing vegetables.  It
works well to enhance the soil with organic matter as an amendment, but
it doesn't provide enough pore space for many veggies and some annuals
when used in containers.... "

and goes on to offer me a free replacement product next year.  I  
noticed that the weed seeds that have germinated in that pot haven't  
grown much, either - they have some mature leaves but are tiny, the  
size of seedlings.  The other pots had some healthy wood sorrel and  
similar until I pulled them out this evening.

Ginda

On Sep 2, 2009, at 11:56 AM, Melissa Kacalanos wrote:

> I haven't checked email for a while, so forgive me if someone  
> mentioned this already, but we're talking about a soil amendment  
> that was used as potting soil? I think the problem is simple, then,  
> since potting soil has very specific drainage requirements. You  
> can't just take a soil amendment meant for the garden and expect it  
> to do well when used straight in a pot, since it probably doesn't  
> have the right drainage. It might lead to problems even if used in  
> too high a concentration in the garden, since the nutrient levels  
> might be too high, and might burn roots. I bet this amendment was  
> meant to be spread thinly over a garden and mixed in, not used  
> straight.
>
> Melissa