Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
Question -
Anthony :
May I please ask about your glass marbles;
- Do you mix these in the substrate of all your trees or just for certain species?
- Is the purpose of the marbles simply to improve drainage? Or something else as well?
- Are there any drawbacks with using them? Do they get too hot in the sun etc.?
Answer-
@Ingvill ,
that was a test of what is known as the Ball Bearing Principle.
[ Introduced by Ms. Iris Cohen about 2010 on IBC, but I believe
the idea was already known and published in the 1980's ]
The idea is simple, the way glass marbles fit in a glass, is the optimum for
soil as drainage and the movement of 02 into the soil.
You can also use this idea with the Leca pebbles. The idea was illustrated
some years ago on IBC [ Internet Bonsai Club ] by Mrs. Yvonne Graebeck
from Denmark, who used the leca to grow Ficus bonsai.
There are several trees down here in marbles [ 16 mm ] and leca [ 8 mm approx.]
and they are doing fine.
All of our trees that can handle full sun are in full sun. However please note though
we have a greater exposure to sunlight, Trinidad is a cloudy, breezy island.
So much so, only April and May are registered for temperatures mostly around 32 deg.C
With the highest high being 34 deg.C.
Additionally the high is only for 30 to 10 minutes.
Rest of the year we average out to 32 by day and 23 deg,C at night with January to March/April
20 to 18 deg.c as our lows [ this year we hit a good many.]
It runs with our Dry Season [ No rain - Jan to May/June ] and Wet Season.
The above is a simple idea that works.
Which is why we only have three ingredients in our soil mil, most of the time only using
two ------ 5 mm silica based gravel and aged compost.
The compost holds the water and fertiliser in the water.
Our humidty runs from 80 % with rain to as low as 45 % with midday sun, but back up to
60 % in the Dry Season Evening/Night/Morning.
Heavy clay soils and lots of vegetation.
We use the compost at mx 3 parts to 7 parts inorganic [ by volume / shovels ]
Our inorganic cannot be broken by roots and thus, when we checked those at the
30 year old level, found only fine feeder roots.
Our 3rd ingredient is crushed fired eartheware brick at 5 mm [ hollow clay building block [
Will absorb water/.fertiliser and for thirsty trees, replaces a % of the gravel.
Good Day
Anthony
Anthony :
May I please ask about your glass marbles;
- Do you mix these in the substrate of all your trees or just for certain species?
- Is the purpose of the marbles simply to improve drainage? Or something else as well?
- Are there any drawbacks with using them? Do they get too hot in the sun etc.?
Answer-
@Ingvill ,
that was a test of what is known as the Ball Bearing Principle.
[ Introduced by Ms. Iris Cohen about 2010 on IBC, but I believe
the idea was already known and published in the 1980's ]
The idea is simple, the way glass marbles fit in a glass, is the optimum for
soil as drainage and the movement of 02 into the soil.
You can also use this idea with the Leca pebbles. The idea was illustrated
some years ago on IBC [ Internet Bonsai Club ] by Mrs. Yvonne Graebeck
from Denmark, who used the leca to grow Ficus bonsai.
There are several trees down here in marbles [ 16 mm ] and leca [ 8 mm approx.]
and they are doing fine.
All of our trees that can handle full sun are in full sun. However please note though
we have a greater exposure to sunlight, Trinidad is a cloudy, breezy island.
So much so, only April and May are registered for temperatures mostly around 32 deg.C
With the highest high being 34 deg.C.
Additionally the high is only for 30 to 10 minutes.
Rest of the year we average out to 32 by day and 23 deg,C at night with January to March/April
20 to 18 deg.c as our lows [ this year we hit a good many.]
It runs with our Dry Season [ No rain - Jan to May/June ] and Wet Season.
The above is a simple idea that works.
Which is why we only have three ingredients in our soil mil, most of the time only using
two ------ 5 mm silica based gravel and aged compost.
The compost holds the water and fertiliser in the water.
Our humidty runs from 80 % with rain to as low as 45 % with midday sun, but back up to
60 % in the Dry Season Evening/Night/Morning.
Heavy clay soils and lots of vegetation.
We use the compost at mx 3 parts to 7 parts inorganic [ by volume / shovels ]
Our inorganic cannot be broken by roots and thus, when we checked those at the
30 year old level, found only fine feeder roots.
Our 3rd ingredient is crushed fired eartheware brick at 5 mm [ hollow clay building block [
Will absorb water/.fertiliser and for thirsty trees, replaces a % of the gravel.
Good Day
Anthony