Inoculating bulbs?

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
Thu, 04 Feb 2016 17:11:52 PST
When I lived in the country and grew many kinds of bulbs in pots in 
unheated frames, I always made up my potting soil with coarse sand, 
pumice, and topsoil that I dug in my alder woodland and sieved. During 
potting season I started each day by preparing a large wheelbarrow of 
this gritty, mainly leafmold soil, which I then mixed with the other 
ingredients, which I was able to buy by the truckload. This introduced a 
wide range of microorganisms to the bulbs' soil. I always felt that this 
helped. Now I can't get natural topsoil (the soil in my new garden is 
heavy clay, which can't be mixed in) and the bulbs are not growing as 
well, even though I fertilize them adequately. I'm gradually changing 
the soil mix in my bulb beds to incorporate more pumice and organic 
matter, but it's impossible to buy organic soil components here that 
don't contain composted bark and/or sawdust (unless you choose straight 
manure), and I have always thought wood products are bad for 
summer-dormant bulbs.
Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA



On 2/4/2016 4:36 PM, Karl Church wrote:
> Travis,
>
> As a Master Gardener, I've heard several speakers talk on need to protect
> the microorganisms in the soil if you want excellent growth. So I suspect
> you have a good idea regarding those bulbs that tend to be difficult to
> grow outside their native location. It would be interesting if someone did
> the research.
>




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