Attmos
Chumono
I just read "Introductory to Soil Physics". It's really good. I understand now why sifting for same size particles makes a difference, particle density vs. porosity, capillary action, gravitational effects, and more.
What I'm left wondering, though, is how this affects size and type of roots grown.
If smaller grain is used with more exposure to evaporation, maintaining a good AFP and WFP, will it still grow large healthy feeder roots?
From what I've seen and read, It seems to me like the larger the open space between particles, the larger roots grow. Meaning that any kind of fine grained soil, no matter how well managed, won't ever produce the root structure needed for bonsai.
I know (well, I've been told) that top soil sucks. Trees need larger particles. But is that need, to support them in small pots, or to grow nice roots...?
Balance is always necessary, but it seems like some forms of balance are better than others.
What I'm left wondering, though, is how this affects size and type of roots grown.
If smaller grain is used with more exposure to evaporation, maintaining a good AFP and WFP, will it still grow large healthy feeder roots?
From what I've seen and read, It seems to me like the larger the open space between particles, the larger roots grow. Meaning that any kind of fine grained soil, no matter how well managed, won't ever produce the root structure needed for bonsai.
I know (well, I've been told) that top soil sucks. Trees need larger particles. But is that need, to support them in small pots, or to grow nice roots...?
Balance is always necessary, but it seems like some forms of balance are better than others.
), a larger grained non-organic soil mix will foster the development of a coarser root structure than found with trees grown in a finer/smaller grained non-organic soil mix, but microscopic feeder roots will be abundant in both mixes. Fwiw, larger grained mixes are associated with more rapid growth and are used frequently with trees in development while finer grained soils are used for both smaller trees and very developed trees.
