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Why compost is a bad choice?


cisco

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Why compost is a bad choice for palm trees? I need to be able to tell other people why compost is not good for palm trees. What can I say to them? Can you help with that? I myself do not use it. In Finland, all Palm trees are growing only in pots.

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Where did you read that compost is bad ?  Periodic applications of finished compost over the garden beds is highly recommended.  This provides nutrition that is superior to synthetic salt fertilizers.  Synthetic fertilizers can harm the soil ecology because of the high osmotic potential of the salts.

Compost does raise the soil elevation of the garden beds, and for this reason it would not be used in potted plants.  Other than raising the soil level I cannot imagine any negative to the regular use of compost.  :) 

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San Francisco, California

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On 27.7.2018, 17:05:54, Darold Petty said:

Where did you read that compost is bad ?  Periodic applications of finished compost over the garden beds is highly recommended.  This provides nutrition that is superior to synthetic salt fertilizers.  Synthetic fertilizers can harm the soil ecology because of the high osmotic potential of the salts.

Compost does raise the soil elevation of the garden beds, and for this reason it would not be used in potted plants.  Other than raising the soil level I cannot imagine any negative to the regular use of compost.  :) 

I guess you misunderstood it: It is said to be bad only to potted palms, esp. in small pots.

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My photos at flickr: flickr.com/photos/palmeir/albums

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27 minutes ago, Pal Meir said:

I guess you misunderstood it: It is said to be bad only to potted palms, esp. in small pots.

100% agree.  Compost on potted palms = palm death.  I have killed a LOT of palms this way until I was educated.   Almost always caused root rot.

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Cisco, I think that that explanation that you are looking for is that,

Compost would usually hold too much water and pathogenic organisms in a pot, perhaps due to the decomposition or rotting process.

Now I'm guessing here but, Outside in the ground in a more natural environment, nature seems to be able to balance out or kill excess unhealthy fungi, virus and bacteria that live happily in compost, that can damage plants, with wind, rain, sun and cold perhaps.

I also have found it hard to come to terms with the fact that potted plants need a completely different growing medium than they would get in nature, in the ground. We can usually grow potted plants in an artificial environment to a far more healthy and attractive condition than they can achieve in their natural environment, which is the opposite to what I might expect.

Also look at the hydroponics industries that grow perfect vegetables etc in a completely artificial and sterile environment with no soil at all.

Sometimes we can improve on nature.

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Cheers Steve

It is not dead, it is just senescence.

   

 

 

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I've been growing a Canary Island Date Palm in compost for awhile, but I made sure to amend it well with a lot of organic matter to provide air and some peat.  It grows like a weed.

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36 minutes ago, Anthony_B said:

I've been growing a Canary Island Date Palm in compost for awhile, but I made sure to amend it well with a lot of organic matter to provide air and some peat.  It grows like a weed.

Most Phoenix spp grow like weeds, even without any (real) soil. Below a pic with palms in tiny pots filled only with crushed LECA, neither organic matter nor organic fertilizer added:

5b5de95888f44_Phoenixreclinata84N01-0104

My photos at flickr: flickr.com/photos/palmeir/albums

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Thanks for all the answers. And yes, only the pot is what I meant. Your answers supported what I myself had been thinking. Thank you.

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