MB>Yes testing sounds like the best idea. You think 2 weeks is long
MB>enough to "cure" it?
    I honestly don't know.  I just started using that mix myself.  I
    think it's long enough to get things started - but of course the pH
    is going to continue changing once things start growing.  The only
    way to be reasonably sure is experience.
MB>I added some dolomite to it, but not sure if I added enough.  I
MB>thought if I tilled it in over a large area and added some
MB>dolomite it might be okay. But maybe the compost idea might be
MB>better.  Well I was using it in large 7 gallon containers, and
MB>they are self watering.  I imagine it has salt buildup or
MB>whatever from fertilizer also. I guess that is what you're
MB>talking about with the nitrites.  Maybe you're right and i should
MB>give it more time before adding it directly to the garden.
    You can also try leeching out the accumulated "salts" by simply
    running water through the pots for a few hours.  In the compost any
    nitrates will eventually be converted to nitrates - very good for
    most growing things that need it.
MB>Well actually I was very optomistic and only took one cutting at
MB>the moment.   I plan to try some more though.  It's only maybe
MB>3-4 inches long. I picked the flower buds off, but I didn't mess
MB>with the leaves, other than the ones at the node I was burying.
MB>Since the leaves started dropping so fast I went ahead and picked
MB>all the big leaves and only left the very small ones. They seem
MB>to be holding their own.
     Sounds good.  I expect you can count on perhaps a ten percent
     failure rate - but that can vary a lot.  Doggoned if I know why -
     sometimes there are no losses at all - and sometimes it seems
     everything will die.
MB>Well on the advice I've gotten here I didn't put them in water,
MB>just in a pot, so no water roots.  Are you talking about
MB>impatien cuttings in water?
    Yes, thats what I had the best results with - but I *kept* them in
    water instead of moving them to soil once they developed roots.
    They just kept growing and blooming.  As far as other things are
    concerned - I used to root cuttings or leaves in water - but I gave
    up on that a couple of years ago when someone showed how easy and
    better it was using a rooting medium.  (No soil, basically - just
    vermiculite, perlite, and peat moss).  I have done perhaps forty or
    fifty (perhaps more) with african violet leaves since last May - and
    the losses have been far less than ten percent. (And many of those
    were because a certain ancient dog wanted to make a bed in a nice
    warm rooting flat)  Grin.
MB>I suppose I could experiment, put a few in soil in pots,
MB>and a few in water and see what happens.
     Now that makes sense.  Let us know how they turn out.
 * SLMR 2.1a * 
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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