Filed under
Pressing ISS-02
Pressing no.
ISS-02
Granulometry & Gas Exchange: Engineering Peat-Free Epiphytic Substrates
Plate I
Screened 8–16 mm Pinus radiata bark, volcanic pumice, and high-carbon biochar fractions.
Det.
Soren Takahashi
Soil Physicist & Bonsai Agronomist
Pressed
Reading
1 min read
Why root hypoxia—not excess water volume—is the primary driver of rhizosphere collapse in container-grown botanical specimens.
The Myth of Overwatering
Plant roots respire aerobically, consuming molecular oxygen dissolved in the pore spaces of the substrate matrix. When fine organic peat decomposes into sub-millimeter particulates, capillary forces create a perched water table at the bottom of the vessel, displacing oxygen and suffocating root hairs within 48 hours.
By calibrating particle fractions between 8 mm and 16 mm using aged bark, vesicular pumice, and porous stoneware walls, water films adhere to internal micropores while macropores remain continuously open to atmospheric gas diffusion.
From the workshop
Materials named in this pressing
Only the specimens, vessels and tools the author refers to are listed here.
