Soil Composition Information and Photos of Berkeley Research Garden # 1

Berkeley Research Garden 1

Garden Facts:

This garden provides genetic research material of coast redwoods in the form of vibrant, new growth bud-and-stem cuttings of a very tall and fast-growing specimen. The entire garden currently consists of the genetic sample SR-4 from Sequoia Redwoods. Estimated production of these samples began in the summer of 2008. APD obtained them in the summer of 2009 as size 02 starts which were approximately 1 year old and six inches high. Current height is approximately 12 - 18 inches. Growth was held back because of less-than-optimum soil mixture, nutrient delivery, container type, and water/nutrient delivery. Lack of microbial and mycorrhyzial activity is suspected as a possible factor.

In Winter of 2011 we transplanted the garden into super-aerated soft pots of the in-ground type and employed the cinder block root insulation method, as inspired by RootMaker. We also purchased high-aeration propagation trays from RootMaker (along with a few other odd pots) and are in the process of experimenting with their performance in redwood production. Regardess of their performance, we expect that the soft pot and high-aeration trays will become the standard for redwood propagation in the future.

In another development, we also began to use a 40-gallon reservoir in combination with a Hanna meter in order to measure the pH and PPM of our reservoir and mix in nutrients. gravity-feed system. Chlorine and chloramine are being removed from the water and innoculants are now being used on a regular basis.

The goal of Garden 1 is to develop multiple methods of propagating redwoods from both cuttings and plantlets. Methods being explored include conventional cuttings in combinations with various types, forms, and doses of hormones, and a more modern and mass-production tissue culture approach.

The garden consists of a 10x9 square of redwoods and 3 tall additional redwoods in the back. Soil composition of the garden includes perlite, peat moss, and DTE-brand compost in nine different ratios. There are 10 redwoods per row. The ratio map is as follows:


















The following images are of the garden. Enjoy!