4TH FEBRUARY - SOIL PRESENTATION - ENGLISH VERSION

MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN SOCIETY

CATALONIA BRANCH

4^th February  – Mar I Murtra Botanical Gardens Blanes – 11:00 a.m.

Presentation -  Soils of Catalonia and Plant Health

Given by Peter Steadman

Presentation Description:

Soils are one of the trinity of key factors for plant growth. We will inspect some ways in which soils affect plant health, addressing pH, drainage, macro/micro nutritional elements and obstacles to their availability. We will then look at some of the more extreme cases of soil preferences by plants, before turning to the Costa Brava and trying to predict the soils based on the underlying geology. We will end with an analysis of how our local in-situ soils might stress common plants and what remedial actions might be beneficial.

Peter Stedman biography:

Born near Cape Town in South Africa in 1947 of parents in the armed forces. His father was an avid gardener. Received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and geology from Stellenbosch university and a Masters of Science in structural geology at the University of the Witwatersrand. After a very brief peep into deep underground mining, and not liking what he saw, he worked mainly for Shell and Billiton in minerals exploration in southern Africa and South America with frequent stints in The Netherlands, before finishing off in acquisition and merger evaluations across the globe.

Peter is an excellent speaker and a very knowledgeable gardener.  His talk is very interesting and applicable to gardening in this region I would encourage both professional gardeners and enthusiasts not to miss this presentation.

Lunch will be at the Melangies Restaurant in Blances and will cost 12.50 – please let me know if you would like to attend the presentation and/or the lunch.  Joanball53@gmail.com.