A question from the free-thinking gardening rebel.
Decades ago when I was learning how to garden it was standard practice to dig a hole twice the width and depth of the container and mix compost 50/50 with the native soil. When I was about to graduate, I was in a senior seminar class where a student pointed out that in Basic Soils we learned that "layers are bad for drainage" and suggested that it might be better to loosen soil twice as wide as the container and only as deep without mixing in compost. Since then this has become standard practice.
Along those lines I'm questioning our irrigation practices. Conventional wisdom here in CA is to water thoroughly but infrequently in the summer and reduce irrigation in the winter when it rains. Considering that 'Mediterranean climate' plants are adapted to warm DRY summers and cool WET winters, wouldn't it be better to water the other way; i.e. thorough deep watering between rain events in the winter and significantly reduced irrigation during the summer. These plants tend to be semi-dormant in the summer and susceptible to Phytophthora crown and root rots when watered in the summer.
Let me know your thoughts.
