Ivan wrote:

t I have really wanted is very specific directions, for tree A, x cups of this, y cups of that, etc., all directed at the climate in my backyard. I guess that is unrealistic.

thats impossible, you can have heat at 100*F one day and it can cool by the next but have high winds which can also dry out substract. there is no specific amount of water, all you can do is water the tree thoroughly when substract looks dry to the touch.

Ivan wrote:

Being the numerical person I am what I have really wanted is very specific directions, for tree A, x cups of this, y cups of that, etc., all directed at the climate in my backyard. I guess that is unrealistic.

That's impossible, I'm my humble opinion.

Clicio wrote:

Ivan wrote:

Being the numerical person I am what I have really wanted is very specific directions, for tree A, x cups of this, y cups of that, etc., all directed at the climate in my backyard. I guess that is unrealistic.

That's impossible, I'm my humble opinion.

Sure, it's impossible, but I can dream the impossible dream.

Another question about organics: I clean out the fish tanks and get a bucket full of murky water. If I let it sit, a whole lot of organic material settles out, some of which is uneaten food and some of which is food long after the fish eat it. Is there experience using this for fertilizer?

This is actually where the open airy substrate helps you. You cannot realy overdo your watering. (Not fully true but for arguments sake..). So, if you are away for a spell, you could do what I did this summer: I have a microsprinkler system, which switched on twice a day, for 15 minutes. THis was enough to get all but the largest pot drenched. As we were having 35+C days at the time, the trees loved the intense watering & cooldown.

When I am home, I water as needed. But when away, I do overdose watering. With the open substrate you get very little standing water in the pots, so it is not an issue to for a limit period overwater. And if you get a hot spell, you can set the time to water once during the day if you are at work. When you get home in the evening, you add water where needed, or -better- you do this in the morning.

Yeah, some people swear by their fishtank / pnd filter water. I do not ave this so no experience myself.

I have to think about this. I have to pay the kid to come feed the fish. I resist paying for a watering system. I blame this on my Scottish nature, but my dissertation advisor has the same resistance to spending which he blames on his Dutch nature. Maybe I am just overly cheap.

The gunk from the aquarium can form a cake and dry up to a hard layer on top of the soil. Maybe pouring some plain water right after the aquarium water would break that up. I will experiment.