Re: Battle of the fertilizers???
- To: s*@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
- Subject: Re: [SG] Battle of the fertilizers???
- From: P* H*
- Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 01:21:52 EDT
In a message dated 04/26/2000 2:31:54 PM Central Daylight Time,
cajun4@HOME.COM writes:
<<
Are we all in agreement = all fertilizers are the same depending on the
analysis??
12-12-12 is the same in all fertilizers??
8-8-8 is the same in all fertilizers, etc??
Do Miracle Grow type fertilizers really do something special?
How about Osmocote, and like products?
Where do you buy your fertilizers?
Let's hear some feedback from everyone, and their special methods of using
fertilizers.
Thank You = Cajun Joe in New Orleans
>>
Not all formulations are the same-even if the numbers are the same. There are
a few different factors that might effect release. The size of the grains
(small makes for quicker release), The material used to bind the grains
together weather they are coated and if the coating is water dependent or
heat dependent.
Miracle Grow is a great way to fertilize but there are a few ways to use it
which make it even better.
Use less and apply more-is my motto.
If you want large health plants-first pay attention to your soils. Most
garden plants like a soft well aerated soil that is moisture retentive. This
is best accomplished by having a soil high in organics or a heavy mix of
peatmoss and perlite.
Plant roots need Oxygen to thrive so a porous soil will give you the best
results.
Organic matter mixed into a mineral based soil will yield good results by
providing good soil structure. This soil structure produces good gas
exchange with the atmosphere and has a high ability to hold moisture and keep
the soil cool.
Most soils in the world are low in organic content unless you live on a
prairie or grassland ecosystem. Forests have adequate organics and swamps and
bogs to much.
I apply Miracle Grow or a similar product as a foilare spray, Just do not
have the time to make a drench and I can control the amount the plants
receives instead of the soil, were it will wash out in a rain storm.
It does not pay to over fertilize, this produces to rapid of growth and week
leaves (plus the color makes me sick) If you really over fertilize the plants
will stunt and even die. A High ion salt concentration (Fertilizer) will
remove water from the roots and burn root hairs and tips. Just like eating to
much Iron or Calcium in our diet is bad for us. So too with plants and over
fertilizing. If they take up to much of an ion it throws the cellular process
out of whack.
If you have a very organic soil I would recommend using a "complete"
fertilizer like Miracle grow a few times a year. The trace elements should be
helpful in plant growth. Organic soils maybe depleted in one or more of the
trace elements.
A soil that is high in mineral content will not need the trace elements as
much, but ofcoarse this is dependent on the parent material for the soil.
Plants use these chemical elements in their growth:
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Sulfur
Iron
Zinc
Copper
Chlorine
Boron
Molybdenum
The trick is to maintain the proper nutrient level for optimal plant growth,
one cannot do this with a quick release 12-12-12 or 8-8-8. You end up with a
rapid up take of nutrients and a spurt of growth and as the nutrients are
depleted by soil Microorganisms and water, growth slows. Then you apply again
and you get another growth spurt and the cycle happens again.
A slow or time extended release fertilizer supplies a more uniform
application of nutrients to the plants thus maintaining a strong uniform
growth with better results.
For container grown plants I use a slow release fertilizer.
The plants I have in the ground I prepare the soils with optimal soil
structure (as I can afford it) and use a foliar spray once a week on large or
"hungry" plants to once a month on slower growing plants.
Once a year, Time permitting, I will put down a 10-10-10 on the beds in mid
spring.
It makes a noticeable difference.
Trees and shrubs really respond well to a foilar spray too.
I do not think I was a clear As I could have been and there is a lot more to
it than what I babbled about. But for now this will have be my personal take
of fertilizing and what I do.
would be very interested in what works for others
Paul
