Re: Battle of the fertilizers???
Thank you Marge. I'll go to the site you posted and read, read, read.
Donna in NE Mississippi zone 7
Marge Talt wrote:
> ----------
> > From: Silke-Maria Weineck <smwei@UMICH.EDU>
> > Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 10:39 PM
> >
> > >Miracle Grow is only ok in the absence of understanding of what
> > >sustainability means.
> >
> > Hm... how about in containers?
>
> For in the ground plants, I essentially agree with Steven, but
> containers are another story. Since they confine the plant roots to
> a medium that may or may not contain sufficient nutrients to begin
> with, and in which the original nutrients will certainly be used
> fairly quickly, one must use some form of fertilizer for the plants
> to thrive.
>
> That said, it really depends on the plant. Some plants, for instance
> Brugmansias, are very heavy feeders and can hardly be over
> fertilized. Others are not heavy feeders and can be fertilized to
> death. Too much fertilizer is as bad or worse than not enough as it
> becomes toxic to the plant. In containers, it builds up a whitish
> crust on the container that needs to be removed periodically.
>
> The thing normally lacking in commercial fertilizers is the
> micronutrients found in healthy soil. Bagged potting mixes also are
> totally lacking in micronutrients (unless they state they have been
> added).
>
> A diet of Miracle Grow or Ozmacote is OK in the short term, esp. for
> throw aways like annuals who are only grown in containers for a
> summer. Plants expected to live their lives in a pot need added
> micros. Using home made compost and leaf mould as well as a small
> amount of native soil in potting mixes for plants helps provide some
> micros in the short term for potted plants, but, in my experience,
> they still need some additional fertilizer because compost tends to
> be rather nitrogen-poor.
>
> Never use Ozmacote on any of the Arisaema family (so goes the wisdom
> on Arisaema-L) as it is toxic to them (this is the jack-in-the-pulpit
> group). There are other plants that may not thrive with Ozmacote.
> Plus, one has to be careful with it since it is released by
> heat/moisture, so a sudden burst of heat and moisture can dump a lot
> of fertilizer too quickly. But, with care, it is good for pots, esp.
> for those of us who cannot maintain a regular regime of using other
> types of fertilizers.
>
> Dr. Kay Lancaster - a regular font of great information on Gardens-L
> list - compiled a most excellent Fertilizer FAQ that Tom Clothier has
> on his web site:
>
> http://www.anet-chi.com/~manytimes/page24.htm
>
> It contains a section "Approximate Analyses Of Commonly Available
> Natural Fertilizers And Soil Amendments" listing about every type of
> "organic" fertilizer...very good to know....as well as a list of
> descriptions for symptoms of mineral deficiencies in plants and much
> more - about everything you ever wanted to know about fertilizers.
>
> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> mtalt@clark.net
> Editor: Gardening in Shade
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