Re: fertilizers, Please help

I'm sure you know what you're talking about, but I use household ammonia on
plants with some regularity, in an effort to kill slugs. I haven't seen
adverse effects on plants. Obviously, I haven't had science courses in
higher education. Since I didn't want to major in science, I wasn't allowed
to take even basic biology. In two different institutions.

I do know that here where our soil is quite alkaline Extension agents
sometimes advise using sulphur to lower the pH. That is why I assumed that
the sulfur was the acidic component of ammonium sulfate. Margaret L


At 10:11 AM 4/29/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Perhaps I should add for the benefit of City Folks, that anhydrous
>(water-free) ammonia is a gas which farmers use as fertilizer.  The
>liquified gas is injected directly into the soil, where it dissolves in any
>moisture present.  It can then bind to any humic acid and acidic minerals
>present in the soil.  It would produce an alkaline reaction in the soil, as
>would household ammonia.
>
>Jim
>
>>
>>Household ammonia is very alkaline, pH probably about 10 -- not good stuff
>used directly on any plants!   "Ammonia" is ammonium hydroxide when in water.
>>
>>The only thing that counts in the soil is the overall pH that the material
>produces.  Ammonium sulfate has an acidic reaction in water and creates an
>acid pH when applied to soil.
>>
>>As others have noted, there are only two forms of nitrogen which plants
>can absorb:  ammonium and nitrate.  Nitrate is generally more easily
>absorbed by plants, but they have to convert it to amine/amide/ammonium
>form to metabolize it.
>>
>>Jim Shields
>>
>>
>
>*************************************************
>Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5     Shields Gardens, Ltd.
>P.O. Box 92                                    WWW:    http://a1.com/daylily/
>Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA                              Tel.
+1-317-896-3925
>
>
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