Question about Al's mix, tomatoes, peppers, and CRF's
dapper
16 years ago
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justaguy2
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agowyndell
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Anyone try Peppers and Tomatoes in Gritty Mix?
Comments (85)Ideal2545, did you ever expect all this when you asked about a growing mix for your tomatoes and peppers? I had hoped to get back to this sooner, but life has been very busy the last number of weeks and I had a limited amount of time I could devote to scholarship on this. Tapla, I have no idea where or by whom the quotes you apparently want to present as authoritative relative to Ca:Mg ratios and "antagonistic deficiency" were generated. I said in my post above, "I can find no science demonstrating a Ca:Mg ratio that must be maintained to prevent an "antagonistic deficiency." Once again, I'd love to see a reference." Since you refused to provide a reference, I did my own search. The concept of an optimal Ca:Mg ratio is contained in the theory called the basic cation saturation ratio (BCSR). BCSR also includes potassium in the theory that holds that certain ratios of calcium, magnesium & potassium cations must be maintained for optimal plant growth. Loew and May, mentioned in your quote, published this notion in 1901. I am providing everyone a link to a review that discusses the development and then the discarding of the BCSR concept. It has been proven SCIENTIFICALLY to be incorrect about 30 years ago. The authors conclude their review stating, "The data do not support the claims of the BCSR, and continued promotion of the BCSR will result in the inefficient use of resources in agriculture and horticulture." https://www.agronomy.org/publications/sssaj/articles/71/2/259 The authors do point out in the review that many soil testing labs push BCSR because it sells more fertilizer. Their implication is that the 2 industries are linked in many cases. I do not know if that is true or not, but one would not be surprised if it is true. Another publication entitled "Calcium-Magnesium Ratios: Setting the Record Straight" from the University of Minnesota ends with the statement, "It's an outdated, antique concept that has no value in high yield, modern agriculture." http://www.extension.umn.edu/cropenews/2003/03mncn07.htm I can not find the origin of the following quote, but it appears on a lot of sites around the web. According to Dr. Stanley Barber, Purdue University, "There is no research justification for the added expense of obtaining a definite Ca:Mg ratio in the soil. Research indicates that plant yield or quality is not appreciably affected over a wide range of Ca:Mg ratios in the soil." Dr. Barber, who died in 2002, was a member of the US National Academy of Sciences for 15 years and is possibly the premier figure in the development of soil science. http://www.spectrumanalytic.com/support/library/ff/Ca_Basics.htm It now makes sense why I could find no mention of any of this in Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. It is because these concepts were scientifically discarded about 30 years ago. Relative to BER, I almost do not know where to start. In my post, I provided a link to a 2005 review that is authored by one of the leaders in scientific research on BER. Dr. Ho has a VERY long list of publications about BER. Tapla responded with a quote from Dr. Carolyn Male of unknown source and date. When I check Dr. Male's publication history on pubmed and google scholar, I can only find 3 publications, none of which have anything to do with BER. I do see that she authored a book in 1999 entitled "Smith & Hawken: 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden." From what I can read of it on Google, it looks like a good book, but it is out of print. I am also aware that she was for a number of years a major figure in Seed Savers Exchange much to her credit. All of which is fine, but I am betting if one asks Dr. Male where her understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving BER is derived, she will say through reading the scientific literature. I also bet if you ask her who knows more about BER, herself or Dr. Ho, she will say Dr. Ho. I do not say this to belittle Dr. Male in any way. I presume she is a very smart, capable person. But the quote you provide from her appears antiquated. I do not find it particularly enlightening. If Dr. Male is the scientist you believe her to be, I feel pretty certain she will acknowledge that she can not preclude the possibility that there could be sets of growing conditions where egg shells contribute in preventing BER during tomato growth. Once again, everyone can choose which source(s) of information to depend upon to further their understanding and inform their growing decisions. Tapla is clearly very generous with his time and appears to genuinely want to be helpful. He is apparently a very skilled bonsai practitioner. When I first started reading Tapla's posts, I thought he must really know his stuff. However, as I read more of his posts, I kept reading statements that were scientifically nonsensical. As I read more & more of the plant biology and horticultural literature, I came to the realization that Tapla simply does not understand what he is talking about much of the time and offers explanations that are frequently WAY off the mark like the notion of antagonisms between Ca:Mg and his use of calcium magnesium ratios. He uses big, scientific sounding words, but what he writes is often simply gibberish. It is my impression that the solutions Tapla suggests, while typically workable at some level, often direct people away from other workable solutions that are potentially much more attractive to many, or even most, of the folks out there trying to solve a growing problem or simply grow bigger or faster or cheaper, etc. In no way am I saying that the solutions Tapla promotes are unworkable. They typically do appear to be workable. However, after a lot of research, I have chosen other approaches that work for me that Tapla contends should not. In trying to understand Tapla's approaches, I have NEVER seen Tapla point anyone to a scientific publication that supports his opinions. I have seen him post authoritative sounding quotes as he does above but I have never seen a reference that allows you to go read the larger work. I have seen plenty of people, me included, ask to be directed to those references or the experiments/experience that support his statements only to be ignored by Tapla, which in my professional world as a scientist is a sin second only to lying about data. Not good. Certainly in science, and I believe in most aspects of life, there is true value in sharing sources of information when trying to solve a problem or transmit knowledge. I try to do this in all my posts and I happily note others do too. Sharing information sources provides everyone with the opportunity to review positions based on shared information. ALL of us get things wrong from time to time. Providing people with the body of information you used to get from A to B empowers anyone who wishes to review the thinking and point out any apparent mistakes or short-comings. Tapla's routine refusal to direct anyone to source material has a very direct underlying message. A person who does this sort of thing is saying by his/her action that he/she believes you are too stupid to read source material or examine how a particular experiment was performed and come to your own judgment. He/she is saying by his/her action that he/she is privy to knowledge that only he/she can understand and interpret. As insults go, it is very demeaning. I hope everyone recognizes that this insult is directed at each and every person that reads this forum. At another level, it is a power game that puts the individual with a "superior knowledge" which is unattainable to the rest of the poor souls out there in a position to always have the last word. As I said above, it is a behavior that there is NO tolerance for in science. Fortyonenorth, you ask what my issue is with Tapla. It is his behaviors that I describe above. He constantly portrays himself as scientific and then behaves in a manner that NO ONE in science has any tolerance for and is DEEPLY offensive and insulting to anyone who cares about science. In the initial part of Tapla's response to a post of mine on the Figs 4 Fun forum, he for whatever reason found it necessary to recite some of his credentials rather than agree with or disagree with or even discuss the substantive points I had raised in that post. Credentials do not make statements correct or incorrect. If an explanation to a question is correct, I do not believe it matters whether it came from someone who never graduated from high school or someone who earned a PhD from Harvard. My understanding is that a primary purpose of this and similar forums to share experiences and information to help each other have better growing experiences. Part of that process should be discussion from shared information sources and rational disagreement if needed. When the issues have a scientific component or are informed by my practical experiences, I will try to add to the discourse. Sorry to go on so. Good luck with your gardens!...See MoreAl's mix, tomatoes in self-watering 5gal planters and fertilizer
Comments (9)Mark, the modified mix Al recommends is a good place to start, but are you planning on covering the container and relying upon a strip of fertilizer on the surface to feed the plants? This is critical because if you will use the cover/fert strip you really need a fast wicking potting mix and this means peat and vermiculite. What I often tell people getting started with Earthboxes where a cover and fertilizer strip will be used is that the system was designed with peat based mixes and it works very well with them so give that a try for a year. It will give you a good frame of reference for tinkering in subsequent years. Assuming you do not wish to do this then: I would encourage you to make a mix and set it outside to see if it will keep the surface moist for a couple days before committing. This is if you will use the cover and fertilizer strip. If you won't use either then Al's mix (original or modified) will work fine. Keep in mind my experience is in Wisconsin, somebody in a hotter/drier/windier climate might need to modify a bit. Even with the cover on, the wind gets under it from the holes we must cut for the plants. This wind may not seem like much, but it can quickly dry the surface. You really do need to test though, that's the best approach. Just do it outside. I say this because I made the mistake of evaluating how well various materials wicked *inside* (I was going through an endless winter and wanted a gardening 'project'). How something wicks indoors is waaaay different than how it wicks outside due to temp, wind, humidity etc. Again though, you really only need to modify Al's mix with fast wickers like vermiculite or peat if you want to use the cover and fert strip. One last tip, if you find that the very surface goes and stays dry, but an inch down it's moist you can simply bury the fertilizer strip an inch under the surface. This gives more latitude in compromising between a coarse mix that drains well and one that can wick fast enough to keep that fert strip working. Happy growing....See MoreTomatoes in containers and Al's 5-1-1 mix
Comments (5)I replied to your thread in the tomato forum and will copy/paste it here. Hopefully someone who knows about the soil conditioner product you have chosen will post as well. __________ You have to be careful about the wood. If you are using pine/fir bark you are fine. If you are using part bark, part sapwood you may be looking at a nitrogen immobilization problem as the sapwood ties up N as it breaks down. The reason for using pine bark as the basis of a mix is that is breaks down very slowly (much slower than peat). By using sapwood, the slow decomp is negated and N immobilization can/likely will occur. In any event, fertilizer is absolutely required in containers as the mix has no real store of nutrients to sustain the plants. Normally a fertilizer in a 3:1:3 ratio would be good, but if your mix contains sapwood you might choose 3:1:2 instead such as Miracle Grow 24-8-16 to try to offset the N immobilization from the sapwood. It's a bit of a guessing game if your mix contains sapwood as the N tied up by the decomp of the sapwood will be released at some point....See MoreAnother Al's Mix Question
Comments (16)Apparently there is some problem with the site's security certificate, so I'll just post the entire article: Blossom End Rot (BER) in Tomatoes by Carolyn Male Subject: Blossom End Rot Blossom End Rot (BER) is one of the most common tomato problems seen in the early part of the season. It is a physiological condition, not a disease caused by a fungus, a bacterium or a virus. Therefore it cannot be treated. And as I'll explain below, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to prevent. BER has nothing to do with the blossoms, it refers to the fact that at the end of the tomato opposite the place where the tomato is attached to the stem, called the stem end, is the bottom of the tomato, which is called the blossom end. You often can see remnants of the blossom attached to that end as the tomato forms. At the blossom end one sees a flattened area that looks leathery and initially brown and then black, as the fruit rots. BER is said to occur when there is uneven watering, drought, heavy rainfall, excessive nitrogen fertilization, rapid plant growth or root pruning during cultivation, high winds and rapid temperature changes. So lots of conditions have been associated with BER. But the rapid plant growth and nitrogen fertilization are both common to conditions seen early in the season, and indeed, that is when most BER occurs. Then it usually just goes away. BER occurs because under the conditions just stated, Ca++ moves from the fruit into the vasculature (stems) of the plant. Or, some feel that Ca++ never reaches the fruits because under stress demand for Ca++ exceeds supply. This lowered amount of Ca++ is what causes BER. Excessive rates of transpiration (kind of like sweating in humans) also is involved in Ca++ displacement. Thus, the plant as a whole is NOT Ca++ deficient, the Ca++ has just been displaced. Many books and magazine articles tell you that by adding Ca++ in the form of lime or eggshells, for instance, that you can prevent BER. That does NOT appear to be true. University field trial experiments have so far failed to show that BER can be prevented by addition of Ca++. Peppers and many cole crops are also susceptible to BER and there's quite a bit of literature on BER and Ca++ for those crops also. The results are the same; addition of Ca++ does not prevent BER. Some data strongly suggests that foliar spraying with Ca++ is of no use because not enough gets to the fruits to do any good. And it's known that the sprays for fruits that are sold are useless. No molecules can get across the fruit epidermis. If they did, just what do you think would happen to the fruits when it rained. Not all varieties of tomatoes get BER. Some never do, others are horrible. That's not surprising since certainly there are slight physiological differences between varieties. After all, almost all garden tomatoes, with the exception of the currant tomatoes are in the same genus and species, Lycopersicon lycopersicum. And we humans are all in the same species, Homo sapiens, var. sapiens....and look how different some of our physiologies are. Whoa! So, BER is a physiological condition, cannot be cured, and current literature data suggests it cannot be prevented. It occurs on some, but not all varieties of tomatoes, is usually seen early in the season and then stops, for most folks. It would be nice to say that you could even out your watering, prevent droughts and heavy rainfalls, ensure even and not rapid growth of plants and not disturb the roots by shallow cultivating. But on a practical basis, I think we all know that's almost impossible. So, BER has never bothered me, I just ignore it, and it goes away with time. Adding Ca++ to soils that are Ca++ deficient makes sense, but few soils are. And if soils are acidic, Ca++ is not taken up well but addition of Epsom Salts to the soil can aid in Ca++ uptake in such acidic soils. Many folks add Ca++ and then see that BER disappears. What they fail to realize is that BER is going to go away anyway, as the season progresses. And that's because as the plants get larger they are better able to handle the many stresses that can induce it. So one cannot correlate addition of Ca++ to disappearance of BER. Universities have done so many studies on this already because BER is a billion dollar problem in the commercial veggie industry. Of all the stresses that can induce BER the two that are most under control of the home gardener are fertilization and water delivery. That is, too much fertilizer causes plants to grow too rapidly and is perhaps one of the major causes of BER developing. Too rich soils do the same thing. Plant growth simply outstrips the ability of Ca++ to get to the fruits. Mulching to help ensure even delivery of water can also be done and is also one of the two major causes, in my humble opinion, of BER. BER appears usually on half ripe fruits but also can appear on grass green ones. Lack of Ca++ only occurs at the blossom end of the fruit and it causes tissue destruction which leads to that papery grayish/blackish lesion appearing. Now sometimes that lesion opens up and fungi and bacteria enter and that causes the rotting and also the appearance of fungal growth on and in the lesion. Just pick off any BER fruits that appear and soon the next fruits to ripen will BER-less. Many books, magazine articles and websites still say to add Ca++ as lime, eggshells, etc, and seem not to be aware of all the research that has been done in the last 20 years. But many books, magazine articles, are now sharing this newer information about addition of Ca++ not being able to either prevent or cure BER except in rare situations of low Ca++ soils or acidic soils. I suppose it will take another generation for the right information to be present everywhere. And from my own experience I can tell you that there will be folks who will get madder than can be when they read this kind of info because they simply believe otherwise. So be it. Addition of modest amounts of Ca++ aren't' harmful, but I feel strongly that folks should know what's going on with past and current research re BER and Ca++. ****************** Carolyn J. Male, Ph.D., retired as a professor of microbiology from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. She is a major voice on several internet tomato forums and message boards. Her articles have appeared in Kitchen Gardening, The American Cottage Gardener, and The Historical Gardener. She is the author of the book entitled, "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden". Dr. Male scientifically -- and lovingly -- has raised more than a thousand different varieties of tomatoes in her zone 5 garden in upstate New York. Al...See Morejustaguy2
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agowyndell
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