Foliar feeding is not quite what it is cracked up to be. Build the nutrients in to the soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: About foliar feeding

Around here some of the lakes have Eurasian watermilfoil weed which in some lakes are removed by rototilling boats and it has been used by many living nearby for compost. Wish I lived closer and I'd fill my pick-up with it. So I expect water hyacinth would be a good source of nutrients as well.

IMO making teas is a lot of work and vastly overrated as foliar feeding, fertilizer or soil amendment. I used to make buckets full of alfalfa tea but now just use the pellets or dissolve them and immediately use to water plants. Just following the KISS principle more the older I get! LOL

Thanks, my intention is to also keep it simple. My concern was if I just sorta dump it as a drench and not pay much effort to avoid getting the mixture on the leaves. Would it burn/harm the foliage?

I am somewhat surprised to read that foliar feeding is not what it WAS cracked-up-to-be. It seems that not too many years ago that it was the-next-great-thing to do for your plants.

I don't have the money for a chipper shredder. Is there an easier way to chop-up these very fibrous hyacinths? They may look all dainty and delicate but, these bad girls are some tough like rope motor-scooters!

I gather water hyacinth by the truckload out of the creek that runs in the back of my property. I mix it with oak and pecan leaves and compost it without shredding anything. The water hyacinth breaks down pretty quick, fibers and all. In fact, much faster than the stems on the unshredded leaves but I don't worry about it. It takes a few months but my vegetable garden loves the compost.

Bigoledude.....guess who promotes foliar feeding? (You get one hint : follow the money!)

There are some applications for which foliar fertilization is great, but even then the 'fix' is rather short term. Some of the essential minor elements required by certain crops, for example, are very successfully applied as chelated metals as a spray. Iron, copper, zinc come to mind.

Dissolved elements, for the most part, are best taken up by the roots, growing in a nicely porous soil or potting medium.

I wonder about you comparing this plant to seaweed, which can be extremely nutritious for both animals and plants. Water hyacinth.....not so much.

I haven't a clue what nutrients one plant/algae has more of over the other. I was simply asking if hyacinth, being a water plant (like seaweed) might also be good when used in "tea" form.

My comparison was that they both live in water. And, that they are both considered as good sources of plant food.

I think if water hyacinth would have been indigenous to the far east we might be eating raw fish on some form of "nori" roll made with hyacinth. From the very little I've read on the issue, hyacinth is being used as fodder for animals and does in fact make a great compost. But, is it on a par with seaweed? No idea.

I just get water hyacinth for free and will be using copious amounts of it on this horrible new soil I was forced to move my garden to. Just trying to squeeze every benefit from these plants as I possibly can. Honestly had no idea that foliar feeding was no longer considered the panacea it was ONCE regarded as.

OK, I am an ex-chemist. A recovering chemist. A non-chemist.

I suspect that the difference between hyacinth and seaweed would be that one is grown in sea water, and one is not. I believe that sea water will have a much more diverse mineral content than any single fresh water source.

That said, is it a good resource? Absolutely. Even the hyacinth I grew in half whiskey barrels did well in the compost pile. Use it as you will.

(I admit some jealousy at the idea of pickup loads of the stuff!)