Thanks for that GREAT info... however, what do you do if you have all your tropicals in pots? I have just started using Milorganite and put about a cup mixed with about an inch of soil on my EE's which are in 15-16" pots...also with my Jap. Maples and I am getting a Musa today which is about about 2 ft tall... how big of a pot should it be in and how much fert should I use. Thanks.

Depending on the pot size, smaller ones 1/2 cup to a cup should be fine, but a 15-30 gallon size 3-5 cups should do it. Mix it in well and leave a little on top and keep the plants well watered.

I put Milorganite on top of the soil of all my containers. I just sprinkled it on top, and it turned into mold.It was a fuzzy kind of mold.

HMMM.. after reading all about the "wonders" of this specific fert.... I havent yet heard of mold.. I will have to keep an eye out for that...too.

Oh and Virginian.... thanks so much for the information....I really appreciate it.... and my plants will too. LOL :)

It is treated sewage sludge from Milwaukee. Hence the fowl spell! I don't think I would use it on food crops. Good fert for lawns and ornamentals though :-)

Home Garden Use of Milorganite

It can be used on everything and yes, it is a pasturized biosolid product from Milwaukee that has been around for over 80 years used mostly on golf courses. The new, improved and safer version can be used on food crops and ornamentals, however it is a personal choice and not a safety issue as no one has ever gotten sick from using it and it exceeds EPA 503 standards. Bananas and other tropicals love this stuff and grow to some unreal proportions when using it. Check out my website for some older photos before I really used the stuff heavily. We are going to add newer photos that really give one a sense of size when it comes to the bananas, elephant ears and cannas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Panama John's Tropical Zone

HOLY SMOKES!!! You have a beautiful garden!!! I hope mine grows as big.. I should get some photos for you to see as well.. our weather here in NE is just starting to warm up so my pots are just starting to grow....

Hi John,

The first time I heard about milorganite was in one of Boca Joe's posts. He mentioned his fert schedule and went into quite a bit of detail about quantities and frequency. However at the end he wrote "Oh yeah I also dumped milorganite around the base of each plant" without much else detail.

Last year I tried to copy this program and I had pretty good results despite a coolish summer. I didn't use enough milorganite based on your recommendations. This year I'll give it a go.

Question: Do you think it's alright to use milorganite on tropicals that will be moved indoors as house plants in the winter? I've had bug problems in the past and was wondering if milorganite will attract the gribblies.

You grow many of the same plants as I am trying and your pictures are very inspiring. I was looking at the mean temperatures for your growing season and although I don't discount the fact that milorganite works, I really think that warm springs, heat in the summer and warm nighttime temps are what really bring these plants to their full potential.

Anyhow I hope to someday have a garden as beautiful as yours. I'll post some pics of my milorganite grown bananas at the end of the summer. Thanks very much for the advice.

P.S. I searched everywhere for milorganite and I believe I bought the town out. Ha ha! There were 2 bags stuffed in the corner ($38 each!). I asked the guy if he could get more and he said maybe "it's not a big seller". :)

Sammy:

I have never had a problem with pests when using Milorganite in pots that were brought inside for the winter, or tender tropicals dug out of the ground, bagged and moved inside ether. By the end of the season, Milorganite has pretty much broken down into humus anyway. While we in Northern Virginia have a slightly colder winter, it usually warms up quicker as you pointed out and we have truly tropical summers, that combined with fertilizer and water enable tropicals to grow to huge proportions. Having said that, Musa Basjoo and Windmill Palms do very well in your climate and will become VERY large over time. Boca Joe and I are simply amazed at the results we have gotten with Milorganite and his Musa Basjoo had leaves almost as long as his 1998 Ford Mustang. I seem to remember British Columbia has some kind of local product that is like Milorganite which might allow you to buy more at a cheaper price. Thanks again for the compliments and I am sure you too will have great success this season using Milorganite.

I went to the local garden center today to buy some Milorganite and was told it was recently taken off the market due to high levels of heavy metals. I was really hoping to get some to use on my Musa Basjoo and Jacks Giant elephant ear that I just got 2 days ago. Anybody have any suggestions on another kind of fertiler that will give the same kind of results as Milorganite? I have not planted the EE yet and am planning on planting it in a whiskey barrel and am wondering how to best amend the soil. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!

I picked up a bag at Walmart yesterday.

Hi everyone,

I am by no means stating that milorganite is a bad thing but I wouldnt use it on edible plants. Since treated sewer waste still has traces of drugs people take (like birth control, anti-depressants, carbamazepine (an anticonvulsant) etcÂ) and other chemicals (sunscreen agents, disinfectants, etcÂ) milorganite has traces of this stuff too since it is treated sewer waste as well. In fact I used to live in WI a few years ago and read an article in one of the newspapers there (I think it was the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) about the large amount of drugs and other chemicals that were found in the treated sewage that was being dumped from the Milwaukee sewage treatment plants. I just thought I would let people know about this just in case any of you were planning on using milorganite on your vegetable garden and didnÂt know about this.

Wow, and I was actually just going to look for someplace that carries that stuff. But now I am not. Is there any alternative that the Basjoos like just as much? Is anyone using anything other than Milorganite, and getting great growth results? Please let us know! Thanks!

Myth: Milorganite is high in heavy metals and has been taken off the market.

False: Milorganite has been on the market continously since the 1920s and its heavy metal content is well below EPA standards and many other synthetic fertilizers. It has never caused anyone to become sick or contiminated.

Myth: Milorganite is unsafe to use on food crops.

False: Milorganite meets or exceeds class A biosolids EPA 503 standards for chemical and biological contents and is perfectly safe to use on food crops. Milwaukee does not allow industrial sewage to mix with residental sewage and it is closely monitored and tested regularly.

Myth: Milorganite contains harmful bacteria found in sewage and isn't safe.

False: Milorganite is heat pasturized with a drying process at 1200F and kept at a specific temperature while drying to kill ALL viruses and bacteria.

Myth: Our sewage is contamined with unsafe levels of phamecuticals that are found in Milorganite.

Truth: Some phamecuticals in EXTREMELY LOW traces can be found in not only sewage, but our drinking water supply so the jury is still out on what if any impact it has on people. The alarm that is raised is out of proportion to the threat and many of these compound degrade into nothing at the end of the digestion and heat treatment process. If you are so worried, only water your garden and drink rainwater that has been put through a reverse osmosis process.

FACT: Milorganite is not only perfectly safe to use, but has fewer trace chemicals in it than many commerical composted manures that can be purchased at the local nursery.

Using it on ornamentals should not even be an issue since it is not only proven to be safe, but it is as safe or safer than many of the products you may already be suing in your garden. I have used it and have been very satisfied with the results over anything else I have tried in the past.

Look in the lawn care section of these garden centers and you should find it.

Virginian,
I believe people need to make an informed decision with what types of fertilizers, pesticides, etc.. they use in their yards.
With milorganite, people dont always know the facts before they decide to use it in their yard. rokel posted a link from Cornell University about milorganite. There is a section in it that states,
"Is it safe?"
"Safe is a relative term. People have different
views of how much risk is acceptable. Milorganite
and some other sludge products meeting certain
criteria are approved by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) for distribution for
any use, including home gardens. However, some
people remain concerned about the safety and
environmental impacts of possible contaminants,
many of which are not tested. In particular,
pharmaceuticals and many toxic organic chemicals
are present in sludges but are not regulated or
monitored."

I think this is a very important fact that people need to know before making a decision to use milorganite in their yards or not. The choice is still theirs to make and I am by no means trying to stop people from using this.

I am a big believer in researching products before using them. But dont take my word for it do the research yourself, and dont just believe what the companies tell you about their products. Remember they are trying to sell their products to you.

The Cornell Study, that I have read is long on "people still feel" and short on conclusive science. I have research this product, I don't work for them or sell it or profit for it in any way so I have nothing to gain in promoting it as being a great natural fertilizer and one that is safe and effective. I have also read the independent lab DoD research that concluded that Milorganite was as safe or safer than the water that was going to be used in a bioremediation project. I called the Jones Island Waste Treatment Plant where Milorganite is made and they monitor above and beyond what the EPA mandates for dioxins and other chemicals. Phamecuticals they told me were so low in the raw unfinished product, that they did not show up after the biosolids were processed. The hype over this is more media and radical driven so if it is said enough times, it becomes the truth and a risk in many people's minds-when in fact there is no threat or real risk at all. I guess we should not drink tap or bottled water, swim in our lakes and rivers, don't breath the air or eat any meat or vegetables not proven and completly tested as clean above any beyond organic since animal manures can contain the same or worse concentration of chemicals that are not tested either. EPA's standards and state standards will show that it will take hundreds of annual applications to come close to the load level of contaminants, for instance, copper would take 278 years to reach the max. safe load level and lead 345 years. I don't know about you, but I don't think I will be gardening then, unless my ashes are dumped in the garden to be part of the soil. :') Seriously, try it, as it is safe and really makes bananas go crazy.

The Virginian is 100% CORRECT!!!! I have to admit that I cut off several of my babies droopy, dying leaves due to shock and or cold...and 2 days later after the warmer weather came... and a quick transplant into a smaller pot... right where I cut there is a little baby starting to grow.. I couldnt believe it.... so far all my potted EE's and Jap Maples are loving this stuff...Take a look at my Blue Angel Hosta.... and see for yourself!!!

Staceybeth: Hostas also love Milorganite and my wife said she has never seen them grow so large and so fast before using it. I think the combination of low, slow release natural nitrogen combined with a 4% iron content really puts green growth into overdrive with out excessive salts found in sythetic fertilizers. Milorganite combined with all the rain we have been having has made the bananas grow 3 feet or more in some cases over the last couple of weeks. BTW: Thanks for the kudos.

I AGREE!!! and look at my other Hosta.. I think i put too much on the second one to the right.... its HUGE!!

If you like what it did to hostas, you are going to love what it is going to do to your bananas. Did you plant your bananas in the ground yet? Once the heat kicks in, with good watering and the Milorganite, step back as the bananas may hit you in the face with a new leaf roller as they grow up! :')

I just got 2 bags of this stuff after reading these posts. About $10 I think each at Lowes. I had a hard time finding the stuff as the store locater on their site sent me to stores that did not carry it.

Anyway I spread it around my yard both front and back on cannas, newly planted baby trees, japanese maple, Bamboo, Bananas sunflowers Castor beans etc.

I thought I spread it pretty liberally, but after reading the posts again should I load it down thick on plants? It sounds like you can't over fertalize with this stuff is that correct?

I used the whole bag, but I have another one ready if I need it.

I have never used any fertalizer in the past only compost.

I'm anxious to see what this stuff will do to my plants. I am guessing it won't do anything for the bamboo that I will notice until it starts shooting again.

I hope it's half as good as people say here and I hope I used enough.

Joe: It sounds like you put enough down for now and a second application would be good in July for your area. The bamboo should respond quite well to Milorganite as I am sure you will see in the next few weeks or so. Cannas, Castor beans and Bananas will respond quite quickly and probably grow to very large sizes you aren't used to seeing. Keep us posted on the plant's progress. Do you have any palms? This stuff works well for them too.

Virginian, my little musa will stay in its pot for now. We have all ledge in our baxk yard so no ground planting for him. It is growing a new baby though and mighty cute too.

A couple of weeks ago, I put out half a bag of Milorganite I had leftover from last year. It may be kicking in. The bananas are starting to look real good, despite some chillier temps so far... Yesterday I bought another bag from Home Depot - 36lbs - $10. Lowes didn't carry it at the store I visited. My plan is to use it (more)liberally on my tropical looking non edibles only. I will continue the tradition of using Osemocote and miracle grow(only) on my vegetable garden. That way, if someone dared saying "Your zuchinni tasted like crap", they can blame the chef, not the gardener...
I am curious about using Milorganite for deer proofing my vegetable garden though. Perhaps a perimeter application around the fence. Btw, as I type, in my back yard there is an injured doe(front leg) who just gave birth to a fawn...They both seem to be doing okay, but a call to the game warden may not fare well for the doe. What to do...

Hello there Virginian, Howdy neighbor, and fellow palm and banana lover! =o)

I tried to look at your website, but could only see the home page, and one pic on the tropical garden page, that says back yard 2007, and the links page. Not sure what happend. I would love to see your garden.

What part of NoVA are you in? Im in Alexandria, in the Del Ray neighborhood, which im convinced in and unto itself has a fairly decent micro/macro climate, being kind of protected by the hills to the west and north west, and also being tempered by the Potomac which is very close by, as well as being near the center of the large urban heat island that encompasses most of the area inside the beltway here.

Anyway, I live in a ground floor apartment, and we are lucky enough to have a small outdoor space that is like a small yard, and a manager here who is very friendly and likes what I have done. I do some in ground plantings, but lots of things are in containers too. I have grown Musa Basoo in pots for about 5 years now, with usually lots of success. I have usually gotten 10' or so out of them in pots. The one time I was able to put one in ground, I got about 14' of growth out of it. What size pots would you recommend? I have always used about 18" pots, and they have done very well in those accept for last year. I only got about 6' of growh. This year I upgraded one pot to a 24" pot, which is HUGE looking to me. I have the Basoo in that one, and I have a Ensete Ventricosum "Maurelii". I also purchased my first Trachycarpus Fortunei, and im 100% confident I will be able to not only keep it alive, but to have it thrive. I have been gardening in SOME form for probably 20 years, and have been doing containers for about a decade now. IM usually the one ANSWERING questions! LOL! In fact, I am finally going for a Master Gardners cert next winter. I might as well do it finally, since everyone seems to think I have some kind of magic super green hand! LOL!

However, I do have a couple more questions for you, aside from the pot size question above.

First, Can you use milogranite by just mixing it into the top layer of soil and some on top? My bananas are already potted, and I dont want to dig them out to amend the soil. I have always used Miracle grow, with TONS of success, on just about everything. Maybe milogranite woulud be better to use on things like bananas and my windmill palm?

Second, Is my Ensete which I mention above, the same thing as a red Abyssinian?

Third, (not banana related, but palm) realistically how long can I grow my windmill in a pot? Is it feezable to keep it in a pot, and use standard protection such as wrapping..etc, while also using a heating coil to ensure the post never freezes? Also, would it be safe to do the same for the Banna Corms in pots, so long as I keep the soil temps at a reasonable level at night?

Before you answer this particular question, just a little bit about the microclimate I am very fortunate to have here:

I have a PERFECT micro climate as I face due south, and we are protected by the red brick 3 story building.Sun ALL DAY LONG, ALL year. Even when it snows, usually the snow does not stick to the ground within 6-8 feet of the building, and not once did frost make it closer than 8 feet. I would guess that its easily an 8b, maybe even approaching a zone 9, as it gets full sun ALL DAY, and even when its in the low 40s in the sun, that one area on our side feels far far warmer than when you walk about 30 feet away from the building. The lowest temp I recorded this past winter, with the thermometer placed about 12 feet from the building was 30.2 F. Not too bad. Mind you, where I am at, we are basically already a zone 8a (and yes I have seen this on quite a few zone maps as well) as were near the Potomac, and definitely inside, and close to the center of the "urban heat island" I mentioned earlier. Even our 4 story tall silver malpe back here had leaves about 4 weeks before any other silver maple, and it was flowering in late january to early feb. Weeds and common "wild" plants that are close by also started growing much earlier than everything else not in this area behind my building.

Thanks for the advice, time, and attention, it is much appreciated.

Ill post a link below to my photo bucket album w/ the pics of the current garden. Feel free to browse the rest of the albums there if you like.

Thanks again!

~ NPG ~

NPG: You can use Milorganite with excellent results just as a top dressing or mix it in the soil to a shallow depth with out going deep into the root zone. If you are using Mozilla Firefox, the page doesn't load for some reason but it works fine with Explorer. I believe the Ensente you mention is a Red Abyssinian banana and they LOVE Milorganite. Mine were planted in the growund and got to almost 15 feet last year. I am near Great Falls in Potomac Falls in Loudoun County a chilly Zone 7a, but most years a 7b and this year an 8a. I think you have a worse case of zone denial than I....Zone 9....PLEASE!!! :') The bananas and palms, unless the pots are buried in the ground, and well mulched, you are taking a real chance in the winter of them freezing to death. It is best to plant them in the ground if possible since their root systems can get well below the freeze line to exchange sugars, water and carbohydrates that act like an anti-freeze to the fronds and trunk in the winter. Personally, I do and would use Milorganite and Miracle-Gro in tandem since they are different kinds of feritlizers and compliment each other perfectly. FYI, we have a Trachycarpus in my neighborhood that is over 20 feet tall and has been in the ground for over 14 years. Always glad to help a fellow "tropaholic."

Thanks Virginian!

Well, I wouldnt say that I have "zone denial" really. We really do have an honest to goodness microlimate here, that really does seem to push to the zone 8B limits, and seems to approach even a zone 9. I cant think of any other reason why everything growing back there from the grass, to the large silver maple all comes out at least 1 month ahead of everything else. Id also guess that since the whole area seemed to have a zone 8 winter this past winter, that it would not be unheard of to have microclimates that pushed a zone 9 this winter either.

Thanks for the fert tips, I will definately give Milogranite a try Would that be good to use on the Trachy too?

How about the pot sizes for my Bananas? I know the pot the musa basoo is in is large enough to get real strong big growth, its 20" across, and 18" high. Im worried about the Ensete however. It is in a pot that is 18" across and 14" high. Is that large enough to get a good 6 foot growth? Some of the ones I saw where I purchased the Ensete, were in pots the same size as the one my small Ensete is in now, and they were 6-8' tall. Should I expect that kind of growth out of the pot I currently have it in?

For the overwintering, the Bananas are most likely going to be dug up and the corms stored indoors. The Windmill is most likely going either have its pot completely buried in the ground, Or, its still small enough to bring indoors so I am not really worried about that one so much. It was in a 1gallon pot at purchase, and its now in a 3 gallon pot.

If you averaged your winters lows over a 15-30 year period, which is what the USDA does, I think your area would be a solid 7b, but nowhere near an 8b or 9a. Not even Virginia Beach gets a solid 8b and is consequently still a zone 8a on the USDA zone map. Microclimates aside, you could possibly have to deal with 7a and even the ever more rare 6b temp in that period of time. Atlanta has even had zone 6a temps in a 30 year period. Milorganite is fine for the Trachy too and I use it in addition to palm fertilizer. I would up pot the bananas in a month or so and fertilize again. Musa Basjoo is corm hardy in our area and even futher north, so it can be planted in the ground and left out for the winter. It will grow much larger in the ground than in a pot anyday.

Thanks all for the tip !I ran across this forum today, located some at my favorite hardware store during my lunch hour and have already applied it to my bananna trees and other plants. The smell is not repulsive but I also think fish emulsion fertilizer smells like co-co beans.Hope it works !!

This is only my second year with bananas. After reading here about the milorganite, I tried it on my musa bajoos and cannas. Already, I can see so much growth and the leaves are a healthy green color. However, I also added it to about a dozen hostas and so far four of them have shriveled up and died. The hostas are in different areas so the only thing they have in common is milorganite. While it is great for tropicals, I'm not sure about hosta.

I have used Milorganite on my Hosta and they love it... perhaps its your soil? Take a look at mine.. although I dont know if its the heat but the tips are turning a bit crunchy.

Hello banana lovers Im Marion and very new to this forum ..I grew my first banana last year, unsure of what kinda but maybe siam ruby..omg it got large all on its own without fertilizer I can only imagine what it would do with ..my question is this John can I use this product on my clivia

could someone tell me if this product is sold by any other name ..went looking for it today and I wasn't able to find it

Hello Virginian,

After you Mulch the Banana tree and need to apply subsequent application of fertilizer, do you unmulch and apply or can you just apply the fertilizer ontop of the much? Thanks for the help...

jcpingu: I would just rake the mulch back a little and then apply it and rake it back to get the fastest results, but I have also just heaped on and around the root zone over the mulch and it worked fine once it was well watered in.

I used half a cup of milorganite in my indoor 20 gal. pot banana plant. The 3 days I notice the leaves turning yellow, the soil (miracle potting soil) is very hot. I had to take the banana plant out of the pot, and re potted with new soil (miracle potting soil), Banana plant doesn't look good. Its dying don't know what to do.

Miracle Gro planting soil is sometimes over laden with fertilizer or could be hot composting on its own. Add some water to make sure there are no air pockets when you planted it. Potted bananas inside can have problems that are not related to fertilizer, sometimes they just don't do well indoors.