wow i missed that the soil PH is 6.8 i am sorry about that i was worried that the PH would be screwed up but the local extension office gave me those results from the soil samples i took them , sorry about that i am new to the forum.... No apologies necessary. The forum exists for advanced growers with decades of learning and experience as well as those brand new and everywhere inbetween. Everyone is welcome. Given that you are in zone 5 and your soil pH is 6.8 I feel like we are neighbors (we might be). Take a look at the rest of the soil test results. They may seem cryptic at first, but they hold a wealth of info. I suspect your results reveal that nitrogen requires addition (most reputable tests don't even consider N these days as it changes so quickly) and your P (phosphorous) levels are probably too high and your K (potassium) levels are probably in the ideal to high range depending on what you are growing. Do you have a mostly clay soil? If so it is really unlikely you need any additions to the secondary or micro nutrients in your soil. If I have accurately described your soil you are in good luck. It is naturally fertile, pH needs no adjustment for most things and the only nutrient you need pay any attention to is nitrogen and there are many ways to deal with that beast natural, organic or synthetic. Just state your preference.

Don, your pictures are just what I needed as I sit here trying to warm up my feet after being out in the snow repairing the electrical supply line to the stock tank heaters! However, now envy is rolling in waves from me.....and yes, I know envy is a sin, but well..............dang, what can I say! West_gardener, I use water-soluble Peters 20-20-20 in my greenhouse that is sent through a Dosomatic which I can change the ratio of dilution on at any time. As Rhizo_1 indicated, you might consider looking for a fertilizer of a lower nitrogen ratio, perhaps in the 10-20-10 formulation. If my greenhouse crop is young, I also have a container of a 9-45-15 solution mixed up which I pull through the Dosomatic instead of the 20-20-20. This develops the roots and encourages budding and blooming without having excessive foliage growth and low bud/bloom performance. As Don mentioned, if you purchase a 20-20-20 fertilizer, you might try mixing it at a much reduced strength and try it that way first. You can always mix it stronger if you don't see the results you want. The Syphonex that Don mentioned is a good tool to use. Be sure to read the ratio that is listed on the box and match that to the strength that you mix your container of solution to. I think that Syphonex pulls at a 1:16 ratio. Drying the drool from my keyboard and my chin, I remain transfixed by Don's pictures.......sigh.

"By calling it "excessive" you are saying you have a basis for knowing more was used than was needed" Yes and no! A lot of growers grow plants based on units of N per growing season (P,K and minors come into play also...but N drives the plant). They know "apply this much in a year and this is normally the result for a saleable plant of a given grade". I personally question it because of what was not known when a given growers standard was aquired or learned. Yes, plants can be grown of sufficient growth to meet grade without using the "units of N" or other excessive nutrients(but the "rule of thumb" is pretty close if you want to keep it simple, many do this)....it is just hard to teach drivers how to drive after many years of practice. I am not saying it is right, just stating the reality of growing plants for a public who wants large plants for a small price. What a commercial operation applies does not always apply to the final home of their plants.But commercial growers do know a thing or two about growing plants, no one can take that away from them. Keep it simple, if your plants look good to YOUR eyes, they might be pretty happy.........

Hi, Al. I see this is an old post, but I'm hoping you get to see this comment because, well, I'm in NZ, and some things (like liquid fertilisers) just aren't as cheap here as they are in the States, and I'm wanting to come up with a cheap way to feed my containers (and mostly because I am endowed with the blood of Scotsmen.....extra-cheap Scotsmen at that!). :) Soooooooo, here are my thoughts. In NZ, we have grass.....like, LOTS of grass....enough grass to feed about 30 million hungry sheep! My lawn has got to be more useful than just to provide my weekly exercise cutting the darn thing. I was browsing around the net and found an interesting article on grass tea as fertiliser. To cut a long article short, the science behind this 'tea' said the NKP turned out to be about 1-.5-3.1. I'm no maths professor (so correct me if I'm wrong), but I figured the ratio of this to be 2:1:6.2. Right? Anyway, I know this is a little off your recommended ratio of 3:1:, so I'm just wondering if I can add a little (cheap) something to improve the ratio, or is this a pipe dream? I can get the STEM quite cheaply (because it goes a long way). So, what do you think? If you have the time to indulge me, I'd appreciate your advice. Thanks. :) Michaela