Please advise on fertilizer for palms
neonrider
13 years ago
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jimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Suggestions for a good organic palm fertilizer
Comments (2)date palm growers around here mostly use steer one year and chicken the next, alternating every other year. They also work the old fruit stalks and fronds into the soil. I have VERY sandy soil (a soil scientist would call it fine to very find gravel) so I use horse manure. Horse tend to tighten the soil, which for most would not be good but for me is a good help. You can also use a wide variety of materials as a mulch or compost it first....See Morebamboo palm advise/help
Comments (4)Sounds like you are on the way to making it happier... lots of water and lots of light. What is damaged will stay that way, though, until you chop it off....See MoreWhich fertilizer to use for Windmill Palm
Comments (3)Any good 10-10-10 or 8-8-8 fertilizer should be fine in your area since you don't have sand as your soil like in Florida or the coast. I have found Windmills get all they need from clay or loam soils with out the need for supplemental palm specific fetilizer. Composted manure, good mulching and water will keep your palm very happy and healthy....See MorePlease advise on fertilizer choice
Comments (21)Hello Korney, Lets go from the top. I know that compost has a low N-P-K. I don't use complst as a fertilizer. I use it as a soil conditioner, a Ph buffer, and to add organic matter to my garden beds. Compost adds lots of bacteria and fungi to the soil which is what I want to make my soil loose and fluffy. A huge portion of any good soil is microbial matter. It is precisely why I listed all the "stuff" (in addition to N-P-K) you get with a good organic fertilizer. You see, fertilizer does not, not in the history of mankind, make loamy soil - organic matter does. That is the reason I add compost to my beds. When I side dress my plants during mid season it does not take weeks or months for the fertilzer to start working. I typically see results within days. As long as you work the fertilizer lightyly into the soil and water it well the fertilizer begins to break down immediately and starts to feed the plants. I have never experienced what you are talking about. If you need to have results in minutes or hours then your plants are in a sorry state. Perhaps you could elaborate just a little more when you say that all the bacteria cannot coexist in a high phosphorous fertilizer. Perhaps you are saying that because MG is so high in phosphorous that one cannot combine their fertilizer blend with microbial life. Well, if that is the case then you need to switch to a different brand of fertilizer. Gee, lets see - what brand of chemical fertilizer can we go to that will also provide microbial life and feed my plants with all the N-P-K they need? Wow, none of them do. But every organic fertilizer can do that. Let me see, MG or E.B. Stone, let me see now. OK, I got it, I'll take E.B. Stone. But of course if I am living in MA I might have to use a different brand, but it is all good. I still get it all with the organic stuff. I think you just popped your argument in the foot because organic fertilzers do both. As far as cost difference goes well, I was simply alluding to the concept of "added value". Typically when two products are at parity and they cost the same we usually go with the product that has the most features. Looking at all the additional benefits organic fertilizers provide and since they cost about the same I would conclude that organic fertilizers provide more bang for the buck. It is hard for me to conclude that you could come to any other conclusion either. Just compare what you get with organic fertilizers vs MG. I was only using E.B. Stone as an example. I don't know if E.B. Stone is available in other parts of the country any more than if In-N-Out Berger is available where you live. That was not the point. I was simply comparing one brand of organic fertilizer with MG. Of course you can go to any nursery and compare ANY organic fertizer and see what is available. My contention was simply that "organic" fertilizers are better for soil, and hence the plants, than MG. You can pick any organic fertizer brand you wish, it doesn't matter to me. You said, "But even if it were available, you'd have to compare NPK because the further so-called advantages (mycco, bacteria, etc) wouldn't really be evident this year." Wouldn't be available "this year"?????? Your biology is just a little fuzzy here. I really don't know where to start with this one. Then all the people who put compost in their garden in February and March will not see any microbial benefit for a year. Is that what you are actually saying? Or are you saying that the bacteria that has been suspended and put into the fertizer box will remain dormant for a year before becoming active again? Either way you are not making a lot of sense. there are many species of bacteria that can be put to sleep, and there are many species that can't because they do not have a dormancy state. I imagine the kinds of bacteria you find in organic fertizers are the ones that have a dormancy. I would be pretty upset if I found out that dead bacteria were being put into the box - wouldn't you? I think everyone would. Lets just say that the bacteia in a box of organic fertilizer does not remain dormant for a year. I'll dismiss that one out of hand. Actually, I am lookig to feed the EXISTING microbial life in my soil, not using fertilzer to add huge amounts of organic matter - where did you get that idea. MG does nothing for the microbial life - mine does. Mine not only gives the plant it N-P-K but also feeds the existing microbial life the are currently in the soil. MG cannot do that becausse it does not have anything in it except for N-P-K and a few trace minerals. You really think that is a fair fight. It is kind of like putting a pit bull in with a miniature poodle. When I mentioned I paid $6.99 for a 4lb box of my fertilizer I was not talking about aggregate cost includig already purchased supplies of other fertilizers. I was simply refering to the cost of my 4lb box and MG. Since my fertiizer comes with so much added value I was simply making the point that organic fertilizers are a better value. But no matter how much MG she has on hand (and uses)she will never get any of the bacteria and other things like humic acid.Bacillius, Glomus, and so on. So, for the money MG is not even in the ballpark. It is hard to compare a Roles Royce with a Taurus. I am not saying anything derogatory about anyone who drives a Taurus - I drive a Taurus. You said, "you get 4 to 5 times as much NPK". This whole discussion was centered around the ADDITIONAL things you get with an organic fertilizer that you do not get with MG. My whole point was that we spend way too much time on N-P-K. Like I said N-P-K is all MG has to offer so they push N-P-K. You do realize that I too can buy an organic fertilizer with high N-P-K? Are you saying that all a fertilizer has to do to be a great fertilizer is have high N-P-K? Are you saing that MG will do as good a job (or better) at providing the energy the micorbial matter in the soil needs? You do know that the energy that all living things need come from breaking carbon bonds? As far as I can tell there is exactly zero carbon energy in MG. Absolutely zero. Look into it, you will see what I mean. I don't think high N-P-K and a few trace minerals is the definition of a good fertilizer? To finish this part of the discussion, does a gardener really want a high nitrogen fertilizer at this stage of the growing season? Nitrogen promotes plant growth, not flower development or fruit set or root development. Why would you want a high nitrogen content in your fertilizer at this time of the season? Now if our plants are still growing then yes we need nitrogen. Here in SoCal my tomato plants are alreay 5' tall and just loaded with flowers and I have counted over 45 set tomatoes on two plants. I cut back on nitrogen a long time ago because I don't want plants that are 10' tall that have no flowers and no fruit. I am using epsom salt (at 2T/gallon of water) to help promote lots of blossoms and fruit set. I am foliar feeding with fish emulsion and seaweed. I am making my own aerated compost tea. But I am not adding lots of nitrogen. But to each his own. Lets have a short chemistry lesson right here. It might be helpful. For most of the country clay soils are negatively charged. Petrolium based fertilizers are also negetively charged. By definition that means they repell each other. That means in places that get a fair amount of rain the chemical fertilizers are more quickly washed out of the soil. Fertilizers that are made from manure's, kelp, guano, bone/blood meals, fish emulsion, etc are positively charged. That means organic fertilizers are acutally attracted to and bond to the soil's particlaes. This is a good thing. Plants naturally produce a hydrogen ion that breaks this bond and allows the plant to take up the nutrients it needs - when it needs it. This neans that more fertilizer stays in the soil and available to the plant for a much longer period of time. This is why the MG puts gardeners on such a frequent fertilizing schedule. Their fertilizers simply do not stay in the soil for very long. It is feast or famine with MG - but not with organic fertilizers. This is true for any brand of organic fertilizers, not just E.B. Stone. Maybe cleo could do half of her garden next year with MG and half with an organic fertizer and then see how it goes. Korney, if you like MG and you get great results from it - more power to ya. It is all ok. People make the choices they make based on the information they have at the time the decision is made. If people want to think that fertilizer is fertilizer is fertilizer it's all good. I find it interesting how we use compost for its microbial benefits, we foliar feed with fish emulsion and seaweed for their bacterial benefits, we use epsom salt to help the blossoms and fruit set, etc, etc, etc, (these are all organic applications). When people typically have problems in their garden (excluding pests and diseases) it is usually because of two things: Improper watering (usually too often) and 2. problems with fertilizing. This is why this discussion was, and is, so importnat. There is so much more to gardening and growing good veggies than N-P-K. You gotta think microbes, microbes, microbes. - I am going to bed. Happy gardening all. Tom...See Moreneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agobutiaman
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agolzrddr
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agobutiaman
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agobutiaman
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojames760
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agobutiaman
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agolzrddr
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agojimhardy
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoneonrider
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agoChristopher Hauser
6 years ago
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