It is possible to over fertilize with Organic fertilizers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is one reason why most manures need composting or aging or time after application before planting. Blood meal is an organic nitrogen fertilizer and you can definitely burn your plants with that!!!!!! Just because something is Organic does not mean it can't be mis-used. foliar feeding is often a good way to deal quickly with a deficiency problem or help support plants that have had root injury after transplant. Foliar feeds should usually be more dilute than their soil drench counterparts and depending on the particular spray, they could possibly burn plants if sprayed when the plant is going to be in the sun or on hot days. Many sprays say not to spray when the temps are going to be over 80 F. Here is a link that might be useful: My garden

I've just finished reading a recent book (published 2006) by a professor of Horticultural Science at the U. of Minn. He has gathered the existing scientific data on seaweed extracts from different researchers. His conclusion after reviewing these reports: "Although it may provide some benefit under certain circumstances, the variable results that scientists have had when trying seaweed extracts make it impossible to predict exactly when this stuff will work and when it won't."...he continues ...."so if you want to spend your money on something that may or may not benefit your plants this is certainly as good a purchase as any. For me, I'll stick with spending my money on fertilizers and hoses...."

Wow, the comments on this thread are getting vicious. I know Ruth Ann grows astounding brugs in my zone. But there seems to be a definite learning curve with these plants. Last year I had mine in pots, none bloomed, and I considered giving up on them entirely. Encouragement from the forum members convinced me to keep trying for another year. I had my brugs in the ground this year, in a compost-enriched raised bed. I fed monthly with Milorganite and Shake-N-Feed. We had regular rain. I watered when it didn't rain enough. Still no blooms except on the mystery orange. I suspect there are early-blooming and late-blooming varieties of brugmansia, as with many other plants. Early bloomers would be more likely to bloom in areas with short seasons.

This is the education forum. It's a good question. You can find out about compost tea in the FAQs at the Organic forum. The info there is quite well written, the FAQ editor is very keen on compost tea. Basically Compost tea is made by steeping compost in water, let it steep for a few days and you have it. There are many ways to make it, soome complicated and some very simple. CT can be applied as a soil drench of foliar feed. It works by spreading the beneficial microbes of compost throughout the garden. As to salt in synthetic ferts? Yes they exist, but you don't need compost tea to flush them from the soil. Some good hosings will do that. The CT will initiate some growth in the way vitamins help the body. My own opinion is that CT is not a food but rather a nutriative amendment. Like going to the Dr and getting a shot of B12 or getting your vitamins from a fruit or vegetable which is more substantive than a one-a-day. That's actually a good analogy for synthetic and natural ferts. A synthetic fert is a like one-a-day for plants. Think of how you feed your own children. Do they eat crappola junk food and you supplement their health with a fred flinstones vitamin, or do you give them sensible foods and lots of fruits and veggies that are the mainstay of their health? The child that gets a good diet with natural nutrient sources is going to stave off malnutrition and disease far better than a child who eats crap and takes a vitamin supplement. Here is a link that might be useful: Fertilizing Seedlings and a Simple Explanation of N-P-K