As a hobby bee keeper try to do without any. Most, if not all larger scale bee keepers here treat them with allot of chemicals! Why?? I only guess because they can simply not monitor all 1000 plus hives as close as I can do with less then 10 hives. It's their livelihood and don't want to risk high loss. That's why I believe my honey is much better then any in the store. It's worth every penny,..even if double in price. Also because my honey/source comes from mostly wild flowers, bees are far away from huge, one sided nectar source like canola etc. For about 20 years or so, I plant lots of trees & shrubs to provide even more flavor to the honey. Don't let the combs get too old, 3 or 4 years max. give them some new one's in the middle for brood every year. I know of a smaller commercial bee keeper who doesn't use antibiotic, he's the only one around here who can sell he's honey to Germany. I'm trying to follow he's advise,...so far I cut down in treatment for mites,..didn't treat all of last year, fall check was low in mite no treatment and all are thriving, I'll have to check now and decide. You can put some shallow combs in your deep,..they build/extend the frame with drone comb preferred by mites, cut them away. I don't do any antibiotic in spring, a little in fall with Fumagilin because bees are locked up most of the time due to cold temp. from Oct. to April. With new packages you should get away with no treatement for mites for at least one or two season,..again you need to check.

The numbering system for inorganic fertilizer has confused people for years. There are three numbers and they represent the amounts(as a percentage) of the three major ingredients of fertilizer: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. "Balanced" fertilizer would have the same number for each element 20-20-20 or 10-10-10. Dahlias like a fertilizer with 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 or even 12-24-24. All this means is that it has half the nitrogen as the other two elements. Most gardens stores sell 5-10-10. Farmers buy 10-20-20 at the farm store because it is twice as concentrated and much cheaper than 5-10-10. Most of us are going organic. Alfalfa used as mulch is a great fertilizer. Mint compost is also excellent. Both have all three of the three major elements and work quite well. Bat guano and blood meal are good fertilizers. Of course all types of aged manures are the classic fertilizers for organic gardeners. Chicken manure works great but needs to be applied in the Fall as it is too "hot" (too much nitrogen all at once) for dahlias. They say that rabbit manure can be used fresh and needs no aging.

Yak, even though this thread is old, I felt that I had to comment. My cocker absolutely loves cat food too! But I feed her homemade soup, at least three times a week. Very easy, boil up any chicken bones leftovers or whatever meat leftovers you've got. Add some rice and potatoes until cooked, and then at the very end - a whole bunch of finely chopped carrots, tomatoes, zuccini - whatever is at hand. She likes that stuff the best! I do stay away from raw meat for the dog because of salmonella threats.

Back To Fertilizing: In the past I have used MG blue water soluble (24-8-16) during the grwing time. I usually have used it at ~~ 1/2 strength but more often. Now I hear some arguing that perhaps a 3-1-2 ratio of NPK is too rich in N and too poor in P. So to cope with that I have bought a quart of Alaska fish fert with 0-10-10 ratio. A Gardener's Master Brew: I want to mix the MG 24-8-16 and Alaska 0-10-10 such that I get a 10-10-15 ratio. A little bit messing with the numbers I came up with a pretty good brew: === TAKE 7 PORTIONS OF 0-10-10 SOLUTION , ( made as recommended.) === TAKE 4 PORTIONS OF 24-8- 16 SOLUTION (made as recommended) What I get is pretty close to an equivalent of 10-10-14 (NPK).solution I have reduced N and increased P. Now my tomato plants should have no excuse for not to fruiting aplenty . LOL Of course, I make a much concentrated mix , such the I take just a cup of it for 2 gallons of watering can. An it lasts for a few application. The 1st app was delivered on 6/5/15. To further spice it up, I also add a pinch of Epsom salt and some calcium acetate as supplement. The best brew ever. hahaha Sey