Do plants need nutrients?
- Thread starter moose_kow
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- noob nutreint deficiency
Ok thanks i actually put on some composted sheep manure about a day ago. Will this be enough or should i add some earth worm castings too. Also i have some organic pro mix flower boost top dress that is 3-7-3 NPK. Should i add that too? The 3-7-3 flower booster is little pellets says it has myco active technology blah blah
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DrBuzzFarmer
Well-Known Member
General comments:
-Too much amending makes the pot a compost pile. Different organisms thrive in each different environment.
-Assuming soil is properly constructed, if the soil simply cannot keep up, it implies the amendments are not composted and available for the plant.
-A tea is appropriate for instant feeding in organics. I prefer a simple compost wash, but teas are all the rage these days.
Specific comments
If your issue is soil with accumulating amendments that have not composted properly, it means the life in your soil is not active enough.
It is not keeping up with the plants needs.
A Compost wash carries all the organisms necessary to boost activity in the soil and get nutrient flows restarted in the soil food web.
Some bacteria only live an hour or so, and successive generations can accumulate in hours if the conditions are right.
A balance between fungal life and bacterial life is also crucial in stuttering plants, the Glomus species of fungus expands the effectiveness of the root system, and provides nutrients directly from bacterial sources to the plant.
In addition to the compost wash, I would make a tea with a fungal supplement containing the widest spread of fungal spores and bacteria I could find. (I use Blue Planet nutrients Rhizo mix because I have some on hand)
This should begin acting almost immediately, and in a day or so results should be visible.
However.....
if there is a pile of amendments on the surface, they will now begin composting, and slight tip burning might be seen.
Depending upon how many amendments are left to compost, will decide how long you see tip burn.
In the future, compost the pot of soil for a month before use, by applying a tea and fungal supplement and keep pot moist.
-Too much amending makes the pot a compost pile. Different organisms thrive in each different environment.
-Assuming soil is properly constructed, if the soil simply cannot keep up, it implies the amendments are not composted and available for the plant.
-A tea is appropriate for instant feeding in organics. I prefer a simple compost wash, but teas are all the rage these days.
Specific comments
If your issue is soil with accumulating amendments that have not composted properly, it means the life in your soil is not active enough.
It is not keeping up with the plants needs.
A Compost wash carries all the organisms necessary to boost activity in the soil and get nutrient flows restarted in the soil food web.
Some bacteria only live an hour or so, and successive generations can accumulate in hours if the conditions are right.
A balance between fungal life and bacterial life is also crucial in stuttering plants, the Glomus species of fungus expands the effectiveness of the root system, and provides nutrients directly from bacterial sources to the plant.
In addition to the compost wash, I would make a tea with a fungal supplement containing the widest spread of fungal spores and bacteria I could find. (I use Blue Planet nutrients Rhizo mix because I have some on hand)
This should begin acting almost immediately, and in a day or so results should be visible.
However.....
if there is a pile of amendments on the surface, they will now begin composting, and slight tip burning might be seen.
Depending upon how many amendments are left to compost, will decide how long you see tip burn.
In the future, compost the pot of soil for a month before use, by applying a tea and fungal supplement and keep pot moist.
@DrBuzzFarmer OK wow thanks thats some information to process. Ive never made a compost tea or wash, i dont have a large water container or place to mix it and i dont have the air pumps to bubble it. Is it possible to make a wash or tea another way? Can i purchase rhizo bacteria and mix in water can and then water my girls?
DrBuzzFarmer
Well-Known Member
A compost wash is a very simple thing.
All it requires is fresh, finished compost, a strainer, and a small container.
Take a cup or two of compost in a strainer and gently run a cup or so of water through it.
Collect the water in the container.
That is a Compost Wash.
Add it to a small quantity of water and Sprinkle it on as a watering.
All the most delicate organisms in the soil can survive such gentle treatment. They can help repopulate the soil in a fairly quick time, if conditions allow.
You could also take the wash and aerate it for an hour or so, and other organisms will flourish and "bloom", for a different effect on the soil food web.
The ultimate in soil conditioners for organics is Fish Hydrolysate with Chitin and Chitosan. This however, is basically as expensive as it's weight in gold.... The hydrolysate most folks use has the good stuff leeched out before packaging.
But it is perfectly balanced as a bacterial/fungal food, and can basically throw your plants on "autopilot" for a short while, so you can fix things in the soil.
If you have a few hundred dollars to throw at a quick fix....
