humic acid

Anybody add humic acid to their soil? Or compost tea? Foliar spray?

From what I read it's supposed to help plants take up nutrients. I ordered some powdered stuff ($10) but wanted to check with others before using it.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Anybody add humic acid to their soil? Or compost tea? Foliar spray?

From what I read it's supposed to help plants take up nutrients. I ordered some powdered stuff ($10) but wanted to check with others before using it.

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I see it used often to chelate micronutrients and it works well to make iron available. However, if you have a manganese def issue, it will only increase the deficiency. Here is a good podcast from Dr. Faust(BioAg): https://www.kisorganics.com/pages/cannabis-cultivation-and-science-podcast-episode-11

I use it with soil grows and in the vegetable garden. Good decision to buy the powdered stuff instead of the bottled products that are mostly water. I buy the water soluble powder by the pound and it lasts a very long time. I also have some of the Down to Earth granular that I use when I mix up batches of soil. I've never had it cause any deficiencies but then again I never get deficiencies. Something about feeding a plant a balanced mix of the nutrients it needs seems to prevent that.

Most deficiencies are not caused by a lack of a nutrient but more an excess of another one causing nutrient antagonism which can prevent the uptake of nutrients. With the amount of products people are using and excess amounts of P/K in flowering it's no surprise so many people end up chasing one deficiency to the next all while adding more of this and that in an attempt to correct deficiencies cause by over feeding. The thought of actually using less which in many cases is the correct course of action doesn't even cross many peoples minds. As most suggestions are to add even more of something to an already overfed plant.

How much do you use and how often?

i use fish hydrosolate , humic acid , seaweed extract , plant success , insect frass and add molasses an hour before feed in flower probably a little much but the results dont lie. once a week

I use powered and you don't need much.

Humic acid, yes. Very small amount. Needed? Only a soil test knows for sure.
Foliar feed nutrients or compost tea, I don't. But, I do drench soil with tea. Add tea when mixing soil to get bacteria distributed. Or soak expanded clay pellets/lava rock/pumice in it before mixing.
Compost tea...very good stuff. Can't over use it if just handful of compost/earth or worm castings brewed in an aerator.
There are a lot of recipes to make teas that are nutrient rich, or bacteria dominant, or fungi dominant. Plants love it.

Dreaming1 said:

Only a soil test knows for sure.

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Not many people on here test their soil, good to see someone else doing it too. What company do you use? Soil Savvy here, but in the past I have used Logan Labs, Spectrum Analytic, and the local extension office for Oklahoma State Univ.

Leonardithe also contains a boatload of it

I soil tested the native soil in my garden, but after seeing the results ended up digging holes and mixing native soil about 20/80% with composted organic cow manure, calcitic lime, k-mag, and Tennessee Brown Rock (phosphorus). After transplanting I topdressed with Coast of Maine Stonington plant food, then about three weeks later topdressed with kelp meal. Also introduced a bunch of worms from my compost pile.

Our state university system has a soil lab that does a standard test for $20. How do you tell if you need humic acid from the soil test results though?

1 -2 tsp per gallon of soil.

$25 for 25 pounds.

Kassiopeija said:

Leonardite also contains a boatload of it

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I use NFTG Zeus Juice once a week

NewEnglandFarmer said:

I soil tested the native soil in my garden, but after seeing the results ended up digging holes and mixing native soil about 20/80% with composted organic cow manure, calcitic lime, k-mag, and Tennessee Brown Rock (phosphorus). After transplanting I topdressed with Coast of Maine Stonington plant food, then about three weeks later topdressed with kelp meal. Also introduced a bunch of worms from my compost pile.

Our state university system has a soil lab that does a standard test for $20. How do you tell if you need humic acid from the soil test results though?

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I'd ask them

NewEnglandFarmer said:

I soil tested the native soil in my garden, but after seeing the results ended up digging holes and mixing native soil about 20/80% with composted organic cow manure, calcitic lime, k-mag, and Tennessee Brown Rock (phosphorus). After transplanting I topdressed with Coast of Maine Stonington plant food, then about three weeks later topdressed with kelp meal. Also introduced a bunch of worms from my compost pile.

Our state university system has a soil lab that does a standard test for $20. How do you tell if you need humic acid from the soil test results though?

Click to expand...

Did you get a saturated past test or just the Mehlich 3? The saturated past test will show lock-out issues. Anyways, from the soil tests that I have ran and literature that I've read, humic acid will raise iron the most. I've been dealing with Mn def issues in my indoor garden, so I came across this article that suggests that chelated(humic acid) micronutrients is common practice but it has a more stable bond with iron. Anyways, if you are dealing with a Mn def, adding humic acid can be bad. If you need iron, then it could be great for you... http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Management/pdfs/a2526.pdf