What fertilizers do you use?  Solved

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Terry S.
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by Terry S. »

Gerald - With 100% mineral mixes the nutrient level is theoretically zero and feeding will be needed all the time (every watering at low levels with the occasional flush-through of straight water?). The majority of us will use a compost based on commercial potting media and of course the nutrient levels should be properly balanced when you open the bag and start potting your succulents in it. However, those nutrients will be leached away within a few months and some of us keep our plants in the same pot of compost for years on end. So liquid-feeding must surely be an imperative?
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David1971
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by David1971 »

The use of organic/inorganic forms of nitrogen is an old-debated question. I am not expert in chemistry, but have read opinions in favour and against the "inorganic form" argument. Just in case, I use to fertilize with any poor nitrogen fertilizer having nitrogen in inorganic form and diluting it to 50-100 ppm depending on the species and the growth stage. Mesembs are an exception; I never fertilize the overhelming majority of them, and only fertilize some once in a while with very diluted (50 ppm) fertilizer. But almost none of my plants are in a pure mineral mix. For mesembs that have been in the same pot for three or four years, I remove the top layer (between a third and a quarter of the mix) and replace it with fresh mix. So I only repot when the container has become too small.
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by Herts Mike »

Terry, interesting to see that you say you "probably" wouldn't use Miracle Gro.

So you don't totally rule it out?
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by StevenT »

I use Chempak 3 (Fully balanced). I came to c&s growing after growing various other kinds of plant. In those hobbies low nitrogen feeds have been shown to produce plants with growth that is not properly developed.

Re 100% mineral mixes having "theoretically zero" nutrient levels, this is not always the case. Quartz sand and gravel will have none, but others have a high cation exchange capacity and so have nutrients available for plants growing in them. Stirling Baker explained this in a good article in CactusWorld about his use of Japanese Akadama. Cat litter will be similar.

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Terry S.

Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by Terry S. »

This thread seems to have come to a natural end so thanks to all who have contributed. It seems that the consensus is to liquid feed our plants with Chempak 8 and having read the small print on all the packs in the garden centre, that is what I will be doing this summer. It contains only inorganic nitrogen and seems best fitted to the needs of our plants.

Thanks StevenT for pointing out that Akadama and Moler clay have a cation-exchange capacity. Presumably this means that they can retain ammonium ions but not retain nitrates.

And in response to the question about would I use Miracle Grow the answer now is certainly no although I might have used in in the past without reading its composition. It is possible that a nitrogen-boost early in the season could help some plants, particularly those that have been in the same compost for years. However most of the nitrogen in MG is locked up in urea and therefore likely to be unsuitable for that purpose.
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by Tina »

Hi Terry
Sorry I missed this, I too use chempak 8.
I have spoken to quite a few growers who use MG, epsom salts & vinegar. The vinegar is to change the Ph but unless I used a ph meter or litmus papers ( do they still do them ?)to get the water to the required PH, it seems pointless.
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by Karsty »

I've just found this thread, in my search for "the best" cactus fertiliser.

Thank you everyone for so much detail! It is so refreshing!

I'm going to go ahead and order some Chempak no. 8.

Thank you, this is all so helpful :grin:
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by cactuspip »

I used to use Phostrogen, but I got fed up with it absorbing moisture in the air and becoming a horrible mess in the packet.
I converted over to using Chempak 8 a year or so ago and the improvement in appearance and growth of my plants has been dramatic.

I would never go back to Phostrogen now.
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by ragamala »

A question on Chempak. I was foolish enough to leave my plastic box out in the sun for an hour or so in bright sun after using it for watering, and the blue on the top surface and sides was bleached to white. Does this destroy the usefulness as fertiliser, does anyone know please?
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Re: What fertilizers do you use?

Post by Terry S. »

Putting on my ex-chemist's hat, I would say that inorganic mineral salts such as this are not going to suffer much change from being left in the sun.

As an aside, organic chemicals, particularly when in a liquid form, are quite likely to decompose under normal storage conditions, even out of the sun. Sun and heat on these would be even more destructive. The chief garden chemicals involved with be pesticides of various forms. So if you have been hording your organophosphorus nerve-agents for decades (dimethoate, malathion) you could be putting all sorts of decomposed chemicals onto your plants.
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