Solufeed

[Peter]

This Chichester based company manufactures plant feeds, mainly for commercial growers, and also caters for hobby growers.

As I have decided to move my plants onto a balanced diet I recently ordered a 5kg pack of their 1:1:1 formulation. This cost £23.50 including free of charge delivery. This provides a worthwhile saving compared to Chempak 3 which at first glance seems quite similar. They also supply 1kg packs and in a range of formulations.

The 25kg pack comprises 5no separate foil packages in a box.

As always, I shall be using my Miracl- Gro hose end feeder to apply this product (having checked suitability with Solufeed's tech dept), this being the method that allows me to feed 2-3000 plants in 20 minutes!
http://www.shop.solufeed.co.uk

[DaveW]

I have a Miracle Grow hose end feeder Peter, but never know how much fertiliser you put in to get the correct dilution for use. When I bought it the whole bottle was just filled full of Miracle grow granules, put I presumed you did not leave all of it in there and just plug it in? How much fertiliser do you put in the bottle?

[Peter]

Dave: you are right to point out the difficulty of accurate gauging of dosing using low cost hose end feeders. With regard to Miracle Grow in particular, I have always left the full packet in the feeder. This gave two full feedings of my extensive collection with plain waterings in between. This worked well and has done so for well for me for over twenty years. I have over that period occasionally changed the feed, including using Phostrogen and Chempak, always using the feeder.

A major factor of course is water flow rate. In the case here, flow rate is excellent either from my water butts or from mains supply.

If there is any doubt, the way to proceed is to half fill the container with the fertiliser. This will allow result assessment and in fact I shall be doing so for the next couple of feedings with the Solufeed product however I have no doubt that it will be successful.

The method of feeding is a personal decision. I am clear that I have no interest in taking up to two hours constantly filling and applying feed from watering cans.

[D^L]

I have always assumed that there is supposed to be solid feed in the container. The water here is then at a known constant concentration - it is saturated.
The mechanism then allows the appropriate, small flow rate out of the container to mix with the main flow and give the required concentration.
Cheers
David Lambie

[Herts Mike]

Interesting that you have gone for the equivalent of 3 rather than 4 or 8, the latter being quite popular here.

[Peter]

Mike: tradition has it that cacti benefit from low nitrogen feed but I'm unsure as to where this notion came from. It is certainly understandable that a nitrogen rich fertiliser could possibly produce excessive, weak growth, however there has been discussion that a balanced blend (i.e. 1:1:1) could actually be beneficial.

This change of feed is something that I'm keen to try. The somewhat comical element here is that for 30 years or so I've been feeding with Miracle Grow and the like and the formulation for that is 24:8:16, i.e. high nitrogen - and my plants are certainly not leggy and weak! Is it so then, that what we've been told doesn't hold water (so to speak) hence my enthusiasm to try a balanced, neutral mixture.

David: thanks for your lucid explanation.

[Herts Mike]

Peter, I think the nitrogen in Miracle Gro isn't available to pot plants.

[Peter]

Find that difficult to accept, Mike. Their web site shows pics of lush green pot plants and given the high percentage of nitrogen, what happens to it if the plant does not take it up?

[ralphrmartin]

I have always assumed that there is supposed to be solid feed in the container. The water here is then at a known constant concentration - it is saturated.
The mechanism then allows the appropriate, small flow rate out of the container to mix with the main flow and give the required concentration.

That's never going to work, as eventually enough will be used up that it is no longer saturated. Indeed, you can see the colour fade as you use it up.

In my "professional" mixer I make the (Ericaceous) Miracle Grow up at 100 x the normal strength, and it is certainly all dissolved at that concentration; the concentrate is 20 L water to 500g fertiliser. But when making it up, the Miracle Grow seems pretty much all dissolved even in much less water than that.

With regard to Miracle Grow in particular, I have always left the full packet in the feeder. This gave two full feedings of my extensive collection with plain waterings in between. This worked well and has done so for well for me for over twenty years.

That's almost exactly what I find, funnily enough - a 20L container of concentrate is about enough to water my collection twice.

And like you you, despite now using a fertiliser higher in Nitrogen, I certainly dont find my plants are leggy. Before, I used a Chempack low nitrogen feed, but now the plants are growing better, with stronger spines etc. Of course, that could also be due to better light, better temperature grow control, lower humidity and other factors in my new greenhouse. But still, the fertiliser certainly isn't causing any obvious problems.

[Tony R]

Solufeed have a summary guide to plant nutrition on their website:
https://shop.solufeed.co.uk/advice-tips ... nutrition/