Cactus Fertiliser comparison

[gerald]

I ran out recently so I had a quick look at the market to see what's available. There are several types and the values seemed to vary enormously, so I made up a little comparison table to make things clearer. Price information is from Amazon.

[habanerocat]

Are all those mixed at recommended strength? Making Chempak 8 more economical if mixed at half strength. If you know what I mean.

[juster]

That's very useful Gerald, thanks. I generally use half strength Chempak 8, so definitely a good buy - I like the results too!

[gerald]

Yes the table shows recommended (full) strength

So your Chempak 8 is even better value at 1/2 strength

The liquid feeds appear to be little more than water, given their very low NPK values and poor value for money!

[Phil_SK]

Last column in £ not p?

[ralphrmartin]

You might want to add Ericaceous Miracle Grow to that. It's what I use, and is at least as economical - I add a 500g packet costing £4 to 2000L of water (perhaps more dilute than recommended, but still more than strong enough).

[gerald]

Last column in £ not p?

Oops yes you're absolutely right, though the principle remains the same

[Peter]

In my very long experience, the best manufacturer is Solufeed. They are manufacturers of commercial feeds. They also supply in retail size packs. My plants made excellent progress with intermittent feeds of their balanced, and their high potassium feeds. Highly recommended - and UK manufactured.
www.solufeed.com

[Terry S.]

That is a particularly interesting table Gerald in being able to compare the NPK ratio that various manufacturers seem to regard as suitable for succulent plants. There really are big differences between them when one might have expected the proportions to be based on some sort of consensus, perhaps even on past research. I will stick with my Chempak 8.

Incidentally how does the nitrogen component compare in the products with respect to organic (urea) and inorganic (nitrate and ammonium ions) components? I would love to see some good data about how readily nitrogen can be made available from urea under our cactus cultivation conditions. In neat molar or pumice, it could be very little. I don't take any chances and using Chempak 8, the nitrogen is all inorganic and readily absorbed.

[gerald]

In my very long experience, the best manufacturer is Solufeed. They are manufacturers of commercial feeds. They also supply in retail size packs. My plants made excellent progress with intermittent feeds of their balanced, and their high potassium feeds. Highly recommended - and UK manufactured.
www.solufeed.com

I'm inclined to agree with you, I use their products to grow my giant pumpkin, and I got 2nd place in the UK last year

Which one is it specifically that you use for your cacti?