BCSS - Forum

If anyone has used this to treat nutritional deficiencies in cacti and has had success over a long period with applying this in liquid form, without any harmful accumulation of elements in the growing medium, I would love to know:-

1) The dosage rate used (ie mls of dry powder per litre of water)
2) The frequency of application during the growing period

Hope to hear from someone!

The vast majority of my collection has gone, but it was something like 80-100 square feet of mostly 3-5 inch pots of all but the tender cacti genera and they were watered with Chenpak 2 (start of growth in spring), 4 (for the bulk of the growing season) and 8 (for the tail end of growth), for quite a number of years, and nothing ever led me to believe that they were anything but "fully fed" in that time. Back then, I ws raising many hundreds of seedlings each year and the same applied.

What do you think your plants lack, and why?

About as many succulents were treated the same way and I saw nothing in them to indicate any nutrient problems either.

I have sent a couple of messages, but messages seem to sit and not get sent or disappear entirely here. Let me know if you haven't seen them.

Davey246 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 2:37 pm I have sent a couple of messages, but messages seem to sit and not get sent or disappear entirely here. Let me know if you haven't seen them.

Oddly, messages move from "Outbox" to "Sent messages" only when actually read, ucp.php?i=pm&folder=inbox

MatDz wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 6:50 pmOddly, messages move from "Outbox" to "Sent messages" only when actually read, ucp.php?i=pm&folder=inbox

Yes, thanks, but I have had messages completely evaporate into thin air too.

Adding trace elements, or any fertiliser for that matter, can cause more problems than it solves.

Too much fertiliser leads to a high level of salts in the soil which will damage roots.

Also too much of one nutrient can cause problems with uptake of other nutrients.

So I'm curious why you think there's a lack of TE in the first place? And which TE exactly?

The ONLY way to find out is to do a proper soil test, which will tell you exactly what your soil needs (and doesn't need).

gerald wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:34 am Adding trace elements, or any fertiliser for that matter, can cause more problems than it solves.

Too much fertiliser leads to a high level of salts in the soil which will damage roots.

Also too much of one nutrient can cause problems with uptake of other nutrients.

So I'm curious why you think there's a lack of TE in the first place? And which TE exactly?

The ONLY way to find out is to do a proper soil test, which will tell you exactly what your soil needs (and doesn't need).

Gerald .... if only people would take note of your sensible words.

Whilst there is a good dose of truth in what Gerald writes, there is also a high level of impracticality in suggesting a full soil test, especially in a collection of probably hundreds of pots with dozens of slightly different soil composition.
The reality of life for most of us is that we cannot contemplate full testing and so rely on help and advice in combination with our own observations of our plants.
I cannot provide the right advice, but I do think it is a reasonable question to ask.

Cidermanrolls wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 12:34 pm Whilst there is a good dose of truth in what Gerald writes, there is also a high level of impracticality in suggesting a full soil test, especially in a collection of probably hundreds of pots with dozens of slightly different soil composition.
The reality of life for most of us is that we cannot contemplate full testing and so rely on help and advice in combination with our own observations of our plants.
I cannot provide the right advice, but I do think it is a reasonable question to ask.

That is exactly what I meant in my comment about what Gerald commented

I looked online for a few minutes for the label of ingredients but can't find one. Not sure if the UK does the same as the US with labeling.

We have to have exactly what nutrient is in each fertilizer as a percent.
Say 20% N - from ammonium nitrate and a percent of each NH4 and NO3. They also list all the micronutrients.

Is that the same on ChemPak fertilizers?