Amended soils

[Devoted1]

Hey guys, does it really matter that much which company makes blood meal, bone meal, azomite, greensand, kelp meal? TIA

 

[bigc29]

no

 

[MrSterling]

I want to say *yes*, but the fact is the market for major amendments are dominated by a handful of companies. I personally have ethical issues with blood and bone meal but that's because I assume it's tied in to industrial slaughterhouses, which makes economic sense from the prices on the bags. At the same time better to return it to the soil than to waste it. Kelp meal's quality depends on where it's from, what type (green or brown), and mainly how it's processed(cold v. hot, air dried v. oven dried). You'll end up paying far more for the small consumer bag of Espoma kelp meal than if you bought in bulk from a feed store.

 

[Devoted1]

Hello, sir. I am very sorry for the late reply. Thank you for answering my question! Of all the methods of kelp meal that you talked about, which method produces the best quality of kelp meal in your opinion? I am gonna visit the feed store now, haha.

 

[MrSterling]

Oy, let me see if I can remember all the details. I still buy Espoma because it's the cheapest local option, but kisorganics online is also good. You want meal, not extract. Naturally air dried is better than force dried for retaining nutrients. I can't remember which of the locations or types is better but honestly the difference in nutrients should be minimal. If you're on the west coast you have many options.

 

[nukklehead]

fwiw in ease of acquiring... epsoma is the bomb..

 

[BugJar]

I have never really liked the look of espoma stuff personally.

first time I saw their kelp I was confused by it's appearance

 

[BugJar]

Calphos anyone?

Calphos anyone?

whoops

 

[MrSterling]

Espoma is good stuff afaik.

 

[VerdantGreen]

i think you've got to start with amendments that you can easily and consistently get hold of, and then try to check them out. you could drive yourself mad trying to source the particular type or brand that is recommended by the 'experts'. much of it will likely be very similar although there are exceptions, with 'exctracted' stuff like seaweed etc.
many of the products taught here are simply not available in the UK. it doesnt mean my soil doesnt work. most of them are interchangeable or easily substituted by something else.

VG

 

[vonforne]

I prefer to purchase mine locally. You could go to the farm store and check with them. Tractor Supply is the one I use. Depends on what region you are in for what brand they can get. In the area I am in now I purchased North Atlantic Kelp. It is processed out of Nova Scotia. Other brands to ask about are Thorvin it comes out of Iceland and Acadian, it comes out of Norway.

http://www.thorvin.com/product.htm
http://www.acadianseaplants.com/
http://www.noamkelp.com/

I ordered mine from TSC and the shipping was 7.00 opposed to the 50.00 shipping from Amazon. You could go with Espoma from Home Depot or Lowes but it only comes in smaller packages. @ 10.00 for 2 lbs you would be better off ordering from a farm supply store.

 

[bigc29]

im in canada..toronto, ontario & i can't find epsoma any where

 

[bigc29]

i guess u cant buy it in canada

 

[vonforne]

go to espoma.ca and put in your postal code. You also have 3 or 4 Home Depots there. Chaeck with them and see what they carry........use the internet. It saves on fuel.