To test what exactly?if one as the money, buy a colorimeter
hach is a good company I hear
if one as the money, buy a colorimeter
Never even looked into those and did a little research. What were you testing for?true dat!
Too expensive back in the day (early '80's) but they are cheap now.
On page 2 was the answer you sought , posted by 2 very good organic growers that have had a lot of experience . Comfrey .
It is available from some outlets ready dried , i`ll see if i can find what i`m looking for but i bet your in another country so finding a retailer your end via a web search will probably save time .
Is the dried comfrey used the same way as the fresh by making a FPE?
Never even looked into those and did a little research. What were you testing for?
So you think a colorimeter is better than getting something like a set of sap testers that are dedicated to only things like K, Na and NO3? Besides those what other nutrient levels were you looking at? Sap meters test at the ppm level...does a colorimeter do that? I'm guessing a colorimeter will not test sap pH or EC so you'd still need those. You ever use a chlorophyll meter? Man those are expensive.Nutrient levels within the plant. Helps one know if what they are doing with soil/nutes is working or what needs to be addressed in the future.
While doing some quick research saw some reference to the 'soil food web' and that K2Mg2(SO4)3 can be harmful to microflora and yeah if you use a lot globally I think that would be the case...from what I understand.
How harmful to the microherd is the K-Mag? Does anyone have any experience with this?
You don't have to worry about it unless you really over did it then maybe problems like anything else. Most of my organics experience comes from working with REv at Skunk mag. He would mainly use it low it the container and not a lot globally. Just like he said composted steer manure should be laid low in the container. Anything high in salts down low and not in a high concentration globally.How harmful to the microherd is the K-Mag? Does anyone have any experience with this?
I need to mix up 5 yards of soil for a greenhouse and am wanting to use K-Mag as my main K source since it is so cheap and I need a fair bit of it, and it gives me a nice sulfur and mg source to boot. Whatcha all think?
LOL...took you about 24 hours to respond to the Tennessee Brown thing and was interested to see what you had to say . I've mentioned TB a few times over the years and the first real response I got.FreedomFighter
A few years back the parent company of the (in)famous 'Tennessee Brown Phosphate' (which is NOT a rock phosphate under any definition) made application to Oregon Department of Agriculture for approval to sell their product in this state - 2005 to be exact.
Huh? Why would they be applying in 2005 when they've been mining this source since the 1920's - why is that?
Well it's pretty interesting actually and has ALL to do with the location of this mine and their competitor phosphate sources in South Carolina and Florida. Regionalism.
In late 2003, DOE conducted a series of testing for a number of phosphate sources from the 5 major mines, i.e. Montana, Idaho, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida. [cite]
It was this specific study that got Tennessee Brown de-listed in Oregon and other states that require that you either "put-up or shut-up" and the PROPRIETARY company that mines Tennessee Brown chose not to play and pulled out.
Good deal for them actually. FENCO is the only retailer of this product and they continue to make the specious claims about 'twice the phosphorus' which is pretty interesting as their legal declaration on their product that it contains "3% Available Phosphorus" - just like any other minded phosphorus source.
No magic. No mystery. No blog bull-sh*t. Facts are facts.
If you review both Tables 5 thru 7 in the link that I provided you can see the 'real life comparison' on the products from these specific mines.
I would note that when presented with this information at their hearing the parent company asked for, and received, an exception order under ODA Section 13 in order to provide ODA with further evidence to back up their claims about '2x' the Phosphorus levels in their product vs. other sources.
They didn't. Couldn't. Wouldn't. Haven't. They were de-listed in January 2006.
HTH
CC
So I have been using subcools soil mix and running into K def. since there doesn't seem to really be a valid K source in his mix. Feeling kind of silly I didn't scrutinize this closer earlier....
Anyways, currently I have a few ladies that are in this soil mix(just put into 10gal pots a few days ago) and starting to show K def. I have been feeding with kelp extract as a soil drench, and they get foliar fed with kelp a few times a week also. However, all this doesn't seem to be enough to slow down this deficiency, so I bring my case to the organic soil crew for a solution!
Any ideas?, i'm thinking of top dressing with Kelp meal and continuing soil and foliar feeding with kelp. Should I diversify my K source? Any tips or tricks on how to correct my K def. organically would be greatly appreciated!
personally I use natural/charcoal aswell peace out Headband707
I like Subcool but not too fond of his "bat quano use" with bare hands in that SHIT is not the greatest idea....