Another fertilizer thread (Southern Ag 20 20 20
- Thread starter bonsfl
- Start date
Glaucus
Omono
No reason to use a 'balanced' fertilizer without a special reason. Also, urea is considered inappropriate for growing in substrata, because of the pH swings it may cause.
Not sure why 20-20-20 fertilizers are being marketed. Do you feel that it is superior to say a 15-5-10 fertilizer?
If you just want to dump some fertilizer on your lawn, this is probably perfect.
Not sure why 20-20-20 fertilizers are being marketed. Do you feel that it is superior to say a 15-5-10 fertilizer?
If you just want to dump some fertilizer on your lawn, this is probably perfect.
Like I said, this fert has other nitrogen’s besides urea, since its water soluble you can always do a 10-10-10 or 5-5-5, just add less per gallon.
Notsureaboutplantnames
Yamadori
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Point being that plants do not use N, P and K in equal amounts. Plants always need more N than either P or K. Much of the P and K in that fertilser will never be used so it's waste of your money. Even worse than waste of money, excess nutrients are leached out of the pot and end up in rivers and streams or in ground water where they cause all sorts of problems.
I suspect this crazy equal ratio has come from the term 'balanced fertilizer' which was originally coined to describe a fert that had all the necessary nutrients. Before that we relied on natural products that provided some but not all nutrients and needed to combine different products to get a spread of nutrients for the plants.
Growers then misconstrued 'balanced' with 'equal' and soon the fert companies started to cater for that (misinformed) market.
The sooner growers wise up and stop buying these crazy 'equal' products the better for all.
And what fertilizer do you use?
Notsureaboutplantnames
Yamadori
Just an FYI for those of us in the US. We label our fertilizers in the oxide form (except N) which overstates the true amount of P and K.
P2O5 = 44% P and K2O = 83% P
tripple 20 is 20-8.8-16.6 (NPK)
It's also good to know that US field agriculture uses the oxide form as recommendations for applications, such as 200 pounds of K2O/ac.
While greenhouse growers and most of the outside container nursery growers use elemental forms, such as 200 ppm K (sorry metric folks, mg/L)
P2O5 = 44% P and K2O = 83% P
tripple 20 is 20-8.8-16.6 (NPK)
It's also good to know that US field agriculture uses the oxide form as recommendations for applications, such as 200 pounds of K2O/ac.
While greenhouse growers and most of the outside container nursery growers use elemental forms, such as 200 ppm K (sorry metric folks, mg/L)
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
I have fantastic root growth with Tomorite
That’s why I switched from jacks to southern ag. Same, less urea, and cheaper
What stores have this? Ace Hardware?
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
I use a combination of 3 different forms.
Controlled release - Osmocote/Nutricote?etc - mixed with the soil provides small amounts of nutrient every time the tree is watered. Great backup for when I'm not as diligent as I should be with regular fertilising. NPK: 15-3.5-9.1(remember we measure the actual elemental N,P and K, not the oxide forms that you use so the numbers won't match exactly with your equivalents)
'Thrive' All purpose soluble fertiliser - NPK 25: 5: 8.8 . Not sure what your equivalent would be? Cheapest soluble fertiliser available. Provides almost instant nutrients. Used every 2-4 weeks through growing season.
Chicken poo pellets - 'Dynamic Lifter' - again not sure what your equivalent brands would be. Slower release, longer acting organic in pellet form. 1 spoonful on a 15-20 cm pot every 4-6 weeks through the growing season. NPK 3.5 : 1 : 1.6
Occasionally 'PowerFeed' which is a liquid seaweed product fortified with other nutrient sources to provide realistic and consistent levels of nutrients. That one is suitable for P sensitive plants so used in place of Thrive when fertilising Banksia, Protea, Grevillea, etc. NPK 12:1.4:7
Very few fertilisers, especially organics, have every nutrient required by plants. I figure using a variety will help balance out the deficiencies in each without resorting to trace element supplements or trying to figure out what's deficient from signs in the leaves.
Glaucus
Omono
You asked how to evaluate this type of fertilizer for bonsai. The downside of this one is that the ratio is different from how plants remove nutrients from the soil or substrate.
Another downside is that it is about 1/3rd of N from urea.
Otherwise, it is perfectly fine fertilizer.
I’m not sure if ace hardware carries this fertilizer, they carry other southern ag products. I just order mine from Amazon.
