Fertilizer Archives - gardenmyths.com

Using Conductivity (EC) and pH Measurements to Control Hydroponic Solutions

Hydroponics can be a great way to grow plants but it is important to make sure the nutrient solution contains enough food for the whole growth cycle. If either pH or EC (electrical conductivity) is out of whack, plants grow poorly or stop growing all together. It is therefore important to measure and control the nutrient solution. This post will look at what the numbers mean and what you should do about them to keep plants growing well.

Key Takeaways

Keeping the pH and EC in the preferred range is important for plant growth.
Use EC and not TDS for measurements and online discussions.
Nutrient lockout does not really exist, but is important to understand.

an EC meter superimposed on tomatoes growing hydroponically in deep water culture. — EC should be measured for both the deep water culture and Kratky methods

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Molasses for Plants

This is a hot gardening topic these days and many of organic gardeners are promoting the idea that you should add molasses to your compost pile, to compost rea or even spray plants with it. In tea and on soil it makes microbes grow and on plants it can prevent pests.

Molasses; should you eat it, or use it in the garden?

A family of ginerbread cookies. — Molasses for Plants, source: Йоана Петрова

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How To Lower High Phosphorus Levels in Soil

Over fertilization with either synthetic and organic material can result in toxic soil that no longer supports plant growth. This is a common problem in raised beds that are filled with too much organic matter but it can occur in any garden. Today I’ll have a look at both the cause of high phosphorus in soil and ways that you can use to reduce the level.

Key Takeaways

High phosphorus levels are a series problem that is becoming more common.
Reduce the use of synthetic and organic fertilizer with high relative phosphorus.
Reduce P levels by growing the right crops and removing all organic matter.

High phosphorus levels can be toxic to plants, source: Depositphotos

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Is Copper Sulfate in Miracle-Gro Fertilizer Toxic?

Some types of Miracle-Gro fertilizer are a blue color due to the addition of copper sulfate. But copper sulfate is toxic to microbes and fungi. Several online sites and videos are now claiming that it makes the fertilizer toxic and should never be used because it kills soil microbes. Are they right?

box of Miracle-gro fertilizer with crystals of copper sulfate. — Copper sulfate crystals are blue giving the fertilizer its distinctive color, source: Depositphotos

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How To Fertilize Tomato Plants

Discussions about fertilizing tomatoes is mostly about selecting the right NPK and rarely discusses the amount to use. When quantity does come up, most comments suggest following the instructions on the box. But are the instructions on the box correct? Are the instructions complete enough so that you can apply the correct amount?

This post will compare some commercial products to see what they suggest and then I’ll compare that to reliable agricultural recommendations to see how much fertilizer gardeners should be using to grow great tomatoes.

hand placing fertilizer on a tomato plant — How much fertilizer should you add? source: Depositphotos

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Is Yeast a Super Fertilizer for Plants?

The hottest new trend is to fertilize plants with a magical “superfood” fertilizer made from yeast. Is this a good idea? Is it a good fertilizer? Does it grow better plants? Let’s look at the facts.

bread, sugar and yeast — Make fertilizer, not bread, source: Depositphotos

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What is Hydroponic Fertilizer?

Hydroponics has become more popular especially with the invention of the aerogarden systems, like AeroGarden. DIY home hydroponic grow systems are also popular, as are Kratky methods. All of these systems require hydroponic fertilizer which is quite a bit more expensive than regular soluble fertilizer. It begs the question, can you use regular fertilizer in place of hydroponic fertilizer? What makes hydroponic fertilizer special and what should you be looking for when you buy them?

hands holding lettuce plant showing roots — Lettuce grown hydroponically, source: Farm

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Lawns Reduce CO2 Levels

Is the lawn good or bad for the environment? You can look at this problem from different points of view and today I would like to examine the specific question; do lawns reduce CO2 levels.

A study done by Scotts Miracle Gro concluded that “The lawn is a good and valued resource for sequestering carbon, even under various typical lawn management practices”. Is this really true??? The answer is more complicated than you might think.

Lawns reduce CO2 levels, source: Jeremy Page

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What is Salt – It May Not be What You Think

Some people won’t use synthetic fertilizer because it contains “salts”. For years I was told not to use mushroom compost because it contains “too many salts”. Salt is also recommended to kill weeds and just today I saw a post which suggested pink Himalayan salt makes plants grow better. You can buy commercial sea salt to fertilize your plants. This doesn’t make sense. Salt is a weed killer and it’s a good fertilizer?

As a gardener it is crucial that you understand which salt is being discussed so you don’t use the wrong one and harm your plants. This blog will help you through the maze of salt crystals.

Picture showing salt shaker and a bag with NPK on the label, and the word VS between the two — What is Salt?

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Is Milk a Good Fertilizer

There has been a lot of chatter on the net recently about the magical benefits of milk as fertilizer in the garden. Most of the Magic is Imagined.

bowl of milk with a large splash coming out of it. — Milk as fertilizer, source: placbo

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How the Milk Fertilizer Myth Started

A while ago I wrote about Milk As Fertilizer and concluded that although milk would add organic matter to a garden, it was no ‘magic bullet’. Since that report I have spent more time looking at the subject of milk fertilizer and tracked down how this myth was born. It a thriller full of deception and lies. Today I will dig deep into this myth and uncover some surprising facts. Then I will review the latest research on the subject.

Milk Fertilizer - a Myth is Born — Milk Fertilizer – a Myth is Born, source: Patrick Franzis

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Rock Dust – Can It Remineralize the Earth?

Rock dust is a very popular soil additive especially with organic and permaculture groups. It is full of nutrients and it is claimed that adding it to soil will replenish all of the nutrients that agriculture has taken out of our soil. This process of adding nutrients back to soil is known as mineralization.

This seems to make a lot of sense. We remove food from the land, and the food contains lots of minerals. At some point we need to put them back into the soil or else we will have soil that won’t grow anything. This seems logical but is it really true? Is our soil losing fertility? If it is deficient, can rock dust be used to solve the problem? How effective is rock dust and which type of rock works the best? Time to crush some myths about rock dust.

Azomite – a common brand of rock dust

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