Fertilizer Archives - Page 8 of 10

Epsom Salt Myths – learn the truth about using it in the garden

Almost daily, I see a post in social media about using Epsom salt to cure all manner of plant problem. Planting a new plant; add Epsom salt to the planting hole. Are bugs your problem? Epsom salt will get rid of them. It also gets rid of diseases, and blemished on leaves. It makes tomatoes grow bigger, and produces a higher yield, with no Blossom End Rot. Roses are absolutely dependent on the stuff – you must put it in the planting hole every time.

If Epsom salt is such a miracle cure for plants, why is it that the scientific community does not know about it? Time to debunk this myth once and for all.

Epsom salt for plants – or is it best for a bath?

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The Full Scoop on Composting Poop

Human and animal waste is considered to be a good garden fertilizer in much of the world. In more civilized countries we call it ‘icky’. Can you compost urine and poop? Are there disease issues? Does it need to be composted differently than other organic ingredients? Read on to get the full scoop on poop.

urine and straw equals compost — Urine and straw equals compost

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Compost Adds Enzymes and Hormones

One of the claimed benefits of compost in the garden is to provide the soil and plants with enzymes and hormones. Is this true? What would enzymes and hormones do for the garden? Good questions in the quest to understand compost better.

compost enzymes — Compost enzyme converts larger molecule (green substrate) to two smaller ones (products)

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Benefits of Composting

In past posts I have talked about some of the benefits of compost. It improves soil structure and it adds nutrients to the soil. What about the other benefits like adding microbes to the soil, reducing diseases and eliminating the need for additional fertilizer? Are these real benefits or just gardening myths?

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Compost Fertilizer Numbers

In my last post Compost – Is it an Organic Fertilizer, I concluded that compost was an organic fertilizer and that it adds nutrients for the garden. I’d now like to have a closer look at the compost fertilizer numbers, the NPK, to better understand how and when the nutrients from compost are made available to plants. This discussion will also uncover some interesting facts about reported fertilizer numbers for organic fertilizers.

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Compost – Is It An Organic Fertilizer?

Compost is good for the garden, in part, because it adds nutrients for the plants. That sounds like a fertilizer. But almost everything you read says that compost is NOT a fertilizer. Something doesn’t make sense—let’s have a closer look at this myth. Is compost an organic fertilizer?

Compost Bin for making organic fertilizer — Compost bin for making organic fertilizer

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Container Gardening – Selecting the Right Soil

In my last post I talked about fertilizing container gardens containing a soil-less mix. In this post I’ll look at some aspects of selecting the right soil.

container gardening - soils — Container gardening – soils

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Bokashi Composting Myths

Bokashi composting, also spelled bocashi composting, is a new way to deal with kitchen scraps. The proponents of the system claim that it has a number of benefits not found in more traditional composting methods. In this blog post, I will have a close look at Bokashi composting and separate myth from reality.

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Coffee Grounds in Garden

Coffee Grounds have a reputation for solving all kinds of garden problems. It is claimed that they reduce the number of diseases, ward off insects, fertilize the soil, and even keep slugs from eating your plants. Let’s have a look at the truth behind coffee grounds.

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Blossom End Rot, BER, in Tomatoes

Blossom End Rot, known as BER, is a disfiguration found in fruiting vegetables, like tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, eggplants, and apples. This problem is usually blamed on a shortage of calcium, but this turns out to be a myth.

blossom end rot in tomatoes — Blossom end rot in tomatoes, photo source: NC State University

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Fertilizer nonsense #3: All Tomatoes Need the Same Fertilizer

Last week I showed that it does not make sense matching a fertilizer formulation to a plant type. For example, a 1-2-1 fertilizer for tomatoes does not make sense. In part this is true because every manufacturer has their own recommendation. But there is a more important mistake being made by anyone who recommends a certain formulation for a specific type of plant–read on.

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Fertilizer Nonsense #2: Match Fertilizer to Plants

Last week I pointed out that the concept of a balanced fertilizer did not make sense. When scientists measured the amount of nutrients in plants they found that the levels of N, P and K were not equal.

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