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Favorite Fertilizer


GregVirginia7

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Curious to get feedback on peoples’ favorite fertilizer...wanted to get first-hand opinions on products being used...

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Here what works best for me....

Dr. Earth exotic blend organic with truebiotic mircrobes, Mycorrhizae. I can also uses in on other tropical plants. Here is a picture of palm in January 2021 and then July 1, 2021. 51quiITMkTL._AC_.jpg.1978b4f40bf1e788f8ac7b2a71e2b35c.jpg81FghCvDv2L._AC_SL1500_-1.thumb.jpg.0bd52eff2026e1da81736120afbeeedd.jpg

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PalmGain as far as synthetic palm specific fertilizers go.

I use a lot of Dr. Earth and Espoma amendments in the garden around the palms as well. They are also all on drip irrigation.

Building the soil around them helps more than just straight palmgain IMO/IME.

 

 

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I use Miracle Gro shake and feed Palm NPK 8-2-12.   This raises a question for which I can't find an answer on line.   There are many sites that say palm fertilizer should have NPK with about the same values (e.g. Dr Earth above 5-4-6).  Others sites have a much lower P percentage (like the miracle gro I use).  Are these different ratios good for different climates or different types of soil? Or something else?  Or does the the P level not matter?  Any answers to this would help me next year when I buy fertilizer.

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3 hours ago, newtopalmsMD said:

I use Miracle Gro shake and feed Palm NPK 8-2-12.   This raises a question for which I can't find an answer on line.   There are many sites that say palm fertilizer should have NPK with about the same values (e.g. Dr Earth above 5-4-6).  Others sites have a much lower P percentage (like the miracle gro I use).  Are these different ratios good for different climates or different types of soil? Or something else?  Or does the the P level not matter?  Any answers to this would help me next year when I buy fertilizer.

Low P for alkaline soils. Acidic soils and potting soil can tolerate more phosphorus.

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Organics, with the occasional, ~ though not much these days~  addition of a slow release synthetic, for everything..  Always low in Phos. / higher in K.

Down to Earth and EB Stone are the top two Organics i have used for years w/ out fail.. DR. Earth products is another that has been good.

Down To Earth products expand upon basic Fert " mixes "  w/ numerous stand alone components one can add to a fertilizer mix. Also use Egg Shells / Coffee grounds < when i have access to them >

Some things like Cacti rarely need much -if any - fertilizer to begin with.  They get a spoonful of " food " once a year / every other year.

Would ditch anything like Miracle Gro.. Stuff is pretty much Crack for plants, which isn't healthy fro the plant, or the soil it grows in.

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So Silas you use those for inground plantings? I live in Az also and probably have similiar soils. 

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Thanks everyone...very helpful, especially on the organic side... I use Palmgain 8-2-12 and add regular waterings with an unsulphured   molasses tonic. Pretty sure the molasses feeds a lot of microbes in the soil but it would be well worth a Dr. Earth type boost as it would be a far more nutritious, long-term soil builder...maybe a shot of the Dr. in early spring followed by the synthetic slow release N fertilizer then end feeding in August with the organic. Palms are very happy this summer having begun regular feeding and more periodic watering...what a difference.

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3 hours ago, GregVirginia7 said:

Thanks everyone...very helpful, especially on the organic side... I use Palmgain 8-2-12 and add regular waterings with an unsulphured   molasses tonic. Pretty sure the molasses feeds a lot of microbes in the soil but it would be well worth a Dr. Earth type boost as it would be a far more nutritious, long-term soil builder...maybe a shot of the Dr. in early spring followed by the synthetic slow release N fertilizer then end feeding in August with the organic. Palms are very happy this summer having begun regular feeding and more periodic watering...what a difference.

You're talking my language. 

When I plant new palms, I typically amend the native soil with compost and good quality in ground commercially available soils (here I usually use Sta-Green and/or Jungle Growth for our red dense clay). If I have the Dr. Earth exotic blend I make sure to use a hearty amount in the hole, position and plant the palm, and water everything in with unsulphured blackstrap molasses and seaweed extract to really kick start the biological activity surrounding the root zone. I water with this mixture and an organic feed every 2 weeks to 1 month during the palms first growing season in the ground. Over the past several years, I have found this really makes the difference across multiple species. Setting up a healthy soil environment, especially surrounding the root zone that first year is critical to establishment. Thereafter, I use Palmgain every other month beginning the 1st of March - September at some point, and every 2 weeks to once a month give everything a liquid feed of the mixture mentioned above. 

I use espoma's products in the beds surrounding the palms when planting new companion plants here and there throughout the growing season, and give applications of alfalfa pellets, coffee grounds regularly, and 2-3 times a year I might throw some epsom salts, or something like FoxFarms Marine Cuisine around just to help things out. 

That having been said - I grow a lot of very hungry tropical plants (Bananas, heliconia, gingers, alocasia/colocasia, cannas, etc...) so this isn't gospel to anyone reading this and thinking they should do the same. It depends on your unique environment, schedule, situation etc... 

 

K, Im done. hahahah! :yay:

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I forgot I do sometimes use seaweed as both a foliar spray and for the soil. I will also occasionally use liquid fish fertilizer. 

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Osmocote plus micros in spring and summer. Sulpomag going into winter. 
borax for my annoying boron deficiency.

maybe if I used organic I could correct the boron problem?

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