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Zurich, Ontario Canada

Most of my fertilizers have directions for foliar feeding. Is there a rule of thumb for ratio to water if you want to root feed? For example- If I am mixing 1 oz/gallon for foliar, how many oz/ gallon for root feeding.Any ideas!!!

7/8/2014 9:59:29 PM

Austin MN

Is foliar better than drench?

7/8/2014 11:06:45 PM

Zurich, Ontario Canada

I think you will open up a big can of worms with that question. It's sort of like the compost tea thing. It has to be done right to be effective. There could be alot of opinions on the matter. I am going to stay nuetral as I haven't seen 1000 pounds in my patch yet,so I have alot to learn!!!!

7/8/2014 11:27:34 PM

Farming- a bunch of catastrophies that result in a lifestyle

Personally, I try to drench vs foliar- I live in an extremely humid area, and the less moisture on the leaves the better. I've done it both ways with a variety of crops...everything from flowers to pumpkins, I also asked this question in a similar form earlier on....the verdict seems to be: a plant is designed to feed through it's roots, a pumpkins leaves are funnel shaped so that naturally deliver water to the root at the node. *Shrug* I drench them, it's where it's going to wind up anyway with a bazillion funnels sending it down the stalk to the root.

7/9/2014 7:18:54 AM

Williamsburg,KY

Ok, my opinion..depends on the product you are going to use. Call or email the company and ask them. What product do you want to drench? Good luck.

7/9/2014 7:52:07 AM

San Diego

a combo is best in my opinion. Foliar with products that are hard to get uptake out of your soil. I foliar micros, manganese, and calcium, as these nutrients are hard for my plant to take up with my higher ph and soil. Every patch is different, learn what you need and what makes sense for you.

7/9/2014 11:46:00 AM

Hinckley MN

Leaves can only absorb tiny, tiny amounts of positively charged ions. that is the science.

personaly, when I have a cold I don't bathe in chicken soup. When plants are deficient, they need to feed with their roots. that is my opinion.

If your micro nutrients are not available due to your soil pH, then change your soil pH. obviously that is tough to do in the middle of a season, and foliar can be a bandaide until you can correct the real problem.

7/9/2014 2:33:30 PM

San Diego

farmer ben,

no disrespect intended, but foliar works great for deficiencies. I have seen it in action for my plant, it responds very well to foliar and very quickly. We are very deficient in manganese, I use it foliar since it locks up in higher ph soils. One spray of foliar and you can see a significant difference, whether science backs it up or not, I do not know, but in the real world it works.

Our soil ph is always high at the end of the year, our water ph is high, etc. It is impossible to keep it under 7 on a consistant basis here in san diego, no matter how much you do to bring it down. Been doing this for 14 years. Experiment and find what best works in your area, every patch is different and there is no set rules to follow.

7/9/2014 11:40:57 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Ah. Can of worms indeed.
Simple answer > Both are beneficial in different ways.

Joe, Re: your ? ....Generally > Apply the same rate to the soil as by foliar.

While foliar sprays may be the quicker picker upper they can only help correct deficiencies in the leaves. Foliar sprays do nothing to alleviate low Ca in a fruits rear end. However some type of foliar applications can be used to modify transpiration and prolong life or delay senescence.

Drenches can help to ensure solubility of nutrients. Tie up issues as mentioned are best resolved at the source. Enhancing the Rhizosphere often makes foliar applications of micro elements unnecessary. Promoting healthy roots is paramount.

7/10/2014 8:58:45 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Try this 2009 article for those interested in foliar app research.

FOLIAR FERTILIZATION: MECHANISMS AND MAGNITUDE OF NUTRIENT UPTAKE

http://www.fluidfertilizer.com/Forum%20Presentations/2009/2009%20Forum%20Proceedings/Derrick%20Oosterhuis.pdf

7/10/2014 9:41:03 AM