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South Hero, VT

Who is this woman? She says phosphate for root growth is useless, foliar feeding doesn't feed, and seaweed is best left in the sea.

http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/index.html

4/14/2015 5:14:31 PM

norway , maine

That was an interesting read...sounds like the foliar feeding she was referring to was for trees and shrubs...the bonemeal and seaweed and milk spraying was interesting...especially the high phosphorus levels in soil and its effect on mycorrhizae/root colonization ....

Hopefully someone like Joze or Russ will see this and put their 2 cents in

Thanks for the read Steve

4/14/2015 7:27:38 PM

North Smithfield, RI

Everyday roses a book written by Paul Zimmerman says the same thing about phosphates and Micro .

4/14/2015 8:48:49 PM

Deer Park, WI

I reviewed a few of the articles on this website and have concluded that she is correct in many of her conclusions.

Yes, its true, high soil phosphorous will limit myco colonization. Plants form relationships with myco as a means to bring more phos to the plant. if plenty is avail, it doesnt need myco to help. More is not always better...if you have excessive phos, lay off the ferts.

Yes, its true, foliar feeding is not a primary source of plant nutrition. However, please do not interpret these comments as black and white that foliar apps are useless. Soybean growers routinely apply foliar manganese to offset Mn deficiency. Likewise, foliar application of various solutions has its place in our hobby...fungicides, micronutrients, pesticides, all have legit foliar mechanisms. What she's saying tho is that foliar applying N-P-K as a primary source of nutrition doesnt make much sense. That's what roots are for. balance your soil and you dont need foliar apps.

Yes, its true, seaweed may only have limited usefulness in the patch as a source of plant growth stimulators. She mentions that microbes degrade the hormones in seaweed. spot on. It makes absolutely no sense to use granular/solid forms of seaweed as sources of growth regulators. How much is absorbed through the leaves in foliar application? its anyone's guess..nobody really knows for sure. Foliar fish/seaweed applications may help confer some disease resistance, but as a source of nutrition, not so much.

4/15/2015 8:03:07 PM

Deer Park, WI

I think sometimes we get caught up in the excitement that there's fancy tricks, potions, and lotions that will be sure to give us another 500lbs at the scale. I can relate, i've been there too. But at the end of the day, the surest way to grow a PB, break a state record, or earn a GPC coat is to test your soil, balance the levels based on those results, and focus on maintaining soil health. I'll say it again...focus on maintaining soil health.

I acknowledge the partial hypocrisy in my statement above, as I've have previously also stated that I believe hormones/PGRs are the next big thing for pushing weights higher. But we need solid evidence of what and how much before we get there.

4/15/2015 8:03:12 PM

Muddy Waters

very interesting My phosphorus was low last year.Makes sense

4/15/2015 8:58:55 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Kelp, I believe in the "Richmond Lang Effect" for several reasons. Seaweed compounds that contain the anti-oxidant Astaxanthin seam to delay senescence. The exact reason may be in the discovery of free radical scavengers extending the life and replication of the telomeres on a plants DNA.

With each cell division telomeres usually get shorter this is Natures natural governor that controls the growth of all living things. It has been suggested that cell division halts due to DNA errors that caused shrinkage of telomeres.

Therefore seaweed foliar sprays are very important on young leaves and fruit. Especially 7 to 10 days before pollination. Cells of the new fruit divide for a short time.

When combined with AA the next killer spray could indeed be an AA, CA mix that has Astaxanthin or other kelp type thingy's in. Maple bud syrup, Super Oxide Dismutase(SOD) or Ascorbic acids are a few Anti-oxidant's that come to mind.

4/15/2015 9:23:00 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Phos is myco inhibiting at water soluble levels starting above 100ppm in the soil. Key is most patch have low P availability. You should test for this as per Dr. Lindermans suggestions.

4/15/2015 9:28:01 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer is a BES friend. Ammonium is a competing cation of Ca and other elements. Uptake of CA is often restricted in patches that have lots of fresh OM.

Unless it is very early in the season my goal would be to halt all Ammonium N after the 31st of May.

4/15/2015 9:31:55 PM

Ontario, Canada.

I totally agree with Thigmomorphogenesis. Stimulation by vibrating the tender fruit may aid in cell division.

Vibrating or movement stimulates an ethylene release. It might be possible to produce the same Ethyrel type effect by repeated early FS jiggling.

4/15/2015 10:05:27 PM

norway , maine

Thank you...you guys are awesome

4/16/2015 7:43:24 PM

Deer Park, WI

I read the article on Gypsum and came to the conclusion I do not agree 100% with her conclusions. These articles are obviously meant for outdoor home vegetative decor. that's a whole different animal than a nutrient hungry small car in the making.

She claims gypsum has no nutritive value in urban landscapes. Regardless of where its applied, this conclusion simply isnt true. With less and less sulfur being deposited from acid rain, more and more producers are seeing sulfur deficiencies manifest in their fields/gardens. Sulfur leaches just like nitrogen. Here's why...the ground is a giant negatively charged magnet. N and S (as SO4) are both negatively charged too. What happens when you stick two ends of a magnet together that have the same charge?

You get my point. Soils have a hard time hanging onto these nutrients. Gypsum is a cheap, effective source of sulfur that does not move pH. Elemental sulfur will drop your pH over time.

SHe also mentioned that gypsum applications inhibit manganese availability. There seems to be some truth to this, excessive calcium levels can lead to both a more basic pH and compete with Mn uptake.

Moral of the story? Run a lab sample and follow the instructions to balance your dirt. Black and white conclusions that this doesnt work or that blocks that are to generally sweeping to have any value.

4/17/2015 6:27:16 PM