Organic Fertilizer for Flower stage

Donothing-garden

Blooming
User ID
39
Thanks Professor itchybro..If only it was that easy mate..it might well be for that Canadian gardener

The wet humid tropics (4500mm annual rainfall where I live) surrounded by jungle, poses many challenges that most gardeners will never encounter in their lives...not only is there nematodes to contend with but various bacterial and fungal wilts particularly in the solananaceae family of veges..for thoise living in or in close proximity to rainforest various pests are also a problem...with the fruit/banana spotting bug a particular nasty one that stings/sucks the stems of many plants near the tips and growing points which can stunt and virtually stop any growth..Papaya get badly affected in my area...Canna planted in bush areas, particularly around wild raspberry also..

and yes I have spent 20 years adding endless tip-truckloads of various products, including tip mulch,wood chip, bagasse, mill mud, fly ash as well as chook poop, fish frames, flood wash, tonne bags of lime and gypsum etc for my vege garden and wider gardens ....

Despite this the nematodes, wilts and sapsuckers still exist ...though as Sticky mentions not to the same degree in my "healthyist" vege garden soil ..still not enough to grow tomatoes aside from a small cherry variety during the dry season unforyunately though..

So yeah i know that spending time increasing soil from the ground up is always the best option but I ask again..for someone wanting to plant a few canna plants in small Guerilla grow i the bush where a 20 year plan to increase the humus content of the bush soil is not really possible will molasses control or kill the root knot nematodes for the duration of a grow and if not does anyone have a quick fix (other then nemacur)..?
Of the top of my head I would say start introducing beneficial predatory nematodes, 2 different species are usually available and both will work well. Here's an article from BioLogic on the subject.
These nematodes will have the added benefit of also cycling organic matter into plant available forms. I mean, they will literally shit out the root knot nematode in the form of perfect plant available nutrients! Probably need to apply 2 times per cycle until you don't see them around anymore.
 

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QLD guy

Vegetating
User ID
2081
Yeah thanks for that Sticky and Donothing....

Beneficial predatory nematodes might just be the answer...I'll delve into that in coming days ......Have you used them before Donothing..?

Sticky with these bugga's the plant can look fine while growing but as soon as there is water stress or flowering time they just wilt and basically collapse because as you found the roots are just totally fucked up...its so dissapointing..
 

Donothing-garden

Blooming
User ID
39
@Donothing-garden I just had a look at that link and that picture looks exactly like what my roots used to look like, I has no idea what it was until I started reading up on it. So glad there's a product out there to help..I wondered whether a product called Bactivate would help but it all gets a bit to sciencey for me..thanks for the help @Donothing-garden .
Bactivate is a different set of microorganisms... U need predatory nematodes specifically to combat the root knot nematodes.
 

Donothing-garden

Blooming
User ID
39
Yeah thanks for that Sticky and Donothing....

Beneficial predatory nematodes might just be the answer...I'll delve into that in coming days ......Have you used them before Donothing..?

Sticky with these bugga's the plant can look fine while growing but as soon as there is water stress or flowering time they just wilt and basically collapse because as you found the roots are just totally fucked up...its so dissapointing..
I've used them but don't take my word for it... Been a staple biocontrol in commercial Ag and horticulture operations for many years now. I think the key is to make sure U apply ASAP after delivery to ensure viability.
 

QLD guy

Vegetating
User ID
2081
Will look into the beneficial nematodes at a later date...

Decided to just give the new bush garden bed a dousing in a litre and a half of raw molasses as I was sensing those horrible little Root knotters gleefully knotting away at my 5 sexy newly planted girls...

I guess time will tell if I made the right call.

Bit of soluble lime and gypsum to go on as well as a dusting of chook poop.

wish I had the time to add all those things and let the bed sit for a while before planting but it is what it is....I did carry in about 30x 15l pots worth of some vege garden soil, some alluvial flood wash, some fly ash and some broken down mulch for a 4m by 1m bed so hopefully it will do the job..
 
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Pixie

Baked
User ID
2043
You might have been better just putting them in pots or fabric grow bags wouldn't that eliminate all of your problems?
 

itchybro

Sultan Of Soil
User ID
31
You might have been better just putting them in pots or fabric grow bags wouldn't that eliminate all of your problems?
nuh , just like putting a bagged potting soil in a pot outdoors with no earth worms in it , if there is something to eat & conditions suitable they will find there way in , root knot nematodes would be no diff
Does molasses have any effect on root knot nematodes?
imo no , unless your thinking of trying to stimulate beneficial nematodes to try & out compete the root knot nematodes then maybe yes
wouldn't removing some of that healthy jungle soil & using it to inoculate pots or patch possibly give you free beneficial nematodes / biology ?
 

QLD guy

Vegetating
User ID
2081
I wouldn't bother using molasses for pest control. You need to use a biocontrol asap.
Yeah agreed..I have contacted a supplier of nematodes and will see what eventuates..

The mollasses was all i had on hand and although its not very scientific it is mentioned a bit as an "old timer" remedy and soil health booster..I even gave em glass of milk as well... :ROFLMAO:

https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/how-to/nematode-soil-drench/9437654

Hopefully by dragging in a bunch of buckets full of nice aged garden soil I may have innoculated with beneficial nematodes anyway and all the extra goodies may give a quick boost..or not..we will see
 
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OZIOZIAUTO

Baked
User ID
2870
https://www.gardenmyths.com/molasses-for-plants/

molasses for plants

This is a hot gardening topic these days and many of the organic gardeners are promoting the idea that you should add molasses to your compost pile and to your garden. It makes the microbes grow better–they need to eat, don’t you know?

Molasses; should you eat it, or dump it onto your soil? You have come to the right place to get the facts.

Molasses, What is it?

Molasses is a by-product produced during the manufacture of sugar. Sugar cane or sugar beets are processed so that the sugar can be extracted. The material that is left after most of the sugar is removed is a black sticky material called molasses. Molasses contains sugar, some other carbohydrates, vitamins and a number of minerals like calcium and iron.

Molasses for Plants

You probably know that it is important to have microbes in your soil , If having microbes is important, than it makes sense that you should feed those microbes. Feeding them will make them healthy, and make them reproduce so that you have even more microbes. Guess what? Microbes, especially the bacteria, love sugar. It’s no surprise that they also love molasses since it is mostly sugar.

So far it all seems to make sense. Microbes are good for soil, and molasses is good for microbes, so why not add it to soil? The short answer is that there is nothing wrong with adding molasses to your garden, or to your compost pile. It will feed the microbes.

Does it Make Sense to Add Molasses?

I’ll save you the trouble of skipping to the end of this post–the answer is NO!

Understanding why the answer is no will help you understand your garden. Let’s have a look. In a normal garden, or compost pile, you have a large variety of microbes, all going about their daily lives. They find something to eat, they poop, and they die. This is a continual process that goes on a billion times a second.

Microbes are opportunistic in that their populations will increase and decrease as the conditions change. Let’s assume you have not been doing too much in the garden so conditions are not changing. In that case the microbe populations remain steady. Things are chugging along at a normal pace and everybody is happy.

Now you dump a lot of molasses on the garden. Instantly, microbes sense the extra food and they start to multiply. Bacteria can divide (ie double the population) every 20 minutes. The population explodes very quickly. All those bacteria need to eat, and they quickly consume the molasses you added. As the food source runs out there is a massive famine and most of the bacteria die.

What has the molasses accomplished?

Not much. It is true that all of the dead bacteria go on to feed other microbes, and they help build soil structure. The minerals in the molasses stay in the soil and plants can use them, but your soil probably had enough calcium and iron before you added the molasses. The vitamins in molasses are of no value to plants.

Is the massive population explosion good for your plants? I don’t think anyone knows, but most things in nature are better off without massive changes, and plant roots depend very much on the population of microbes around their roots. I just can’t believe a bacteria population explosion is good for the plants

Molasses might make your compost pile work quicker, but the first rain, or your hose, will wash the sugars out of the pile removing any benefits.

Do You Need to Feed the Microbes?

The reason for adding molasses is to feed the microbes, so it is important to ask, “Should the gardener feed the microbes?” The answer is a resounding YES! However, there are many ways to do this. Adding compost, wood chips or other organic matter as a mulch is the best way. This provides a slow, steady release of food for the microbes.

Molasses is a product that we can use to feed people and animals. I’d rather eat gingerbread cookies than compost and wood chips. From an environmental point of view it makes more sense to put non-edible organic matter in the garden and keep the food in the fridge.

There is no “magic” in molasses. It’s just another source of organic matter that will be decomposed in the garden. All organic matter contains carbohydrates, sugars, minerals and vitamins, just like molasses. Don’t believe me …… consider the fact that molasses is made from plants; sugar cane or sugar beets.
Yea good read Bro 👍👍
 

QLD guy

Vegetating
User ID
2081
Sorry to derail the thread with the mollasses discussion..

Back on topic about organic fertilizer for flowering..

How do you guys know how much fert to apply...?...do you keep adding more till you see sighns of tip burn..?

with a low NPK fert like Katek organic growth (3.5/1.85/4) is it even possible to add to much..?

Should I add a bit more phosporous toi this mix for bud growth..?
 

itchybro

Sultan Of Soil
User ID
31
they have application rates on the website https://katekfertilizers.com.au/home-gardener/organic-super-growth/
for vegetables & flowers it says 300g per square meter , i think you might be over thinking it a bit

if your going to use this stuff just stick to the application rates & be done with it , no need to add anything else
keeping your watering in check & soil moisture consistent will do a hell of allot more for you than trying to guess what
extras you might need
 

QLD guy

Vegetating
User ID
2081
they have application rates on the website https://katekfertilizers.com.au/home-gardener/organic-super-growth/
for vegetables & flowers it says 300g per square meter , i think you might be over thinking it a bit

if your going to use this stuff just stick to the application rates & be done with it , no need to add anything else
keeping your watering in check & soil moisture consistent will do a hell of allot more for you than trying to guess what
extras you might need
Cheers mate ..i get that I often overthink..its the bane of my existence..

Though I should have added that I was enquiring about potted plants in a mix of comercial potting mix, with a bit of perlte and coc peat..
 

itchybro

Sultan Of Soil
User ID
31
in general top dressing amendments are allot more forgiving than bottle feeding nutrients

I'm not familiar with the katek stuff but most nutrient companies will generally like you to use as much of there nutrient as poss cos then you'll have to buy more product quicker so using there product at half or three quarter strength will probably do just as well as full strength

also handy to have a test plant around like a tomato , you can add to at full strength & see the results before adding it to the more important plants
 
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