Better late than never

[berobinson82]

I realize a month ago would have been a better time to ask this question but I was out collecting some soil ingredients yesterday and ended up with some extra bags in my cart. I am curious about making fertilizer cakes. I've gone online read dozens of articles but would like to bounce it off this board.

Is a cake recipe kind of like soil in that there is no "perfect" mix but rather what works for you?

Also, a lot of the mixtures I saw were light on Potassium. Is there a magic ratio that works best for bonsai (would conifer/deciduous differ?)

I've a bunch of ingredients including:

cottonseed meal
blood meal
bone meal
fish emulsion
super thrive
some 20-20-20 blue stuff (sorry i forgot the name. they are crystalline)

These seem to leave me a little light on the Potassium front.

Have any of you found a mixture that seems to yield good results that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Always appreciative,

B

 

[rockm]

Everyone flirts with th efert cake thing. Most get over it

I stopped using the things because with all that smelly protein they are magnets for squirrels, racoons and especially bugs.. You like bugs? You're going to have some up front and personal experiences with some...maggots LOVE all that.

All that said, forget the superthrive. Might as well use hogwash...

 

[berobinson82]

is superthrive snake oil???

I've been duped!

 

[Bill S]

You have?

 

[rockm]

Superthrive is pretty much worthless. It's been proven that plants can't use "vitamins" and the ingredients in the stuff have never been disclosed.

I used it for a while. Found out that it wasn't the magic elixir that was helping my trees, but my experience in keeping bonsai.

If it's expensive, the maker refuses to list the ingredients and to participate in scientific trials and I have excellent results after I stopped using it...well, let's just say the stuff's physical smell is matched by it's smelly marketing...

 

[berobinson82]

Superthrive is pretty much worthless. It's been proven that plants can't use "vitamins" and the ingredients in the stuff have never been disclosed.

I used it for a while. Found out that it wasn't the magic elixir that was helping my trees, but my experience in keeping bonsai.

If it's expensive, the maker refuses to list the ingredients and to participate in scientific trials and I have excellent results after I stopped using it...well, let's just say the stuff's physical smell is matched by it's smelly marketing...

Just saw your post about this stuff on another forum. Hind sight is 20/20 but a receipt has been retained. Beyond that, since I have the materials now, I feel as though I have to go through my flirting stage. Next year, maybe I'll get a better handle on this fertilizer business.

 

[Poink88]

I almost played with cakes myself but the lazy side of me kicked in and I decided to stick with the cheap and easy water soluble type. So far my plants seem to be happy and healthy so I am not changing it until I see them deteriorating.

FYI, I am just using Miracle Gro all purpose.

 

[mcpesq817]

Part of the problem with cakes is that as they break down, you can get a crust layer in your soil which really impedes water movement. I found this especially to be the case when I used pure turface.

 

[pwk5017]

Yes, fertilizer cakes are your portland cement and turface is your aggregate. You end up with concrete after a few months.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

Also, a lot of the mixtures I saw were light on Potassium. Is there a magic ratio that works best for bonsai (would conifer/deciduous differ?)

yes it does depend on the species of tree and season... even level of development is a consideration .... we change fertilizers across seasons (stopping fertilizing all together in hottest part of summer) etc....

the below is my typical regimen for trees in development... those that are refined are controlled more with lower strength fert.

i don't use cakes but I put some Earth Doctor 5-5-5 in tea bags and place on the soil surface for that daily dose .... each week the trees get miracle grow all purpose plant food at reg strength 24-8-16 I also include a healthy dose of Kelp Emultion or Earth Juice Catalyst (I try to switch them up once in awhile) ..... flowering species like azaleas get a kick with some 0-10-10 when flowering (usually only once) they are also given Miracid instead of reg miracle grow every few weeks ..... come fall I switch to 0-10-10 for everything


I know your question was about cakes but I want you to see that there is a time and place for differing levels of each macronutrient ...

most cake like fertilizers are low dose long term fertilizers ....we use stronger fertilizers for infrequent application as it tends to get washed out of the soil (especially those delivered via salts like MG) ...

to save yourself some future hassle.... and if you want to still use a simple organic fertilizer... I use http://drearth.net/blog/products/organic-fertilizers/life-all-purpose-fertilizer/ .... put it in some tea bags and enjoy.... if you can worm castings a touch added to the mix will increase the strength easily.....

 

[milehigh_7]

Never been tempted to mess with the cakes myself. I have found Walter Pall's advice to be very instructional:

http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/2010/06/feeding-substrate-and-watering-english.html

 

[berobinson82]

I'm glad I asked! I've successfully made a large bucket of the most god-awful concoction I've ever been witness to. I walked inside to wash my hands and came back to no less than 30 flies gorging themselves on the stuff. It was messy. It was smelly. It was GREAT. Now I can say been there done that. I sealed the mixture and put it in an airtight container. This morning I went out to water and there were flies EVERYWHERE. So I threw that mess away. I appreciate the words, rockm and eric. Thanks for the link mh7. I'm sticking to the more simple solution of chemical fertilizers.

 

[rockm]

If there's a lot of flies and the neighbors are complaining, you have achieved successful "poo balls"

I'm sure the guys at the dump would thank you for sealing the mix in a container to prevent them from having to deal with a TRULY bad smell...