Fertilizer, Nutrients, Minor Nutrients, Humates, RO Water, and Hydroponic Nutrients

[Beng]

Do you all believe that after city water purification and filtration our plants are getting the best mix of nutrients?

Do you all fertilize during the growing season or all year?

Do you believe its better to just trust what's in your water or filter it all out and then put back in the best nutrients? Or are many of you sending your water in for detailed analysis? Sure my trees grow fine but can they be healthier...probably.

I'm starting an experiment with a batch of satsuki and pines. Starting today I'm watering half of them with RO water and then adding (Earth Juice grow-bloom-meta-microblast-catalyst) a hydroponic mix back into the water. The other half are getting straight tap.

I have a feeling the RO mix will blow away the straight tap. Ill take pictures and post my findings. Curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

 

[wireme]

I think you need a third batch with the same quant of your superjuice added to the tap water. Have fun. Mp

 

[Beng]

Good idea i'll buy a few more this weekend. Maybe use the fertilizer at a lower strength with the tap. It has RO and standard dillution on it.

 

[63pmp]

My water is rubbish, it's well water that is sodic and alkaline, pH varies almost overnight with rainfall. I have it tested every year for 25 elements, pH, alkalinity etc. Don't have the power or dollars for RO, so have to modify as best as possible.

I have spent a lot of time researching soil conditions, fertilizer needs and anything horticulturally related to the types of plants I am growing and slowly adjusting/fine tuning my irrigation water. To combat pH and sodicity my irrigation water has also become my fertilizer solution, so I effectively fertilize every time I water.

While most plants are growing well, I still having some troubles with Japanese maples and beech, though they are a lot better then they were a few years ago.

People should think themselves lucky not to have water issues.

Paul

 

[RECLAIMEDBARNWOOD]

What is RO water? Sorry I'm new at this.

 

[Beng]

It's a type of filtration that filters out all the nutrients in water good or bad.

Best case scenario you get one part pure water and one part Polluted, you keep the pure and dump the polluted. https://www.google.com/search?q=recerse+osmosis+drfinition&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

 

[RECLAIMEDBARNWOOD]

Got it kinda like distilled water. I was reading about rain water the other day and they said it was better because it contains some nitrogen. But the first few minutes of rain gather the pollutants from the air and then get washed out from the rest of the rain but if you collect the water than you capture it in the barrel. Plus I would think it would get some from the shingles.

 

[Anthony]

Beng,

you didn't mention your soil mix?

Since we use compost, and noted this year, that when no fertiliser was used, even growth continued into September.
Our water source is rainwater, collected in drowned valleys in our hills. It does not spot, when it falls on leaves, and thus far no problems.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[JudyB]

Don't have the power or dollars for RO, so have to modify as best as possible.

Paul, I've got the same basic issues you have, and it shows up the most in JM and beech. How have you managed to modify your water? I'm using rainwater as much as possible, but not always. And I also saw in a different thread that rainwater is lacking in minerals?

 

[Poink88]

I also saw in a different thread that rainwater is lacking in minerals?

Of course. Remember that rainwater is basically distilled water (accumulated via condensed evaporated water). It only get impurities because of pollution and when they land in your roof, etc.

 

[lordy]

Do you all believe that after city water purification and filtration our plants are getting the best mix of nutrients?

Do you all fertilize during the growing season or all year?

Do you believe its better to just trust what's in your water or filter it all out and then put back in the best nutrients? Or are many of you sending your water in for detailed analysis? Sure my trees grow fine but can they be healthier...probably.

I'm starting an experiment with a batch of satsuki and pines. Starting today I'm watering half of them with RO water and then adding (Earth Juice grow-bloom-meta-microblast-catalyst) a hydroponic mix back into the water. The other half are getting straight tap.

I have a feeling the RO mix will blow away the straight tap. Ill take pictures and post my findings. Curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

I dont think you are allowing the test to tell you if the difference is the water, or the added nutrients. You need to do JUST tap, JUST RO, Tap with nutrients, and RO with nutrients. Otherwise you wont know WHAT is helping.

 

[Lazylightningny]

I dont think you are allowing the test to tell you if the difference is the water, or the added nutrients. You need to do JUST tap, JUST RO, Tap with nutrients, and RO with nutrients. Otherwise you wont know WHAT is helping.

True, but you also need to have a large enough sample size to eliminate variables in each plant. Probably at least 4 to 5 seedlings of the same species and preferably from the same parent tree.

 

[Beng]

Beng,

you didn't mention your soil mix?

Since we use compost, and noted this year, that when no fertiliser was used, even growth continued into September.
Our water source is rainwater, collected in drowned valleys in our hills. It does not spot, when it falls on leaves, and thus far no problems.
Good Day
Anthony

Thanks you're right I didn't. I use 1/3 hyuga pumice, 1/3 akadama, 1/3 lava. For every 10 gallon pail i make of it I throw about 1 handful of charcoal in.

 

[Beng]

I dont think you are allowing the test to tell you if the difference is the water, or the added nutrients. You need to do JUST tap, JUST RO, Tap with nutrients, and RO with nutrients. Otherwise you wont know WHAT is helping.

RO without nutrients isn't good for a plant in inorganic soil since there are no nutrients in it at all and inorganic soil has almost no nutrients as well. Although i'm sure there are a few in the lava and akadama. Regardless I don't think you can keep a tree living in my soil mix with no nutrients added to the RO water at all.

 

[GrimLore]

RO without nutrients isn't good for a plant in inorganic soil since there are no nutrients in it at all and inorganic soil has almost no nutrients as well. Although i'm sure there are a few in the lava and akadama. Regardless I don't think you can keep a tree living in my soil mix with no nutrients added to the RO water at all.

We are moving and not taking the RO system or installing a new one at the new house. I have slowly moved to Inorganic substrates and the fertilizer requirements are off the wall. The water quality at the new place is far better so after I get samples tested I will probably just put in a charcoal and sediment canister filter. One nice thing about RO is the lack of calcium staining and clogging of mister heads and such but with better water it will not be needed.

Grimmy

 

[Emrys]

Ben

Is the intention to add the "super juice" to the RO and the Tap during daily watering? Or is this on a weekly or bi weekly schedule? And I'm interested in people's answer to his other posed question of fertilization year round. I'm sure there will be a regional variant in the answer to this.

 

[Beng]

What i was thinking was that with the RO water I'll add it to every watering. With the tap I plan to add it weekly in the spring and summer and biweekly in the fall and winter.

 

[63pmp]

Paul, I've got the same basic issues you have, and it shows up the most in JM and beech. How have you managed to modify your water? I'm using rainwater as much as possible, but not always. And I also saw in a different thread that rainwater is lacking in minerals?


Hi Judy,

I add all the regular nutrient elements, but at a much lower amount than you would for a fertilizer solution. Currently, I reduce the pH of my water to about 4.5 and I also keep ammonium N in the irrigation water at 6ppm, no nitrate at all atm. I use K, Mg and Ca to reduce sodium uptake, and ammonium to push pH down.

Biggest problem I'm having with maples and beech is lime induced chlorosis, alkali irrigation water makes it hard to push the pH down to a level they are comfortable with.

Rainwater contains no elements at any level which is beneficial to plants. You have to add them to make a nutrient solution. How you do this is highly contentious.

Best thing about rainwater is that it flushes accumulated salts out of the potting mix. It's the best stuff for watering your plants.

Paul

 

[crust]

Aquifer derived water is not a source of macronutrients, usually only a few micronutrients, trace nutrients otherwise normally gotten from real soil--or a good fertilizer. One has to consider that with "pure water"(rain or RO water) you carry no minerals and it is acidic and with well water you do and it is normally more alkaline. The problem is when you have excess minerals and very hard water, or water contaminated with sodium, sulfide, or any number of heavy metals, you may have to use rainwater or filter your water using reverse osmosis for watering otherwise you will battle imbalances and high PH. Often one finds high levels of salts in well water or municipal water supplies. Calcium and magnesium carbonates are among the most common ingredients in tap water and in well water. In fact, water "hardness" is defined as a measure of the water's content of calcium and magnesium carbonates, or sulfates. Since calcium and magnesium are important plant nutrients, water with reasonable levels of these elements can be just fine however, as I said, even a good thing can become a problem if the levels are too high. I mostly use rain water on my plants and had problems with my hard PH 7.9 well water (ideal plant water PH 5.8-6.2). Soils can affect this of course, but not as much as you'd think. For me I have found modern substrates with no organics are especially non-buffering of high PH water.