What is Heavy Feeding?

They're not the same but in the end they both get the nutrients into the plant. That's the main goal of fertilizing.
There's a lot of hogwash about organic fertilizers. They can be beneficial by adding organic compounds, but if you have a good soil this isn't necessary.
 
Bnana said:
Nitrate from a factory or nitrate from bacteria/ chicken shit/ cold pressed seaweed is exactly the same. That's not an opinion, that's chemistry.

The plants don't care about the story on the label. I'm not saying all fertilisers are the same, but the nutrients are.
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Thing is, with the "chemical" fertilizers you are providing the nutrients in fairly pure form, as dissolved or granular salts. In organic fertilizer they are tied in in organic structures which over time decompose and where microbial activity / fungal activity is needed to release the nutrients. The effect is very different, as has been found time and again in comparative studies.
 
True if you give heavy doses of fertilizer in a dead soil. If you give regular low dosage in a healthy soil the inorganic are taken up by microbes as well.
Organics are more fool proof but with both you can have continues availability of nutrients for the plant.
 
Bnana said:
Having a PhD in plant soil-microbe interactions I do think I have a sense of the science in this field.
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So, wageningen alumnus? Which year?

I think soil science and plant-soil interaction have changed over time.
The blanket statement you make misses half of the reasoning and arguments to make it valid.
 
Yes Wageningen, defended in 2008 but have been there a lot longer. The problem is people read more into it than I say. Both are good sources of the nutrients the plant needs, from that perspective they are not that different. Both can give you a plant that grows well.

They do differ in other perspectives and organics van be beneficial but discussing that without any clue about plant species or soil type is nonsense. In natural systems, with competing plants etc it's all very relevant. For plants in (early) development in a pot it is not that relevant.
 
Blue Juice.....double dose......every Saturday morning and evening.

Occasionally modified for rain.
Occasionally switched for Blue Acid Lovers Juice or Alaska Fish.

Besides that I water at least once per day, twice when its hot and "dry"....("dry" in MD is only a bit less disgustingly humid than normal).
 
Bnana said:
Having a PhD in plant soil-microbe interactions I do think I have a sense of the science in this field.
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Good for you. Wright down your theories, post them here and let us take a shot at them. I was watching a video published by bonsai Mirai part of which dealt with fertilizers. If I were to follow the methods mentioned in this video none of my trees would do well because of the cost and time involved to do this: Not going to happen.
 
Here's how I understand it....Huge difference between organic and chemical fertilizers.
Chemicals feeds the plant. Organics feeds the microbes....not the plant. They (microbes) feed the plant. In return the plant rewards...by exuding foods back to the microbes.
When chemical fertilizer is used together with organic, the plant will only feed on the chemicals. It's hard work for the plant to exude. Why do it if it's roots are swimming in a soup of chemical nutrients..?
The down side for the plant (when it disassociates), is the microbes also provides it with a balanced eco system that keeps the pathogenic organisms in check. As a consequence the plant becomes more vulnerable to pests and deseases.
 
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So, I respectfully ask again. Where are these studies so I may educate myself...🤔
 
Mayank said:
So, I respectfully ask again. Where are these studies so I may educate myself...🤔
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For organic in the ground, there's a myriad available on the internet. For bonsai, it's still in it's infancy...very much speculation...but we're getting there...bit by bit 👍
 
Mayank said:
So, I respectfully ask again. Where are these studies so I may educate myself...🤔
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I think it is a bit unfair to ask this question when even a minute amount of online research will turn up more than you can digest. Just because someone else has a different understanding than you, it in no way obligates that person to guide you. To what end? You have your opinion and he has his and a thousand others have theirs.
Respectfully of course..............
 
leatherback said:
Thing is, with the "chemical" fertilizers you are providing the nutrients in fairly pure form, as dissolved or granular salts. In organic fertilizer they are tied in in organic structures which over time decompose and where microbial activity / fungal activity is needed to release the nutrients. The effect is very different, as has been found time and again in comparative studies.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I was going to say.

Bottom line, in my experience for best results, use BOTH organic and inorganic.

Organic will allow the micro fauna in the soil to thrive and theres countless papers supporting this connection. Promotes symbiotic relationships for better absorption by the tree. Synonymous to human gut health i suppose. It also allows for a constant, steady release of accessible nutrients.

But- I used only organic fertilizer for a few years and saw very poor results. Miracle grow has had a lot of research gone into the development of the product. They have designed the product to maximize absorption by the roots. My water is a little alkaline, so soluable inorganic fertilizers have done wonders to adjust soil pH correctly and my trees are significantly more vigorous. You can fertilize all you want but if the soil pH is off the tree cannot take up the nutrients. Organic fertilizer releases nutrients at a much slower rate and you will simply not get the same results from just organic as you do miracle grow or the likes.

For a beginner, you can try monthly solid organic fert combined with miracle grow weekly or bi weekly, maybe even rotate some fish emulsion in
 
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