View Full Version : Using Miracle grow
gtrplr71
06-25-2012, 05:54 AM
My Ice cream is 3 ft tall with on new pup newly put in the ground the new leaves are on 40" long one per week I was previously giving it 3 cups a week of regular mix MG is this enough for the plant to do good? How much of it should I use and frequency?
IMAG1532.jpg picture by gtrplr7 - Photobucket (http://s1065.photobucket.com/albums/u398/gtrplr7/?action=view¤t=IMAG1532.jpg)
RAINFOREZT
06-25-2012, 06:31 AM
Grow more naturely.
Olafhenny
06-25-2012, 07:34 PM
The fertilizer industry is one of the biggest, but legal, rackets on this continent.
No matter how ‘miraculous’ or ‘wonder grow’ the name is, any fertilizer consists of only three
elements: Nitrogen (first number) Phosphates (second number) an the third number: Potassium.
You need all of them every time you fertilize. Everything else is trace elements. For those you
have to contact your local department of agriculture or such and have the soil analyzed. But that
is rarely necessary, if you also use some compost in your soil.
As far as the basic fertilizers are concerned you just need to know,
- that nitrogen is there to produce plant mass
- phosphates are for bloom and fruit
- potassium will help roots to develop.
Accordingly you will pronounce nitrogen and phosphates in spring, except for you lawn, there you want
to stay low on phosphates, because you do not want it to break out in bloom and seeds.
Go heavy with potassium in fall, when all plants outside of the tropics retract their juices back
into the roots. That makes the leaves loose their chlorophyll and turn those wonderful colours.
Another thing to know in this context is that plants as a rule grow toward warmth, i.e., in spring, when
the air warmer than the ground plants grow “up”. They sprout everywhere. In fall everything, which has
been retracted, goes into the roots. That is, why the best time to (trans-) plant is fall. The garden
shops know that, but their customers don’t. They are much more easily captured by displays of spring
awakening then by retiring plants in fall. That is why you can’t find anything decent in your garden
shops, when it is the best time to plant.
Back to the fertilizer: I buy one big bag each of the three fertilizers in high concentration. then mix it as
desired and get it for about one sixth of the price I’d have to pay at Walmart or Home Depot. If
you are in doubt as to what kind of blend to use for your tomatoes, just go to the next store and look
at the label of tomato-specific fertilizer and take your cue from there.
One word of caution: If you go to heavy on the nitrogen, you are likely going to burn some roots.
That goes no matter if you use premixed or mix your own.
Good luck,
Olaf
Nicolas Naranja
06-25-2012, 10:08 PM
Go heavy with potassium in fall, when all plants outside of the tropics retract their juices back
into the roots. That is, why the best time to (trans-) plant is fall. The garden shops know that, but their customers don’t. They are much more easily captured by displays of spring awakening then by retiring plants in fall. That is why you can’t find anything decent in your garden
shops, when it is the best time to plant.
Back to the fertilizer: I buy one big bag each of the three fertilizers in high concentration. then mix it as
desired and get it for about one sixth of the price I’d have to pay at Walmart or Home Depot.
I wouldn't put bananas out in the fall. Even here in South Florida you don't gain much by putting plants out in October vs Late February. There are some differences between the different high grade fertilizers. On the alkaline soils that I have I am trying to put out acidic fertilizers.
Olafhenny
06-26-2012, 01:12 AM
I wouldn't put bananas out in the fall. Even here in South Florida you don't gain much by putting plants out in October vs Late February. There are some differences between the different high grade fertilizers. On the alkaline soils that I have I am trying to put out acidic fertilizers.
As I said, there are only 3 fertilizers. The one of the three, you might want to term "acidic", is phosphate,
- just one of the basic three. Otherwise there are soil conditioners, such as aluminium sulphate, which
you might use to make alkaline soil more acidic. I have tried that to accommodate acid loving
plants in our slightly alkaline soil here, but the soil 'bounced back' toward alkaline in short order,
even though I applied about double the recommended amount.
But those conditioners are not fertilizers and there is no such thing as "high grade fertilizers".
That is just balderdash put out by the industry to get you to buy the stuff at a higher price. There
is just higher or lower concentration of the basic three.
As far as planting out bananas in fall is concerned, they are tropical plants and as such do not
seasonally retract. Consequently setting them out in fall has no benefit in establishing their roots.
If you read my earlier post again, you will see, that I limited my observations on cyclical plant behavior
to subtropical and moderate climates.
RAINFOREZT
06-26-2012, 06:14 AM
N nitrogen-cow manure green leaves etc
P Phosphurous/Phosphate- Bone meal
K Pottassium/Potash- wood Ash
Olafhenny
06-26-2012, 10:49 AM
Rainforezt is actually describing, what I would term "High Grade Fertilizer". But of that you can
only get the bonemeal part in bags in stores. Bagged "cow manure" makes you wonder if there
were any cows involved at all.
The ideal thing is if you can get herbivore manure from zoos. Pig and poultry manure is great
too, but needs to be composted first.
momoese
06-26-2012, 11:50 AM
Rainforezt is actually describing, what I would term "High Grade Fertilizer". But of that you can
only get the bonemeal part in bags in stores. Bagged "cow manure" makes you wonder if there
were any cows involved at all.
The ideal thing is if you can get herbivore manure from zoos. Pig and poultry manure is great
too, but needs to be composted first.
Los Angeles Zoo has a huge compost pile that's free for all.
TommyMacLuckie
06-27-2012, 05:57 PM
I used cow manure in a bed, for fruit. It killed everything. Nothing grew. Manure sucks!
momoese
06-27-2012, 08:33 PM
I used cow manure in a bed, for fruit. It killed everything. Nothing grew. Manure sucks!
You obviously did something wrong. Manure rocks! :08:
Richard
06-28-2012, 11:30 PM
..., any fertilizer consists of only three
elements: Nitrogen (first number) Phosphates (second number) an the third number: Potassium. ... Everything else is trace elements.
The primaries are Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash, and CO2.
The secondaries elements are S, Mg, and Ca.
The micronutrients are Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, B, Co, Mo.
The quantity and dosage of each is very dependent upon the plant, the local environs, and the use of the plant. For example, a professional golf course will use 20-0-30 (including secondaries and micros) the majority of the time and occasionally supplement with a minor amount of phosphate.
Miracle Gro is simply agricultural fertilizer repackaged in consumer-size containers. Their water-soluble formulas are made of dehydrated minerals and amino acids; many of their formulas also contain a blue dye made from violets. The dye is present in the agricultural formulas so that when it is applied by airplane the pilot (wearing polarized lenses) can see where they have sprayed.
Miracle Gro fertilizer and other fertilizer brands are available in a large number of formulas. Picking one that has ratios of ingredients designed for your crop is important if you want good results.
gtrplr71
06-29-2012, 05:19 AM
thanks a simply Question (IS IT ENOUGH) turned into this APPRICIATE IT
Olafhenny
06-29-2012, 05:40 AM
The quantity and dosage of each is very dependent upon the plant, the local environs, and the use of the plant. For example, a professional golf course will use 20-0-30 (including secondaries and micros) the majority of the time and occasionally supplement with a minor amount of phosphate.
I have tried to grow my lawn without phosphates, because it seemed to make a lot of sense not to
encourage bloom and seeds there. But the quality of the grass deteriorated in short order.
Richard
06-29-2012, 05:57 AM
My Ice cream is 3 ft tall with on new pup newly put in the ground the new leaves are on 40" long one per week I was previously giving it 3 cups a week of regular mix MG is this enough for the plant to do good? How much of it should I use and frequency?
What is the NPK formula of the Miracle Gro product you own?
Abnshrek
06-29-2012, 06:14 AM
Yesterday I got a frig for my banana cave and found 25lbs of banana fuel under the sink.. <saying Woo Hoo :^)
oakshadows
06-29-2012, 06:28 AM
I used cow manure in a bed, for fruit. It killed everything. Nothing grew. Manure sucks!
Using anything incorrectly can sometimes do the wrong thing. Was the "cow manure" composted? If not it can destroy plants. We use nothing but composted cow manure and get very good results.
gtrplr71
06-29-2012, 08:25 AM
What is the NPK formula of the Miracle Gro product you own?
24.8.16 I read where Northern tropical uses it
IMAG1533.jpg picture by gtrplr7 - Photobucket (http://s1065.photobucket.com/albums/u398/gtrplr7/?action=view¤t=IMAG1533.jpg)
Richard
06-29-2012, 09:01 AM
24.8.16 I read where Northern tropical uses it
IMAG1533.jpg picture by gtrplr7 - Photobucket (http://s1065.photobucket.com/albums/u398/gtrplr7/?action=view¤t=IMAG1533.jpg)
For the plant shown, dissolve 1/4 cup in 5 gallons of water and drench the roots once per month during the active growing season.
gtrplr71
06-29-2012, 09:41 AM
thank you sir!
what about TC gros michel that are 8" tall in 12" pots?
momoese
06-29-2012, 10:00 AM
thanks a simply Question (IS IT ENOUGH) turned into this APPRICIATE IT
Most people complain when they don't get enough replies :ha:
gtrplr71
06-29-2012, 10:12 AM
Most people complain when they don't get enough replies :ha:
or if the thread is Hijacked!
momoese
06-29-2012, 10:17 AM
or if the thread is Hijacked!
Highjacks R' Us!
Well at least you got your answer.
gtrplr71
06-29-2012, 10:18 AM
yes I did
Richard
06-29-2012, 12:28 PM
thank you sir!
what about TC gros michel that are 8" tall in 12" pots?
1/4 teaspoon per gallon every time you water, or 1 Tablespoon per gallon once per month.
Your fruiting banana plants will perform better with a potassium supplement. You want something that does not contain chlorine. There are a number of choices for this. If/when you find something, send me a PM and I'll give you a dosage to go along with your miracle gro.
Olafhenny
06-29-2012, 12:41 PM
or if the thread is Hijacked!
I do not think, that starting a thread implies ownership. And manure is attractive :).
It has inspired plenty conversation in other threads.
saltydad
06-29-2012, 05:35 PM
Hijacking a thread? Preposterous!! Did I tell you about my cannas? LOL
The above is a shoutout to our old friend Tog, president of the Hijack Society. RIP my friend.
Richard
07-02-2012, 09:06 AM
For the plant shown, dissolve 1/4 cup in 5 gallons of water and drench the roots once per month during the active growing season.
Supplementing with 1/8 cup (2 level Tablespoons) of SUL-PO-MAG will provide a good nitrogen-to-potash ratio for fruiting bananas. Its water-soluble.
Sul-Po-Mag is sold by many garden centers, typically in a 4-lb box, 15-lb bag, and 50-lb bags.
miaskin
07-05-2012, 06:13 PM
I used cow manure in a bed, for fruit. It killed everything. Nothing grew. Manure sucks!
It must have been a fresh cow manure. You need to wait a few months before using it.
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