lwabirds

Any one tried the Wellspring Gardens fertilizer for bananas?

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Chironex

Banana Fuel - Yup, it's a great fertilizer and has the proper ratios, plus micronutrients.

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Scot

Worm_Farmer

Yes, I am down to my last bag, I just placed an order for 3lb. Love this stuff during growing season you will see the tree jump inches over night after using this stuff. I get tons of stuff from him, I also ordered some LEMON EUCALYPTUS TREE and Night Blooming Jasmine - Cestrum nocturnum. Everything I have gotten from him has been top notch. I see my self using a lot more then 3lb of it this year, as I am going to have more then 5 plants to keep going.

Richard

Wellsprings is charging $10 for 3 pounds. It's an o.k. formula (15-5-30) if your soil is nitrogen rich. A better formula is 20-5-30 + micronutrients. Further, you can buy this product cheaper ($40 for 25 pounds) from many sources including myself: see the bottom of the page http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/pro...tionfruit.html

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Worm_Farmer

Yours seems a little different, you add a lot of yours at the start of the year and wait? Well Springs stuff I mix less then a table spoon to 1 gallon, once a week. Will you stuff mix with water well? Is it fast acting? I will order yours next time and see how it works out. Sounds like it would be good to mix into my potting soil.

Chironex

Richard knows fertilizer, that's for sure. I wonder what the equivalent price is comparing them in real terms?

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Scot

BIGDAWG69

I wiill definately check that out

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Richard

Both of the products are water soluble, using potassium nitrate as the main ingredient. Regarding dosage, both products should be applied at a rate of 5 pounds per year to achieve 1.5 lbs net potash (.30 x 5 lbs) per plant per year. If you feed monthly that's about 1 cup per month, or weekly about 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons). Since they are water-soluble, you add them to the water and never directly to soil.

Wellsprings is currently selling 15-5-30 for $10 per 3 lbs. That works out to be 0.9 lbs net potash (.30 x 3 lbs) or $11.11 per net pound of Potash. This fertilizer is available wholesale from Scott's in 25 lb bags as an agricultural product (not necessarily for bananas). Wellsprings or their supplier is simply repackaging it in smaller bags and putting a private label on it. I could do the same thing but don't because this is not the right formula for bananas unless you are in a nitrogen-rich environment like Hawaii.

What I'm offering is the same product used for many potash-loving fruits: 20-5-30. My price is $40 per 25 lbs, and also $8 per 5 lbs. That works out to be 7.5 lbs net potash (.30 x 25 lbs) or $5.33 per net pound of Potash.

If you have a wholesale license, you can go directly to Scott's or Grow More and buy either of these products in 25 lb bags or 1 cubic yard lots for a bit less.

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Chironex

Thanks Richard, I knew that you would come through for me. I will buy mine from you in the future. I would rather purchase from a member than a non-member and, you just make it easier to understand. Thanks, Good work!

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Scot

harveyc

Potash prices have been very high since last spring and most in the agricultural industry expect they will eventually drop, maybe by spring. Much of our potash comes from Canada and there seems to be some collusion, but this hasn't been proven. Inventories have been moving slowly and some believe that prices may drop in the spring to get buyers to start buying.

I would like to buy about 13 tons of potash for my alfalfa fields, but I'm holding off for now. Hopefully, it will drop for all of us banana hobbyists as well!

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lwabirds

Richard,
Can I dissolve your fertilizer in a watering can and use that way? If so, how much would I add to a 2 gallon can? What is the best way to apply yours?

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Richard

Yes, it is water soluble. Placing it on directly on or in the soil would be an error, because much of the nitrogen would never reach the plant.

If you are constant-feeding (with every watering), use 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, but not to exceed 4 tablespoons per week per plant. This is also true for the 'banana fuel' fertilizer you are considering.

I have so many outdoor plants that I feed them monthly, 1 cup per plant in 5 gallons of water.

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Worm_Farmer

Wow, I will try that this year. I have been giving my plants 1/2 Table Spoon twice a week durning season. I warm them up by giving them 3/4 tablespoon once a week for three weeks, then move to 1/2 Tablespoon twice a week. I want to trying 5 days on and two days of just water each week.

Richard

The dosage sounds perfect. I water my bananas in pots at most once every 3 days during the hottest part of summer, although they are large pots and there is at least 3 inches of mulch at the top. In the spring and fall, the potted 'naners are watered once per week. It rained very well here last week and it has been so cool that I probably won't water the potted bananas until this weekend. We are having 75+ F during the day and 40 F at night. The banana plants are still growing slowly, unfurling 1 leaf about every two weeks. Of course, I fed them a winterizing formula ...

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Chironex

Do tell Richard, do tell.....

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Scot

Richard

Before the onset of cold weather, plants that will sit outdoors in soil through the winter will benefit from a "winterizing formula" -- something that is low in nitrogen, very moderate in phosphorus, and medium in potassium. Basically you are giving the plant something to store in its roots. The nitrogen should be low because any lively growth will suffer damage from the cold weather. There is no way the phosphorus can get to the roots unless the fertilizer is water soluble and applied as a soil drench or foliar feed. The potash can travel through the soil to the roots without any problem, so even a product like K-Mag works as a winterizer. What I used this year (2008) was 10-20-30 +micronutrients, applied in early November and December. In other parts of the world, you will probably start earlier.

Some winterizing products contain potassium silicate which will make the foliage of some plants more durable during winter weather. This is good for evergreen fruiting plants like bananas and citrus but of course if you apply silicate formulas to leafy vegetables they can become tough and unpleasant to eat.

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Chironex

Thank you Richard, great advice!

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Scot

Scott

Was about to order my Banana Fuel from the 'Spring....

Thanks Richard for your information....
1 bag ordered

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The Frugal Hugel Gardener

In Reply to your Post Re: Any one tried the Wellspring Gardens fertilizer?:

Hi, Richard what is the name of the Scotts product?
searching for local products that I can put on all my Banana plants here in Florida.

Thanks
Sam