Yeah that is orgasmik! Making worm poo just seems to damn complicated for your normal 40 hr a week job person like me
N, P, K are all inorganic elements, thus contain no carbon molecules (if I remember my organic chemistry from the foggy past). Therefore, does it make a difference to the plant utilizing these elements for growth, flowering, fruiting how they are derived? While the source of the NPK may be derived from so called "natural" sources (often at higher costs of production and higher product costs), if the plant does not discriminate in how these elements are delivered, why pay more for less. The assumption is based on using a fert. with the appropriate nutrient ratios for the desired result and plant used in the correct amounts.
I've tried so called natural ferts. and have not seen any plant performance enhancements compared to a water soluble fert. like MG. If there are micro nutrient issues, they can be addressed with appropriate products on a as needed basis.
And yes, I do compost and mulch heavily to reduce the need for fert. applications (2 - 3x) during the growing season.
Would anyone be interested in a controlled expeirment using MG vs Organic.
I have 24 Habanero's all the same age, all the same DNA, all the same soil.
I would let you guys set the peramiters... i.e. what MG to use and how much. Also I will let you guys decide what Tea's to use.
I am low on funds right now so I dont know how soon I can start this, but I think this would be a great way for us KNOW
what is better or if each is better for differnt situations.
Things I would document.
- Growth (duh)
- look (duh)
- Time Spent Tending to the plants as per required
- Ease of use of the 2
- Cost
- Addisional Products needed to suplement
Small-scale comparisons are very poor indicators of the reliability of a given method. You can do a simple layman's test by strictly adhering to the package's recommended dosage rate for both the MG and organic (and organic is kind of ambiguous, you'd need to just pick something and stick with it), but by nature of the design since you are vested in your peppers there is an inclination for bias...
It may be the case that a recommended dosage rate is not optimal for peppers, but you'd need to at least include it as a control in your experiment.
Not saying you shouldn't try it, but the results are far from definitive.
I'm not saying bias with regard to a particular method, I'm just saying that once you pick your application rates, you need to be consistent. Since there is an inclination to want your plants to succeed and you see that a method is doing harm, there is a tendency to want to (naturally) adjust what you're doing. This is fine, it simply terminates the quantitative portion of the experiment at that point. You can assess it qualitatively beyond that, by adjusting your methods and producing a different result, but a direct quantitative comparison becomes difficult when you change the variables midway through an experiment of this nature.
Something to keep in mind: the Miracle Gro (at least, the 18-18-21 Tomato Food I have) doesn't have any calcium and will react with calcium in solution, so you'll need to include a secondary supplement, either in alternating fert schedules or in the soil itself, or they will be deprived in the long term.
Things I would document.
- Growth (duh)
- look (duh)
- Time Spent Tending to the plants as per required
- Ease of use of the 2
- Cost
- Addisional Products needed to suplement
So many variables beyond nutrients. I think this all takes a small amount of sense and not necesarily a wonder fert. If you take an unbiased look at some of the more experienced growers you will see varying techniques,ferts,climates. AJ has mentioned he uses MG,anyone here that would say he doesn't know what he is doing would get laughed off of here. I have been reading a bit about making different "teas" and picking Guru's head a bit. As of this week I started brewing some to experiment on a couple plants. If I don't see overnight success should I say that "tea" i s for hippies? Was the PH good on my tea? Did I brew it properly? Feed it properly? This is where I say the good sense comes in. I don't think either way is superior. There will always be an organic or chemical solution to any pest,or disease. I have a breakneck schedule and decided to use a granular fert made from organic materials. My hope is that the plants can take care of themselves and I can remedy any deficiency that arises. I respect anyone who wants to live healthy but I also believe we need rich,big bad companies to employ dummies like me.
Cayennemist, From my experience this winter,seeds that I picked from the same pods grew at different rates with the same nutes and conditions. Would have to be very large scale over a period of time I'm guessing? Would using cuttings work better?
AJ has mentioned he uses MG,anyone here that would say he doesn't know what he is doing would get laughed off of here. I have been reading a bit about making different "teas" and picking Guru's head a bit. As of this week I started brewing some to experiment on a couple plants. If I don't see overnight success should I say that "tea" i s for hippies? Was the PH good on my tea? Did I brew it properly? Feed it properly? This is where I say the good sense comes in. I don't think either way is superior. There will always be an organic or chemical solution to any pest,or disease. I have a breakneck schedule and decided to use a granular fert made from organic materials. My hope is that the plants can take care of themselves and I can remedy any deficiency that arises. I respect anyone who wants to live healthy but I also believe we need rich,big bad companies to employ dummies like me.
Cayennemist, From my experience this winter,seeds that I picked from the same pods grew at different rates with the same nutes and conditions. Would have to be very large scale over a period of time I'm guessing? Would using cuttings work better?
I wish I had a lab structure to compair the effects of MG, Maxibloom, Dyna-Gro, and others on benificial microbes such as Mycorrhizal Fungi. As my gut tells me it would not look so good for most of them.
Well from the sound of it you guys aren't interested in the in my little expirement? You would concider the results moot?