The Myth of Foliar Feeding

[Dave2000]

I had a guy at the hydro store try to tell me I should foliar spray with fulvic acid...I quietly thought in the back of my mind...this guy is smokin some serious sh-t...
Case in point, people shouldn't swallow cocaine because it will become available all at once to the body in the stomach and can very easily cause an overdose where the same amount in the nose wouldn't.  This is a major reason why internal cocaine muling is so dangerous.

 

Cocaine snorted in the nose is absorbed faster than any other popular method except intravenous injection or secondly, smoking it.  If it were to become available more quickly through the stomach then nobody would snort it and destroy their nostrils or bother with tubes and trays, they'd just take a pill.
 
The reason muling is so dangerous is they're swallowing a far larger quantity than you would ever get into or keep in your nasal cavity.  Although the delivery in the stomach is slower that is swamped by the quantity and an absorption rate still far higher than the metabolization rate.

 

[Roguejim]

Cocaine snorted in the nose is absorbed faster than any other popular method except intravenous injection or secondly, smoking it.  If it were to become available more quickly through the stomach then nobody would snort it and destroy their nostrils or bother with tubes and trays, they'd just take a pill.
 
The reason muling is so dangerous is they're swallowing a far larger quantity than you would ever get into or keep in your nasal cavity.  Although the delivery in the stomach is slower that is swamped by the quantity and an absorption rate still far higher than the metabolization rate.

Uh, this is a topic for The Lounge.

 

[randyp]

         I do use epson salt spay,wonder if I switched it out with a placebo(water)would I still feel I was accomplishing anything.

 

[Nigel]

 
Cocaine snorted in the nose is absorbed faster than any other popular method except intravenous injection or secondly, smoking it.  If it were to become available more quickly through the stomach then nobody would snort it and destroy their nostrils or bother with tubes and trays, they'd just take a pill.
 
The reason muling is so dangerous is they're swallowing a far larger quantity than you would ever get into or keep in your nasal cavity.  Although the delivery in the stomach is slower that is swamped by the quantity and an absorption rate still far higher than the metabolization rate.

In fact very few nutrients are absorbed through the stomach, it`s the intestines that do that job. Except alcohol. That goes right through the stomach in to the bloodstream. There will always be exceptions if you look hard enough, but we are talking about nutrients and neither cocaine nor alcohol are what I would describe as nutrients.

 
Hmm...Is not Prof. A.E. Nightingale also an "expert"? 

Very possibly, but he is undoubtedly being paid by Spray N Grow. That constitutes a conflict of interest. I`d also like to examine the experimental protocols, as I suspect there would be holes a mile wide. 

 

[John1234]

Effect of foliar application of macro and micro nutrients on production of green chilies ( Capsicum annuum L.) 2008
 
Results are there, but still debatable. As others mentioned, how much nutrition is from foliage run-off alone? Were the plants drenched or lightly misted? It would be more telling if leaf analysis were done at varying intervals after foliar feeding to determine nutrient uptake through foliage or possibly a spike in growth caused by run-off reaching roots through irrigation.
 
Timing Citrus and Avocado Foliar Nutrient Applications to Increase Fruit Set and Size
 
I think the greatest benefits would come from appropriatly timed applications, sited above, with formulations geared towards a desired goal, ie. flower bloom, fruit set, or when root systems are compromised by disease or nutrient lock out, especially in the case of P, where conventional soil applied P is highly bound against root uptake.
 
When root systems are intentionally compromised (ie. cloning), I think foliar fertilization, especially with solutions containing growth hormones (kelp, alfalfa and conventional extracted forms) would become very beneficial. There is also silicon to think on, as much soil-bound Si is not available to the plant, or uptake limited, and elevated levels in foliage/roots has proven beneficial.
 
Some foliar applications (aloe, acetylsalicylic acid [aspirin]) have, at least anecdotally, been shown to reduce plant stress and increase vigor while transplanting, pruning and other grower induced stress, as well as while resolving disease issues.
 
Is foliar feeding a replacement for roots ie. total feeding of a plant through the leaves? Nope, and that example is as ridiculous as many of the analogies put forward here But I think it does have a place, how useful that is to home gardening is up for grabs depending on the grower and their level of fiddlefarting.
 
 

I use foliar feeding with epsom salt to help pollinate my plants. When I remember to spray my plants, I always make sure to get under the leaves and into the flowers. Works great.

Neil

 
I've also been curious about that as well. It was my understanding that water would wash pollen away?
 

 

[randyp]

        Mig,you got me in a nutshell"grower induced stress".My plants like me better if I leave them be.

 

[Roguejim]

Using a simple plastic ground cover with the plants growing up through it, like commercial strawbs, would effectively eliminate any nute runoff concerns, which I think would be negligible anyway if the plants were properly sprayed using a surfactant as part of the nute regimen.

 

[Blister]

I've also been curious about that as well. It was my understanding that water would wash pollen away?

I was concerned that it would wash the pollen away too, but that hasn't been the case. I'm sure pollen would get washed off if you used enough water and sprayed until the plants were dripping, but I'm only giving them a real fine misting directly into the flowers, on the tops and bottoms of the leaves.

  

What do you mean, specifically, "it works great"?

Using a spray bottle to mist directly into the flowers to aid in pollination.

Neil