Liquid fertilizer vs rain
- bower
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- Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Liquid fertilizer vs rain
My garlic has been a bit rained out this spring, starting to show some yellow tips, and I am overdue to give them a feed.
I had planned to use the remains of some Alaska fish fert.
But we are not getting enough of a break from the rain, it has turned really wet again.
So here's my question: I'm assuming liquid fert before or during endless rain is a waste. That the soluble N will run off and probably feed the weeds (from raised beds).
So what about the chicken manure pellets, that's another fert I have on hand.
Would it be better to side dress with that dry stuff instead?
Not sure whether birds would pick it out, but it should melt pretty quickly in all this rain.
Also not sure how far away from the bulbs it should be, or how deep to scratch it, or even how much to use.
TIA for your thoughts.
I had planned to use the remains of some Alaska fish fert.
But we are not getting enough of a break from the rain, it has turned really wet again.
So here's my question: I'm assuming liquid fert before or during endless rain is a waste. That the soluble N will run off and probably feed the weeds (from raised beds).
So what about the chicken manure pellets, that's another fert I have on hand.
Would it be better to side dress with that dry stuff instead?
Not sure whether birds would pick it out, but it should melt pretty quickly in all this rain.
Also not sure how far away from the bulbs it should be, or how deep to scratch it, or even how much to use.
TIA for your thoughts.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm
- Whwoz
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- Location: Trafalgar, Victoria, Australia
Re: Liquid fertilizer vs rain
Palletised chicken manure would be worth applying I think @bower . A good scattering throughout the bed should do the job nicely. Would not need to be overly fussy with regards to placement next to each plant as roots spread out a bit underground. Your local birds might scratch it around a bit, only time will tell for sure how they will react.
- Tormahto
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Re: Liquid fertilizer vs rain
That's a tough one. Will the pellets burn the bulbs if contact is made? When I pull garlic, the roots are basically under the bulb. Do they simply droop when in the air, or do they grow more spread out when underground? The only thing that I know is that I would scratch it in just shallow enough to stop thieves.bower wrote: ↑Sat Jun 01, 2024 3:11 pm My garlic has been a bit rained out this spring, starting to show some yellow tips, and I am overdue to give them a feed.
I had planned to use the remains of some Alaska fish fert.
But we are not getting enough of a break from the rain, it has turned really wet again.
So here's my question: I'm assuming liquid fert before or during endless rain is a waste. That the soluble N will run off and probably feed the weeds (from raised beds).
So what about the chicken manure pellets, that's another fert I have on hand.
Would it be better to side dress with that dry stuff instead?
Not sure whether birds would pick it out, but it should melt pretty quickly in all this rain.
Also not sure how far away from the bulbs it should be, or how deep to scratch it, or even how much to use.
TIA for your thoughts.
- JRinPA
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Re: Liquid fertilizer vs rain
You are planting in raised beds, but the rain is overwatering them?
I don't think I have ever had that problem. 5 years back we had some wet years, and I remember being worried about garlic and digging it before another big rain came. But that was in ground, and really wasn't a problem anyway.
Can you feed them with the fish as planned but pitch a tent over the top for a few days? A lean to, something? To let them enjoy the wonderful aroma of fish fertilizer for more than a day or two without it being washed away.
yeah, I'm not much help, I know, but I tried.
I don't think I have ever had that problem. 5 years back we had some wet years, and I remember being worried about garlic and digging it before another big rain came. But that was in ground, and really wasn't a problem anyway.
Can you feed them with the fish as planned but pitch a tent over the top for a few days? A lean to, something? To let them enjoy the wonderful aroma of fish fertilizer for more than a day or two without it being washed away.
yeah, I'm not much help, I know, but I tried.
- bower
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- Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Re: Liquid fertilizer vs rain
Tx JRinPA. Yeah, even in raised beds it's been wet. Don't forget we got a huge amount of snow too, but really the rain has been about ten times what they need to be happy.
I ended up scratching in some chicken pellet, in between plants in the line. Scratched it in about an inch or two deep. The stuff melts pretty quickly and none of the visitors decided to dig for it. Plants look a bit happier. I might still have time to apply some fish fert now that we're going into a dryer spell. I don't expect scapes for another month.
I ended up scratching in some chicken pellet, in between plants in the line. Scratched it in about an inch or two deep. The stuff melts pretty quickly and none of the visitors decided to dig for it. Plants look a bit happier. I might still have time to apply some fish fert now that we're going into a dryer spell. I don't expect scapes for another month.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm
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Re: Liquid fertilizer vs rain
My garden is also depleted of nutrients and looks it. I have been applying both a water soluble fertilizer and a liquid fertilizer that I got from a permaculture guru on Garden Web. The closest thing I have found to it is called "J-Dam Fertilizer" It is slightly different in that I use a lot more leaf litter.
I use two 5 gallon buckets of leaf litter gathered from a big oak tree. 55 gal drum partially filled with water. I put all my prunings, diseased or healthy in the barrel. Spoiled tomatoes, peppers, every thing except meat goes in the barrel. Fortunately we are surrounded by forest. Diluted 40-50 to 1 is what I use. In a normal year I think I can see a difference, this year is not normal, so I have been adding extra to the garden. I realize that this is all anecdotal, but I usually have a healthy and mostly disease free garden.
I use two 5 gallon buckets of leaf litter gathered from a big oak tree. 55 gal drum partially filled with water. I put all my prunings, diseased or healthy in the barrel. Spoiled tomatoes, peppers, every thing except meat goes in the barrel. Fortunately we are surrounded by forest. Diluted 40-50 to 1 is what I use. In a normal year I think I can see a difference, this year is not normal, so I have been adding extra to the garden. I realize that this is all anecdotal, but I usually have a healthy and mostly disease free garden.