Understanding Fertilizer and
Soil Additives
B1 supplements
One of the best fertilizer and soil additives is a quality B1 supplement. Put a little in every drop of water you give your plants (along with liquid seaweed). Just like vitamins for people, B1 helps every cell of a plant feel and perform its best. Use a small amount in all the water you give your plants to continually pump up their vigor and growth rate. The results I get have me sold as a big fan of Thrive Alive B1, but Superthrive is another popular choice.
Bat Guano
Another one of the best fertilizer and soil additives is bat guano. Bat guano contains a huge number of beneficial micro-organisms that work to improve the soil. The nutrients in bat guano are also immediately available to your plants. These are two reasons bat guano is used in soil mixes, and also in making nutrient tea. Any time you have a large population of micro-organisms you will be improving your soil conditions as they break down organic matter in the soil and produce humic acids and living enzymes.
In the beginning, you should reley more on worm castings as a fertilizer and soil additive. As you transplant into larger containers, incorporate about 1 tablespoon of bat or seabird guano into each gallon of soil. Add to this 1 tablespoon of kelp meal to each gallon of soil, so your micro-organisms will have plenty of carbohydrates to feed on. Use a high nitrogen guano when in veg, and a high phosphorus guano when in the flowering stage.
Blood Meal
I do not recommend blood meal as one of your fertilizer and soil additives. Blood meal is literally dried blood scraped from the slaughterhouse floor. You should always wear a mask if you decide to use it in a soil mix, as the dust can make you very sick. Blood meal is a very rich source of nitrogen and is immediately available to your plants. Use it at a rate of one 1/2 heaping tablespoon per gallon of soil mix. Since it is mostly nitrogen, it is usually used for the vegatative soil mixes.
I have stopped using blood as one of my fertilizer and soil additives since the advent of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Instead, I compensate with a little extra worm castings, high nitrogen bat guano, or replace the missing nitrogen with some other high nitrogen fertilizer.
Bone Meal
I also do not recommend bone meal as one of your fertilizer and soil additives. Bone meal is the other slaughterhouse product. Bones are stripped, dried, and ground into a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus and calcium. A portion is immediately available to your plants, and a portion is released slowly to your plants. If you decide to use bone meal, use a mask when preparing the soil mix. Use one 1/2 heaping tablespoon for each gallon of soil. Bone meal is usually used in place of blood meal for your flowering mixes.
I have stopped using bone meal as one of my fertilizer and soil additives since the advent of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)...scary stuff. Instead, I compensate with a little extra high phosphorus bat guano or special bloom additives.
Enzymes
Enzymes provide a missing link in the availability and use of fertilizer and soil additives. Enzymes control certain processes, much like plant hormones do. Enzymes are like traffic cops, signalling for molecules to move and processes to take place. A plant with no access to enzymes is like a having a construction crew, all the materials for a job, but no blueprint and no foremen.
Beneficial micro-organisms produce enzymes. They break down organic material and produce enzymes and humus. They live in the soil, in worms, in seabirds, in bats, and everywhere. Micro-organisms are the secret behind compost, bat guano, and worm castings and why they work so well. Every living thing uses enzymes to function. Having them available in good quantity ensures the most efficient growth of your plants.
A great source of enzymes would be worm castings and compost. If you have the time, you can make your own compost, or brew your own compost tea. These are all great fertilizer and soil additives. One excellent compost tea fertilizer is Pure Blend. The key is to always have a healty population of micro-organisms. Using kelp meal and seaweed products will give micro-organisms plenty of carbohydrates to feed on, helping to grow a big, healthy population.
Finally, the best quality enzyme supplement would have to be Hygrozyme. Use it regularly, in small amounts. Follow the directions. It is beneficial to all stages of plant growth, and if you carefully maintain a healthy micro-organism poputation you can use half as much to get the same results. Works great as both a fertilizer and soil additive.
Humic and Fulvic Acids
You use humic and fulvic acids in small amounts consistently throughout the life of your plant. Plants treated in this way grow larger and healthier roots, vegatative growth, and more vigorous flowering. They also tend to improve the flavor and aroma of your garden produce. One excellent source of humic acid is Liquid Karma, which is about 20 percent humic acid. A quality source of fulvic acid would be Diamond Nectar. If using them both, use only half strength of each.
Even when fertilizer is available, the plant still must process molecules to a small size before they can be absorbed. Plants can only do this so fast. Humic and fulvic acids are powerful chelating agents. This means they quickly change nutrient molecules around them into smaller, more usable forms, which allows the plant to absorb more nutrients more quickly.
The use of humic and fulvic acids makes any plants root environment more closely resemble the action of soil. This makes it one of the most important fertilizer and soil additives. Humus (the waste or decomposed remains of living things) is the source of organic material. Humic acids are the essence of humus. Fulvic acid is the most plant active portion of the humic acids. Obviously, humic and fulvic acids contain much organic matter and minerals that are both beneficial to your plants.
Hydrated Lime
Your micro-organisms do their best at a Ph of about 7. Your plants have the greatest nutrient availability (from a chemistry standpoint) at a Ph of 6.2 in soil. In beween lies your perfect soil Ph. Most commercial potting soil mixes are based on sphagnum peat moss, which is a little too acidic. If your mix is sphagnum peat based and it has not already been Ph adjusted, add about 1 teaspoon of hydrated lime for each gallon of soil mix. This also supplements the mix with a little extra calcium and magnesium.
Seaweed Fertilizer and
Soil Additives
You would use a liquid seaweed, like Maxicrop, in small amounts every time you water. It is also an excellent choice for foliar feeding. The low N-P-K numbers let you know you can use it every time without worrying about burning or nutrient buildup. Also, seaweed based products need very little Ph correction.
Plants absolutely need minerals and organic matter to live. Seaweed is amazingly complete in the trace minerals (aka micro-nutrients) it contains. Used weekly as a foliar spray, you will prevent any nutrient defficiencies. Seaweed also produces a healthy dose of usable plant hormones, which drive plant growth and ensure proper development.
Kelp meal is added to a soil mix for the plant hormones, and also to provide a good source of carbohydrates. Your plants take up and convert carbohydrates into their own plant tissue. In addition, the carbohydrates make a good food source for micro-organisms and support large populations.
Seaweed fertilizers like Maxicrop also incorporate a versatile N-P-K ratio like 16-16-16 or 3-20-20, making it an all purpose fertilizer. With a solid N-P-K ratio, micro-nutrients, plant hormones, and carbohydrates, a fertilizer like Maxsea can almost stand on its own. Check out all the benefits of Maxsea.
Maxsea is missing only magnesium, which you can correct by adding 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts per gallon of nutrient solution. Because they accomplish so much, every gardener should use seaweed fertilizer and soil additives.
Worm Castings
Worm castings are one of the best fertilizer and soil additives. Worm castings are mostly nitrogen, and it is in a form the plants can use immediately. It is also a gentle form of nitrogen, which is important to young plants. Most importantly, each casting is coated in living enzymes and beneficial micro-organisms as it passes through the worm. Worm castings should be about 20 percent of your soil mix, or less. Take into consideration that other parts of your mix, like FoxFarm, may already contain some worm castings. Castings are also used by themselves or with guano to make nutrient tea.
Very Important to your Health
The mayor of a small Washington state town has recently uncovered something shocking and disturbing. Millions of pounds of toxic industrial waste are being diverted from expensive EPA disposal facilities to factories that produce common household fertilizer and soil additives. The products you find on this website have all been thoroughly checked by myself for safety. If you are using any other products, I highly suggest you visit the Washington State Dept of Agriculture website and check the fertilizers you are using for your own safety. To read a more complete version of the facts, go to my toxic fertilizers page.
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