VR Buzz…

Edited by Chris Rudolph

A note from Angela: While I'm sorry to see Chris Rudolph step down as editor for this column, Chris is on to bigger and better things by beginning classes at a local university. Congratulations, Chris, and thank you for your wonderful contributions to the newsletter. Good Luck!

*The topics below were discussed heavily in the months of December and January

FERTILIZERS

Much discussion took place about the different brands of fertilizers and the different strengths and mixtures that are available. There were a lot of questions asked and a lot of helpful advice offered. In a nutshell, the different manufacturers produce fertilizers in varying strengths. You should choose the fertilizer that has the proper components to achieve the desired result. Some fertilizers are balanced (20-20-20, 15-15-15) and are good as an all-around plant food, while others have more of one element than the others (12-36-14, 30-10-10). The first number is Nitrogen (growth, green leaves, good chlorophyll production), the second number is Phosphorus (root development, plant cell building, bloom boosting), and the third number is Potassium (minerals, cell structure, good for seedling development, flower development).

"The type of nitrogen found in fertilizers will affect how fast the plant can utilize the nitrogen. Urea and ammonium forms of nitrogen are more readily used than the third commonly found type nitrate. Nitrate goes through an extra conversion process in the plant before the plant can use it. Urea is converted also, but not by the plant - it is converted in the growing medium and taken up in an easy form by the plant.

From what I understand, certain microorganisms in the medium convert the urea to viable nitrogen. If over-watering, salt imbalance in the medium or other condition prevents the little guys from converting it, the plant can't use it.

Symptoms of nitrogen deficiency would be pale leaves, poor growth, and perhaps brown spots on leaves, just overall "lack of food" - type symptoms. These would get progressively worse if the soil condition weren't corrected. (Regular repotting sometimes corrects this automatically) As a result of the lack of that food, a second side effect would be low or no blooms, failure to thrive and eventually starving to death.

When a fertilizer has urea in it, it means the nitrogen content has been derived from a urea product. Most fertilizers have this in some amount because it is the most economical way for the manufacturer to obtain nitrogen. In recent years many manufacturers have provided urea-free fertilizers, and they are probably better to use. I would add though, urea is a problem only when it is allowed to build up - as with any other of the salt by-products in fertilizer. So, if you wick, but regularly leach the soil, or if you top water (which leaches the soil), or if you water by adding the solution to trays and you only fertilize once every other watering, you probably won't have a urea problem that shows up in the plants.

Sulfur coated urea (the less expensive to manufacture) is slower to leach out of soils and thus can reach build - up levels in pots faster- It's great for a lawn or golf course where you don't want the rain to wash it all out, but the slow leach action means it remains in a soil/container longer, especially if no leaching at all is done. Then a build-up follows, which as they say, can "gum up the whole works".

One other thing that people should probably know about "bloom boosters" with a high middle number (Phosphorous). Phosphorous does not leach away very easily, nothing like nitrogen and potassium. So when use of a fertilizer such as 12-36-14 is constant, the phosphorous will build up in the soil. " - Laurie A.E. O'Meara

Laurie said it better than I could have and I didn't want to take the chance of misinforming anyone by accidentally changing the meaning through trying to paraphrase (why reinvent the wheel?).

Harvey S. added this helpful explanation and suggestion: "Urea is a popular source of nitrogen, because it needs to be broken down by bacteria before it is available to the plants. That means that it is released over a period of time rather than being available all in one big dose. I am not sure why this is considered a bad thing, but if you really want a fertilizer that is low in urea, try any fertilizer formulated for orchids. As epiphytes that don't grow in soil, orchids don't have the opportunity for bacteria to help them with this transition. Orchid foods are usually rich in ammoniacal nitrogen that is very immediately available, but doesn't stay around for very long. Any plant that is bottom watered and/or bottom fertilized should be flushed periodically from the top, allowing the surplus water to run down the drain."

SELF-WATERING POTS

Joyce offered the following on this topic: "There are several types of self watering pots. The ones that are glazed are the easiest to use. First soak the inside liner in water, then after you pot your plant, moisten the soil, just slightly. Put water in the bottom portion and place the potted liner in. Then water again very slightly. The soil should be just moist. This should be the end of your watering until the bottom liner is empty, and then add more water to the bottom ONLY. The only way you can overwater is by adding too much water to the potted liner.

Soak pots that do not draw water overnight in vinegar. I put mine in the garage when I do this, so it doesn't smell up the house. I had 3 that did not want to draw water; I used the vinegar and then used sand paper to buff the bottom of the liner. They now work just fine.

I am using several types. My deep ones (glazed) are from Lowe's and there is no perlite in the bottom. I have some plastic 97 cent ones from Wal-Mart; there is no perlite in the bottom. I have some tiny ones (glazed) with perlite in the bottom and I bought them off eBay. I have some planted with perlite and some without. The ones without the perlite are doing better than the ones with the perlite in the bottom."

Well that's it for now. Thanks for reading this and please feel free to let me know if you think anything should be added or corrected. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to these threads on the list, and a special thanks to those who I quoted J. See you all on the list.

Chris Rudolph
cricket@i-star.com