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leanne starts with ... Hi Everyone, I was just wondering what fertiliser everyone uses? I am new to fruit trees and have heaps now, but am trying to work out what each tree needs and it is driving me crazy! NPK ratios are doing my head in and I am hoping for some advice on what you guys use for all your trees/plants and how frequently. I have the following: feijoa, miracle fruit, paw paw, midyim berry, strawberry guava, ceylon hill gooseberry, black sapote, peanut butter tree, orange, mandarin, abiu, bush lemon, grumichama, rollinia, finger lime, anna apple, coffee, tea, blueberries, dragon fruit, peppino, and pommegranate. Thanks for any help :) | About the Author Nqgrower1 north queensland 17th September 2011 1:20pm #UserID: 5050 Posts: 72 View All Nqgrower1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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John Mc says... I personally use a variety of fertilizers, the bigger variety the better in my opinion, more often in summer, like every two weeks, a little, often. Everyone has there own ideas, I might be a little keener than the average but for flowers and fruit trees I use a (flower and fruit) based fertilizer or citrus based or even rose fertilizer. I also regularly use organic ferts like Dymanic lifter and rooster booster, each a turn about so something different is going on each time, not all at once. I also buy chicken manure in bulk and if I run short, in bags off the side of the road. I also make up my own fertilizers from basic fertilizer salts that are availabe in bulk 25kg bags from rural suppliers, (including all the trace elements). Don Burke highly recommends Nitrosol, it's cheapest as Bunnings @around $10 for a litre that will treat 250lits of water. It has a lot of extras like natural growth hormones, I bought two bottles this morning to give everything a nice liquid organic feed this time round. In finishing, I think as long as you feed your fruiting trees at least once a month and keep them well watered, you won't go wrong. Without trying to sound too complicated, with your miracle fruit and blueberry, I'd be leaning towards a cammelia and azalia (acid) based fertilizer. Oh, and when your looking for something else to do, you can make up a very weak solution of Miracle grow or thrive for flower and fruit plus a little seasol (and wetting agent to make it all stick to the leaf) and go around and spray all the foliage for that extra boost. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 17th September 2011 3:13pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... I'm with John Mc here :) A varied diet is great for plants and little and often is my golden rule too. Some products - like Seasol (seaweed) - are more like a growth stimulator (eg seaweed contains substances known to promote leaf or root growth) and they are not a fertiliser high in nitrogen at all (in fact negligible N) so more like a 'tonic' and very good at this too. Sugar cane mulch and lucern also contain good growing substances (triacontanol) - but will also add organics (carbon) to your soil. Then you have the manures - which act as bulk soil conditioners (usually low nitrogen - except chook n pigeon) and promote good soil microflora and structure. Then they are the fertilisers themselves - either organic or synthetic - and quick release vs slow release. eg: dynamic lifter is organic and slow release. Miracle grow is quick and synthetic (?) It's a good idea to have an understanding of what each thing does and/or it's strengths/weaknesses. Most fruiting trees need a bit more than just soil conditioners - as you are cropping them (and removing huge amounts of nutrients) Personally I don't pay any attention to the 'published' rates of how much, and when, each tree needs what...I let the tree tell me - and just maintain a constant, modest fertilising program using Rooster Booster (easing up on the deciduous trees in winter) Personally I prefer slow release organic ferts as I have no problems with burning etc. I use a more potent liquid (like Powerfeed) when I need an instant fix - or the tree is feeding heavily for new growth etc. Once you become more experienced - then you can play around with more specialised fertilising (that's just my opinion tho) I would always have in my garden pantry (just the absolute basics): Dynamic lifter/Rooster Booster Seasol Potash Blood n Bone + 10% potash (for very fussy subtropicals) Powerfeed (liquid) or Fish emulsion I also always have available: manure (usually pig) and straw of some kind. Some of my trees need some "extras" like iron and zinc sulphate cos of my soil/sand - but you may have soil that doesn't - so it's best not to muck about with those things until (if ever) you actually see those deficiencies coming up in your trees. Fertilisers will work much better for you along with lots of organic matter (like manures) - using purely synthetic fert's, only, will eventually destroy your soil. Others may disagree there tho :) You don't need to spend lots of money on expensive fert's. And if the tree looks happy - then it probably is! :D Don't add more fert than it needs/can use...it's a waste of money - but also will do far more harm than good...over fertilising is the most common problem (aside from under/over watering) that I see with inexperienced gardeners..? It's also a great idea to get your self a notebook and start writing all the really handy tips for each plant (under it's own heading) As time goes on you will find that the knowledge will come naturally to you - but until then it can be very confusing, I agree! (eg: what John Mc said about blueberries needing a more acidic fert...and the blood n bone for super fussy sub tropicals - eg jaboticaba and maybe the rollinia. Very slow growing trees may not appreciate being pushed to hard with a lot of fert's etc etc) You will get the hang of it! (and then will come the pruning schedule- eek - lol!!) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 17th September 2011 5:30pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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leanne says... Thanks so much guys that is really helpful :) I have actually bought most of what has been suggested - rooster booster, blood and bone, potash, seasol, plus i have a worm farm so was going to use the castings as well. Honestly though I was so overwhelmed with everything I was reading i have been too scared to apply anything becuase I was scared I was going to kill the plants. I did actually buy azalea fertiliser for the blueberries and miracle fruit so thanks John for confirming that's the way to go. I also bought epsom salts because the lady at the nursery told me they were good for citrus - would you use this regularly or is it more for correcting deficiencies? Thanks again | About the Author Nqgrower1 north queensland 17th September 2011 5:47pm #UserID: 5050 Posts: 72 View All Nqgrower1's Edible Fruit Trees |
John Mc says... I'd just stick to the mainstream complete ferts for now, when you start adding fert components you can easily upset the balance of nutes you might already have. Epsom salts is just Magnesium and sulfur, it's already in complete fertilisers. Have a look at the component makeup on the back of the pack. Companies spend millions of $ on R&D so I'd say they're pretty close to the money. In my humble opinion, and it's only my opinion, I believe worm farms are better off in the ground, the worms will do a much better job there right at the coal face where they do a wonderful job. You can always dig a hole and bury your kitchen scraps for the worms sake. I agree with Amanda, the mulches are just as important as the fert regime. I get cheap spoilt bales of lucerne hay down at the produce store and put it through a mulcher, it turns the stiff lucerne into a beautiful soft finely cut mulch. | About the Author JohnMc1 Warnervale NSW 17th September 2011 10:22pm #UserID: 2743 Posts: 2043 View All JohnMc1's Edible Fruit Trees |