Osmocote, my favorite plant food - easy peasy, complete

[BuckeyeGreen]

19-5-8 is the way to go huh? I’ve never seen that mix. Must be more commercial. Do you know if you can get that mix in smaller size bags? Although I could you use it in my landscape too.
The Osmocote plus now is getting pretty expensive in the 8 lbs bag. I do use all 8 lbs on my property though every year, so the cost to fertilize most of my property for a season is cheap. I spend most of my time in the garden in the spring, summer and fall.
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[Old Uncle Ben]

19-5-8 is the way to go huh? I’ve never seen that mix. Must be more commercial. Do you know if you can get that mix in smaller size bags? Although I could you use it in my landscape too. The Osmocote plus now is getting pretty expensive in the 8 lbs bag. I do use all 8 lbs on my property, so the cost to fertilize most of my property for a season is cheap.
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The 19-5-8 would be excellent for new plantings. The N is too high for cannabis for me. The 15-9-12 is an excellent balanced food regarding NPK...... from the babies or newly rooted clones right on through to harvest. It works. Plus it's cheap, like pennies per app. Easy peasy!

I throw it around the newly planted whatever, maybe scratch it in with my foot and go on to the next spot. Nice thing about it is it's useful whether you mix it into 5 yds. of a bulk custom mix, scratch it into the top of the pot, or just lay it on top of the ground or soil and water it in which what I do with my greenhouse pots.

Go for the A.M. Leonard free shipping promos, get on their email list. Sometimes it's free shipping for $99 in sales, right now it's $125. Trust me, there are enough goodies on their site to run up that kind of bill, quick. I buy heavy items like Osmocote, Berger BM7 (love this CHEAP but excellent mix), etc. https://www.amleo.com/osmocote-fert...kKNcHnzVzC7uPT43F5UE7wh5vag_VjjcaAjXFEALw_wcB Saves me a $200 shipping bill.

8# bags on Amazon used to be as low as $11. It's all about you know who who has done you know what to the economy. Amazon has it for $25. I usually buy a 3 cu. ft. bag of #3 grade vermiculite and mix with this stuff. https://www.amleo.com/berger-bark-growing-mix-3-cu-ft/p/BM7

Just don't spill the stuff! 50# bag tilted over on a chair while I was scooping it out for a friend. Ran under the dishwasher, etc. It's like BB's, once they hit the floor they're gone!

Uncle Ben

 

[JKD]

I wonder if there is some allowance for N loss to atmosphere behind the high N.

Have you tried the Azalea mix?

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

I wonder if there is some allowance for N loss to atmosphere behind the high N.

Have you tried the Azalea mix?

No and no.

The N loss you have to compensate for is to feed the microbes as they break down the organics and that includes coir, peat, pine bark and cypress products. They require N to do so.

Osmocote contains both slow release (ammonical) and fast release (nitrate) salts.

Now don't get me wrong, this is just one food out of many I have used over about 50 years of gardening. I also love Dyna-Gro and Peters foods. Schultz is OK too.

For organics try the meals, blood and bone and horse nuggets aka alfalfa for the triacontanol.

UB

 

[islandpreservation]

Osmocote is a go too for many plant nurseries, interesting to see it getting traction in canna world. That complex blend of micronutrients is great. I always use a lot of organic matter with chemical ferts. it really helps microbes to unlock the nutrients making your ferts go a long way in availability

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

I have used Osmocote or other slow release fertilizers for decades both on a hobby basis and for commercial ag. Since 2005 I have applied it to about 10,000 trees, a new vineyard, both in the field and in my greenhouse where I graft and grow tropical fruit trees.

Folks eventually learn that nurseries practice solid growing drills as opposed to "trends" you see in cannabis forums which often border on the absurd, an example being leafing/defoliation and flushing.....but I digress.

Here is a Hazeman Monkey Balls female I flipped over to 12/12 March 26. Still green and healthy. All I do is water. Under ViparSpectra unless I have sunny skies and mild weather. Been moving it out of the LED garden into full sun a lot lately. Spring has sprung!

Root systems are excellent too. It's almost impossible to induce root burn or leaf scorch with Osmocote.

Speaking of roots - I've been using MicroKote treated pots for indicas since Nov. 2022. The root mass is extreme, very efficient. MicroKote is fairly effective regarding negating root spin out. Affect was not as good as the old days with Griffin's Spin-Out -> https://mycotopia.net/HTFaq/1321.htm

Here's a Deep Chunk male I destroyed yesterday. I knocked off as much of the soil as possible which was a pain.....the roots were so intense and thick. That's a good thing, because, gardening is ALL ABOUT THE ROOTS, DUMMY!"

The soil mix is my own concoction, a blend of 50/50 organics and inorganics.

Grow Hard,
Uncle Ben

 

[ledo]

I'm sorry but I got to disagree, it fine for ornamentals but it's just straight-up chemical fertilizer. To add to that is super long - term time release making it impossible to to ease up on or flush during flowering.

I was going to add I don’t think Mother Nature intended a synthetic stew that’s got time released synthetic controls but to each their own; that said it’s a good product for ornamental perennials & at end of season often goes on super discount at the big boxes, cheaper often than it costs to make you can find it if you time it right & keep eyes open….

Not to reign on anyones parade just an organic farmers (biased) .02

Peace

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

I always use a lot of organic matter with chemical ferts. it really helps microbes to unlock the nutrients making your ferts go a long way in availability

Both are slow release, the way plants get their nutrition in their original point of origin.

I too combine organics with synthetic foods. I use Peters and Dyna-Gro a lot too.

Hard to beat the complete nutrients of Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro, a 9-3-6. It has it all, including Ca. I blast my vineyard with a tractor mounted, PTO driven fogger/blaster and fertilize with about 3 TBS. of Foliage-Pro for about 10 gals. of mix.

UB

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

I was going to add I don’t think Mother Nature intended a synthetic stew that’s got time released synthetic controls but to each their own; that said it’s a good product for ornamental perennials & at end of season often goes on super discount at the big boxes, cheaper often than it costs to make you can find it if you time it right & keep eyes open….

Not to reign on anyones parade just an organic farmers (biased) .02

Peace

If your organics didn't contain chemicals, salts, they would be useless.

Plant doesn't care about organic purists' cult. It only cares about the right NPK and micros and having a constant supply of water. Witness hydroponics, water culture.

Uncle Ben

 

[ledo]

If your organics didn't contain chemicals, salts, they would be useless.

Plant doesn't care about organic purists' cult. It only cares about the right NPK and micros and having a constant supply of water. Witness hydroponics, water culture.

Uncle Ben

I understand mineralization my friend

You sound a bit more defensive than confident; many ways to skin a cat; this cat knows his shit and is very comfortable with his processes & at the same time is comfortable respecting yours - to each their own…

PS: my organics are mined as they occur in nature and of course are salts, not sure on the chemicals bit however

Peace

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

I understand mineralization my friend

You sound a bit more defensive than confident; many ways to skin a cat; this cat knows his shit and is very comfortable with his processes & at the same time is comfortable respecting yours - to each their own…

PS: my organics are mined as they occur in nature and of course are salts, not sure on the chemicals bit however

Peace

Mineralization?

Just a thought, it they are not in a salt form or quickly broken down into salts by microbes, fungi and such, again, they are useless. i.e. green sand.

I assume you've done a lab analysis on your "natural" minerals? Ward Labs is one of the best if you're in the states. They test manures too. https://www.wardlab.com/services/soil-health-analysis/

I'm about as organic as they get, but I'm also a vet when it comes to plant nutrition and soil chemistry and use a rational, conventional approach to get where I want to go.

Question, have you planted acres of legumes and green manures? I have, like 15 acres. 2 of the legumes I (innoculated) and sowed I chose were based on improving the structure of a hardpan clay loam that was under hay production forever. Sweet clover, hairy vetch were my choices, they are legumes. Also planted elbon rye for the humus bulk which grew to 6' and seeded. All manure crops reseed albeit very thin since they were drilled in or broadcasted in the early 2000's.

Volunteer Madrid yellow Sweet Clover. Pops up everywhere - in the greenhouse pots, sand pile, vineyard, etc. That is pine needle and/or pine bark mulch on bottomless RootBuilder "pots" in my greenhouse. I grow large, bearing avocados and have a cloudforest environment in a large greenshouse. Ridge is 18' H.

Would someone please tell this fine young man who he's messing with?

Grow hard,
Uncle Ben

 

[ledo]

Mineralization?

Just a thought, it they are not in a salt form or quickly broken down into salts by microbes, fungi and such, again, they are useless. i.e. green sand.

if you’re a farmer & don’t understand what I meant by mineralization…. Well perhaps I’m dubious now vs respecting your methods - haha - your cannabis pictures clearly show excess leafiness & overly dark green due mucho excess N, you’re not growing actual grass, or clover my friend and if you enjoy NLD & pure tropical then you should learn what N signals in them -

Peace & good luck

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

if you’re a farmer & don’t understand what I meant by mineralization…. Well perhaps I’m dubious now vs respecting your methods - haha - your cannabis pictures clearly show excess leafiness & overly dark green due mucho excess N, you’re not growing actual grass, or clover my friend and if you enjoy NLD & pure tropical then you should learn what N signals in them -

Peace & good luck

Of course I understand "mineraliztion". Recommend you get off your organic pulpit, stop preaching and judging folks who have 50 years of gardening behind them.

For example.....

My recently grown plants are PURE indicas, not your typical mutts - Deep Chunk, Cannacopia Lapis Mountain indica, Hazeman Monkey Balls, Sensi Seeds Hindu Kush, etc. Indicas, by nature, are very leafy (which is a good thing as it supports root and bud plant tissue development). They are usually exhibit dark green, wide, overlapping leaves.

How about chlorophyll and it's function? There are chlorophyll meters for sale that measure leaf levels if you want to get anal about it. I read my plants.

May I recommend one of the most comprehensive books on the subject, which is botanically based, so you can learn all about phenotypes and such?

A 15-9-12 is a well balanced food or I wouldn't be using it. It is not excessive in N except to noobs who fall for the marketing hype of cannabis specific bloom foods that are too low in N, subjecting their plants to premature defoliation. Some folks forget it's leaves that produce buds, not overpriced, forum hyped 3 part bloom foods.

Some of the stressed out plants with the off color twisted leaves I see in forums are pretty pathetic. Always self inflicted.

Uncle Ben

 

[goingrey]

Problem with most growers is they fall for the cannabis hawks who sell low N, high P foods which aren't bueno. Cannabis is a FOLIAR plant. It needs sufficient N, and very little P (like most crops). I cringe when I see noobs get suckered in and hit the old bloom foods and sacrifice the very unit that produces bud (and roots) - leaves.

What is a foliar plant? A plant that has leaves?

Anyway, nitrogen excesses seem to be much more common than excess phosphorous based on photos people post on the forums. That would not be a point in favor of your theory. Just a gut feeling though, haven't done any real stats.

Also, fertilizer requirements seem to depend on the cultivar, based on both "forum hype" and legit science. So 15-9-12 might be a good ratio for some but surely not all. Multipart fertilizers definitely have an edge here. True often they won't be the most cost-effective option. Call that noobs being suckered if you want, but also keep in mind that it's a very valuable crop and for the price of a couple grams you can buy enough fertilizer to grow a couple kilos, even in the expensive bottles. If even just a small benefit can be gained, many people will find it's worth it.

 

[ledo]

Of course I understand "mineraliztion". Recommend you get off your organic pulpit, stop preaching and judging folks who have 50 years of gardening behind them.

For example.....

My recently grown plants are PURE indicas, not your typical mutts - Deep Chunk, Cannacopia Lapis Mountain indica, Hazeman Monkey Balls, Sensi Seeds Hindu Kush, etc. Indicas, by nature, are very leafy (which is a good thing as it supports root and bud plant tissue development). They are usually exhibit dark green, wide, overlapping leaves.

How about chlorophyll and it's function? There are chlorophyll meters for sale that measure leaf levels if you want to get anal about it. I read my plants.

View attachment 18831490

May I recommend one of the most comprehensive books on the subject, which is botanically based, so you can learn all about phenotypes and such?


View attachment 18831489

A 15-9-12 is a well balanced food or I wouldn't be using it. It is not excessive in N except to noobs who fall for the marketing hype of cannabis specific bloom foods that are too low in N, subjecting their plants to premature defoliation. Some folks forget it's leaves that produce buds, not overpriced, forum hyped 3 part bloom foods.

Some of the stressed out plants with the off color twisted leaves I see in forums are pretty pathetic. Always self inflicted.

Uncle Ben

I’m a farmer; I hate woo woo juice, preach cheapest inputs just choose organic from experience vs synthetics which over time rape the land, experience again… your lumping me with a group of forum boogie men I’ve got nothing to do with… “noobs”

Your cannabis pictures show you’ve got a lot to learn imho; but you excel at growing clover & legumes which gives you even more N so that’s cool…

Did you know Snow accumulates N btw; we’ve always got plenty, would you like some?

 

[radioman]

I having been using osmocote for over 20 years outside on guerilla grows. Why - because it's cheap and easy to carry + it works. Even though weed is legal - I still grow outside that way. I usually put in about 27 females in 3 spots. I put the osmocote in the holes when I transplant. Then I topdress around the beginning of August with cow shit and organic rose food... With weed being legal now, the company should come out with an osmocote that is designed for cannabis. I never use it indoors or in pots - I like other nutes for that. It does work for outside plants in the ground. I also noticed the price has been going up, I should have bought a couple containers last fall on Clearance at Walmart...

 

[hamstring]

I having been using osmocote for over 20 years outside on guerilla grows. Why - because it's cheap and easy to carry + it works. Even though weed is legal - I still grow outside that way. I usually put in about 27 females in 3 spots. I put the osmocote in the holes when I transplant. Then I topdress around the beginning of August with cow shit and organic rose food... With weed being legal now, the company should come out with an osmocote that is designed for cannabis. I never use it indoors or in pots - I like other nutes for that. It does work for outside plants in the ground. I also noticed the price has been going up, I should have bought a couple containers last fall on Clearance at Walmart...

Preach brother preach. It breaks down slowly, 4-6 months. One and done for me. I mix a 1/2 cup throughout each hole.

Honestly I have grown in dryer locations where plant size shrinks drastically, to lowlands with unlimited moisture. 1/2 cup and both places I saw no nute problems using Osmocote. Its a guerrilla growers secret sauce .

Indoors I use a living soil, for the same reason I use Osmocote outdoors, its easier.

 

[hamstring]

Preach brother preach. It breaks down slowly, 4-6 months. Soil moisture content has a role to play also.

One and done for me. I mix a 1/2 cup throughout each hole.

Honestly I have grown in dryer locations where plant size shrinks drastically, to lowlands with unlimited moisture. 1/2 cup in both locations and I saw no nute problems using Osmocote. Its a guerrilla growers secret sauce .

Indoors I use a compost based living soil, for the same reason I use Osmocote outdoors, its easier.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

..............

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

Put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up.......