Wanted: organic source of K (home made)

[Rattrap]

Hey all,
It great to see IC back up & running. Didn't think i'd miss it so much!

Now to the reason for this post.
I've started brewing up my own chook (chicken for non aussies) poo tea.
My girls really love it. Unfortunately its a bit high in N for flowering in my opnion. (Chicken manure 1.1 0.8 0.5)

Now i've got natures own bat guano which is almost all P but i'd love to find an organic source of K that i can brew up in my own little shed to add to the bat guano. Hell, a source of home brewed P would be good too!

Thanks peeps,
Welcome back ICmag!!!

 

[irie-i]

how bout kelp? just put on your cossie you aussie and collect it from the beach. or better yet find kelp meal or even beter still soluble kelp powder at your local nursery/garden centre

 

[pontiac]

Yea i agree, kelp is a good choice.

 

[Rattrap]

Kelp? didn't know kelp was high in K. Any idea on the NPK stats of kelp?

 

[Closet Funk]

Go pick up a bag of Espomas Epsom Plus (0-0-22). This will give you a nice source of K along with Magnesium and Calcium. I think a bag is like $4.

 

[Rattrap]

Never heard of Espomas epsom plus, is it 100% organic?

 

[Rattrap]

Never heard of Espomas epsom plus, is it 100% organic? Where do u get it from?

 

[Closet Funk]

Yes it's organic and you can get it from Lowes or Home Depot. Check it out for yourself at Espomas site. Go to Product Guide, Nutrients, then micronutrients.

www.espoma.com

 

[guineapig]

It looks like that epsoma product gets its K from sulfate of potash which may not be what you had in mind.......it is a natural mineral which undergoes a specific chemical process which makes the Potassium available to the plant.....

A truly animal or plant-derived source of potassium would be Kelp like the good old Maxicrop product line........greensand has K but only at a very small concentration....

Unfortunately, no farm animals poop out Potassium but I will keep on looking for ya....

guineapig

 

[Desiderata]

Hey guys, I use hardwood ash. It's an immediate available K source loaded with trace elements AND calcium. I'm a big believer in Potassium. I use kelp meal and greensand in my soil mix and I use the wood ash in my teas.

 

[Dr.Feelgood]

I always thought that molasses was a good source of K.

 

[Rattrap]

Closet Funk, that epsoma plus looks interesting, it states in the blerb that its "Approved for organic gardening" So i think it would be ok. Sadly it isn't avail in Aus. I notice that even their Sulphate of Potash is "It has a low salt index; therefore, it has a lower burn potential than other sources of potash. Approved for organic gardening." I wonder if that would apply to any other brands?

Desiderata, how do u use the wood ash? I've heard that its a source of K. My organic nutrient chart lists wood ash as follows; 'Wood Ashes 0 / 1.5 / 7' We have wood fires going here for 6 -8 mths of the year so there is no shortage of wood ash. I've tried using it before but never known how to add it or at what rates. Do u add it to your potting mix or do u mix it up in with water? I prefer to start with a very basic potting mix & add my nutes in liquid form as i go along rather than try to mix up a 'super potting mix' which is usually too strong for younger plants when first repotting. I go with a real simple mix of;

2 part Dynamic Lifter organic potting mix
1 part mushroom compost
1 part perlite.

Its a very mild mix that can be used on seedlings straight away without any burning then i slowly increase the nutrient strength as the plants get bigger. Most shop bought organic nutes when mixed up at the recomended rates tend to measure around 200 - 300 on my TDS meter, so that what i tend to aim for when mixing up home brewed nutes. Not that TDS meters can be used with organic nutes to any degree of acuricy at all.

Dr feelgood, i've used molasses in my nutrients before with varing levels of success, never heard of it as a source of K tho.

 

[Guest]

g'day Rattrap, if you've got a patch of soil outside you should get your hands on a few Russian Comfrey plants mate, the leaves are high in K which it mines from the subsoil using a long taproot. it grows like mad and you can't get rid of it, but it won't spread from where you plant it. works like a charm in the compost pile, but if you want a liquid feed, fill a bucket with comfrey leaves and water and cover with a lid. let it brew for a few weeks and bob's ya uncle, just dilute it before use. works well on tomatoes too, as they need lots of K to set fruit.

edit: also a good source of silica, magnesium, calcium and iron.

 

[Bulletproof]

Hey, aren't composted bananas rich in K?

 

[Guest]

^yes they are, thanks for reminding me.

oats is a great source of P.

 

[Chiefsmokingbud]

I believe the problem with kelp during flowering is it contains a growth hormone,auxin or whatever which promotes stretching. Sorry can't remember the exact term. Regular wood ash contains K jyi.

 

[muddy waters]

since you asked about wood ash, i use it mixed into my mix at about half a teaspoon per liter. i've also had success brewing it in a sock with some other good stuff like comfrey and alfalfa and worm castings.

wood ash has a very alkaline pH however so if you add it to the substrate, get your lime on and if you're making a tea, a good thing to balance it out would be some coffee grounds, in equal proportion.

and as for molasses, yes it is a good source of K as well. and i don't know about these fancy seaweed products, but straight up japanese market dried seaweed steeped in water (fill receptible about half way with seaweed and top with water) will give you a good medium strength K and micronute douch.

now what's this about oats being high in P??? how do i use them? steeped? ground up? eat a bunch and pee out the excess?

 

[Tarbosh]

any special types of wood to burn?...... what constitutes hard wood?

 

[muddy waters]

hard wood is anything that avatar girl from chief smoking bud is growing

no seriously, take a look here for some info:
http://cavemanchemistry.com/cavebook/chpotash2.html

basically, anything with cellulose, when burned, results in an ash of various compositions but almost always containing some good water soluble potassium carbonate.

 

[Guest]

hey mw, yes oats is relatively high in P and K. in 1 cup (~156g) there is 816mg of P and 670mg of K. soy is even better but more expensive.

when you compare it to wood ash or bone meal it's not that good, but bone meal doesn't have the K and i would rather retain the cellulose in wood by composting/worming it into stable humus.

edit: those methods would work, but you could feed it to worms or compost it too.