I've been feeding my little av babies with 1/4 teasp to gallon on water with BetterGro Orchid Bloom Booster 11-35-15 every time I water. I just picked up a bottle of fish emulsion and want to know if feeding the babies with this would be better for them, or should I alternate the two.
Question on fertilizers
My opinion would be to alternate between the two and not use the fish emulsion all the time. What you are using now, the 11-35-15 has high phosphorus (the second number 35) which is good for root development and blooming. The fish emulsion is higher in nitrogen on balance and will promote green growth plus the fish emulsion has many trace elements. If you are going to use the fish emulsion on baby violets, I would try about 1 teaspoon per gallon as a solution on green leaved violets. Fish emulsion might promote too much greening on variegated violets.
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/alaska-fish-fertilizer.html
GoldLeaf, thanks for the info. I was going to alternate them every other watering. Now I think I'll use the fish emulsion every 4th watering. I have some varigated babies, and don't want them to turn all green. ^_^
This message was edited Feb 17, 2009 12:34 PM
That sounds good, imadigger. Once a month should do it. I knew a wonderful commercial grower that made it a practice to give her violets some fish emulsion once a month. Her regular fertilizer was 15-30-15 as she grew both green and variegated violets and wanted an all purpose one.
Ok I am going to ask what is the hoopla over urea I believe it is calling in fert? I use Petes 20-20-20 and it has it in it.
Thanks,
Susan
Turtlechi,
I am so glad you brought that up. To tell you the truth, I have grown gessies for years and before all the whoop de doo about urea, I used (and still do use) fertilizer with urea. I do alternate fertilizers though depending, but from my own personal experience, I have had no problem with it. I want to know if the urea thing is the truth or a marketing ploy. I managed to grow show plants and so did everyone else in the club using fertilizer with urea and no one thought anything about it. The next time I talk to Marie Burns who is one of the top violet show growers in the country, I'm going to ask her.
The proof is in the pudding. If your plants are thriving and doing well, I wouldn't give it a second thought. If it is working well for you in your conditions, then fine. Enjoy your beautiful plants and flowers ^_^.
It seems to me if you use fish emulsion very often more salts tend to build up in the soil and around the plant crowns.
Lynn
I'm lazy and I don't use fish emulsion very often. Very rarely. I have on occasion foliar fed with it but it's not a part of my regular growing routine.
Ok I have to say I made a mistake and sorry... I use to use Peters 20-20-20 but this past spring I went and just picked it up and it is Jacks fert... So same thing...
Hugs,
Susan
Jacks is Peters now...supposedly you can't buy Peters anymore, it's called Jacks brand. They sold out or something but the label says Peters LLC manufacturer.
The "35" is to get plants to bloom before a show. I'm thinking you should use a more balanced fertilizer, 20-20-20 or such for babies and wait for the other fertilizer when they get older. All fertilizer has different trace elements so it's good to rotate the brands so plants get the variety - is what I was told. Urea, has been around a long time. Maybe less of it is better, but aren't the av magazines now saying go ahead and use it? There are so few brands that don't have it anyway. Many of the older ladies that have grown violets for years rave over Peters...don't know about the old Peters, but the "new" Jacks has almost 8% urea.
Just don't overfertilize, leach and repot. Weird things happen to yoru plants when you overfertilize and don't leach and repot often enough.
tish
My plants seem to like it and I have tried others and they did not like it... I repot often so I don't think that is going to be a problem....
Hugs,
Susan
Peter's was always my favorite and I have tried them all. I don't know what was in the old Peter's as far as urea,but I have so many back issues of AV magazine and others I could probably find out.
Lynn