I did a similar experiment a few years ago with peppers and found that fertilizing immediately upon sowing the seeds with a fertilizer that contains a rooting hormone increased germination time by about 2 days. The fertilizer I used was Bonide Root & Grow at 1/2 strength. I had various samples going on, one of which was MiracleGro all purpose, again starting immediate at seed sowing - MG alone did not increase germination time. My conntrol was just tap water only and I had other samples that were fish emulshion at 1/2 strength at every feeding and one that was a granular organic fert mixed in soil at seed sowing then no fert at all and then another that was Root & Grow at seed sowing then only water (no fert) for the rest of the time. The result of my experiment showed that the plants that were fed with MiracleGro at every watering were slightly bigger and stronger than the Root & Grow at every watering. This led me to choose the following regimen: I use Root & grow half strength at seed sowing then MiracleGro at half strength (of outdoor plant strength) every watering until transplant into garden. BUT, I use Root and Grow at half strength when potting up and then full strength at transplant into garden. In the garden I use only organic granular ferts like Espoma GardenTone. I never use fish emulsion anymore at any stage as that sample was dismal compared to the R&G and MG. I'm done with that stinky fish crapola.
Great information thanks! However it is not clear about the frequency. How often should we fertilize a plant in pot soil the 100ppm of N? Every day, once a week, or every other week?
Exactly my question too ! Next question is what is the suggested N PPM as they grow into more mature plants? 400 PPM N? It would be nice to have more clarification. Last question is are you feeding the 100 ppm diluted mix until it drains out the bottom?
I made a comment here about my experiment I did and the result is I now fertilize at half strength miracleGro at every single watering (1/2 strength of the outdoor plant strength) until transplanted into garden. But I also use another fert (Bonide Root & Grow 1/2 strength) at seed sowing, up-potting and transplant. Look for that comment for more information. It totally brought my seedlings to the "next level".
The most reliable and truth method about plants is testing Electrical Conductivity (EC) of your soil. Young or mature plants 1 to 2 mS/cm is good for most plants. Feeding to plants by parts per million (ppm) is sometimes built up salts to your soil. You can test your soil EC by various methods but the most easy method for home gardeners is Pour through method. You can learn that method on Google or UA-cam.
I found out that Mr Pavlis has answered this question before in his blog. He said: "You do not feed plants. You replace the nutrients missing in soil. The goal is to have enough nutrients all of the time. Ground soil generally has all the nutrients (The amount you add depends on soil test) . For containers - assume no nutrients and fertilize weekly (with water soluble fertilizer)."
I have the same question. What is the frequency? I have some fertilizers designed to be fed at about 100 parts per million nitrogen, and those are recommended to be fed with every watering, giving a slow continuous feed. I'd like to hear Robert clarify.
wish i saw this vid sooner. trying my hand at hydroponics and the seedlings really dont seem to grow as fast as they should. didnt use any fertilzer untill a good 2 or 3 weeks after they sprouted
i have watched alot of your video's and they are great, you mention 3-1-2 npk regularly, just wondering whats that based off, or if you can link a video explaining it please
@@elkeschmitt9285 i live in Malaysia..neighbouring Thailand and singapore..mister Robert channel giving me many infos of growing plant such as mulching and nourishing the soil ..
depending on specific chemistry, organic fertilizers may not be suitable for seedlings, because of the delayed conversion from organic nutrient formats to something usable by the seedlings, no matter npk rating on label. it may be several weeks before that applied organic fertilizer is actually available, stunting growth. what most fertilizer labels specify is to use half strength of specified full strength dilution rate, which is probably close. for veggie patch plants i dont bother but maybe i should; for indoor plants i do adjust ph of made up solution to ph 6.5. i use commercial cell trays which have lots of cells per tray. some of the seedlings emerge much sooner than for other veggies. i start fertilizing the whole tray when first true leaves of earliest seedlings appear. it's not going to hurt the others that still havent germinated, as i use a watering can to douse entire tray.
Because I am just a low volume home gardener I don't use the high count trays to start seed. I use 4 inch pots into which I put three seeds, and pick the strongest one once they've opened their first, or even second set of true leaves. This saves a lot of re-potting/transplanting. After much experimenting, when pulling the weaker plants, I take note of the root length for each variety ( Tomato, Pepper, ... etc.). This allows you to pre-plan when the roots will hit the fertile soil in the pot, as opposed to the sterile seed starting mix in the top few inches of the pot. For example my tomatoes typically have 2 inch roots by the time their first true leaves are developing. So for that variety, my top 2 inches in the pot is seed starting mix, and the bottom 2 inches is potting mix with organic fertilizer, and some worm castings thrown in for good measure. It takes around two weeks for the germinated tomatoes to grow their first true leaves just as the roots are finding the organically amended soil which has now festered for two weeks, providing nutrients. Its an approach that has been successful for me for many years.
@@GasOperatedDad : i dont bother with re-potting, unless i really need to delay seedlings for later planting. seedlings go straight from cell tray into soil, without any mucking about. they've been under growlight and can go straight into veggie patch row. they take off within a week. cell trays will last me forever, and they're quick to setup with smaller amount of media than pots. i take the cell trays every couple of days out of the light and heat matt to water or fertilize.
Good question. Because here in Canada, volume is one area where we've full on switched to metric (litres) so using gallons wouldn't be a useful measurement for Canadians or European folks. And using imperial gallons wouldn't translate for US folks (a US gallon is about 3.7 litres; an Imperial gallon is 4.5 litres)
In my trials I have found that the smaller the seed (Snapdragon, Petunia, Lobelia, Foxglove, etc.) the more critical early nutrition is to seedling development.
Nitrogen 30-50ppm week 1, 50-100ppm week 2-3. Phosphorus 10-30ppm all the way, plants don't need more, even adult ones. Potassium same as Nitrogen, may be slighty higher. Calcium same as Nitrogen, or a bit lower. Magnesium approx. 1/4 of Calcium Sulphur approx 1/2 of Nitrogen This is the general hydroponics rule. If you look at actual plant nutrient consumption (or commercial hydroponics formulas) which is completely different thing than nutrient content in leaves which is a wrong method used to guess what the plant needs, you'll see that Potassium consumption may be even higher than Nitrogen and Phosphorus is the lowest, alongside with Magnesium. Calcium can be as demanding as Nitrogen.
Note that the 3-1-2 he mentioned is just a ratio. For example miraclegro fertilizer is 3-1-2 ratio but the actual npk amounts is 24-8-16. His math uses 10% nitrogen. If you were using miracle gro fertilizer that is 24% nitrogen you’d would use roughly 50% less, 1/2 tsp per gallon. If you were using a fertilizer with 3% nitrogen then you’d want to use about 3 tsp per gallon.
@@instantsivThe indoor scoop that comes with Miracle Grow 24-8-16 is already 2.5 mL. So it has the right NPK ratio and the right dosage too? Mind blown!
@@instantsiv So once you have it mixed how much do you give the plants in 5 gallon containers? Ive always wondered this and just guess. 8oz, 16 oz or water until it drains?
What is the source on this? I know some fertilizers like uriea baded niteogen cause issues in a lot of scholar studies. I haven't been able to find much on chemical based fertilizer other than they are bad early on but organic good. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Unfortunately I didn't see this video before I used full strength Miracle Grow (24% nitrogen) on some 3 week old broccoli seedlings. This caused their demise after a day or so. I should have read the label as it recommends 1/2 tsp per gallon of water for inside plants. I used 1 Tbsp in a gallon of water. I have tried twice this year to start DiCicco Broccoli inside and it dies. N. Florida.
You always emphasize that we are fortifying the soil and the plant will take what it needs. We are NOT feeding the plant. So why not just fertilize when you plant the seed and the nutrients will be there waiting when the seedling needs them? You also don’t address that many potting soils have fertilizer already in them.
It is awesome to see someone who actually know what they are talking about.
I did a similar experiment a few years ago with peppers and found that fertilizing immediately upon sowing the seeds with a fertilizer that contains a rooting hormone increased germination time by about 2 days. The fertilizer I used was Bonide Root & Grow at 1/2 strength. I had various samples going on, one of which was MiracleGro all purpose, again starting immediate at seed sowing - MG alone did not increase germination time. My conntrol was just tap water only and I had other samples that were fish emulshion at 1/2 strength at every feeding and one that was a granular organic fert mixed in soil at seed sowing then no fert at all and then another that was Root & Grow at seed sowing then only water (no fert) for the rest of the time. The result of my experiment showed that the plants that were fed with MiracleGro at every watering were slightly bigger and stronger than the Root & Grow at every watering. This led me to choose the following regimen: I use Root & grow half strength at seed sowing then MiracleGro at half strength (of outdoor plant strength) every watering until transplant into garden. BUT, I use Root and Grow at half strength when potting up and then full strength at transplant into garden. In the garden I use only organic granular ferts like Espoma GardenTone. I never use fish emulsion anymore at any stage as that sample was dismal compared to the R&G and MG. I'm done with that stinky fish crapola.
Great information thanks! However it is not clear about the frequency. How often should we fertilize a plant in pot soil the 100ppm of N? Every day, once a week, or every other week?
Exactly my question too ! Next question is what is the suggested N PPM as they grow into more mature plants? 400 PPM N? It would be nice to have more clarification.
Last question is are you feeding the 100 ppm diluted mix until it drains out the bottom?
I made a comment here about my experiment I did and the result is I now fertilize at half strength miracleGro at every single watering (1/2 strength of the outdoor plant strength) until transplanted into garden. But I also use another fert (Bonide Root & Grow 1/2 strength) at seed sowing, up-potting and transplant. Look for that comment for more information. It totally brought my seedlings to the "next level".
The most reliable and truth method about plants is testing Electrical Conductivity (EC) of your soil. Young or mature plants 1 to 2 mS/cm is good for most plants. Feeding to plants by parts per million (ppm) is sometimes built up salts to your soil. You can test your soil EC by various methods but the most easy method for home gardeners is Pour through method. You can learn that method on Google or UA-cam.
I found out that Mr Pavlis has answered this question before in his blog. He said: "You do not feed plants. You replace the nutrients missing in soil. The goal is to have enough nutrients all of the time. Ground soil generally has all the nutrients (The amount you add depends on soil test) . For containers - assume no nutrients and fertilize weekly (with water soluble fertilizer)."
I have the same question. What is the frequency? I have some fertilizers designed to be fed at about 100 parts per million nitrogen, and those are recommended to be fed with every watering, giving a slow continuous feed. I'd like to hear Robert clarify.
wish i saw this vid sooner. trying my hand at hydroponics and the seedlings really dont seem to grow as fast as they should. didnt use any fertilzer untill a good 2 or 3 weeks after they sprouted
i have watched alot of your video's and they are great, you mention 3-1-2 npk regularly, just wondering whats that based off, or if you can link a video explaining it please
I'll give it a go. I have some seedlings that have produced their cotyledons & if you're right then they're probably hungry for nutrients.
Fantastic Video! 😊
I'm growing a durian trees..your channel gave me so much infos
What state are you in that allows you to grow a durian tree= I love durian. Wishing you successful growin.
@@elkeschmitt9285 i live in Malaysia..neighbouring Thailand and singapore..mister Robert channel giving me many infos of growing plant such as mulching and nourishing the soil ..
You used to really talk at the camera very intensely, you've calmed and your style is much nicer to watch.
Good
depending on specific chemistry, organic fertilizers may not be suitable for seedlings, because of the delayed conversion from organic nutrient formats to something usable by the seedlings, no matter npk rating on label. it may be several weeks before that applied organic fertilizer is actually available, stunting growth.
what most fertilizer labels specify is to use half strength of specified full strength dilution rate, which is probably close.
for veggie patch plants i dont bother but maybe i should; for indoor plants i do adjust ph of made up solution to ph 6.5.
i use commercial cell trays which have lots of cells per tray. some of the seedlings emerge much sooner than for other veggies. i start fertilizing the whole tray when first true leaves of earliest seedlings appear. it's not going to hurt the others that still havent germinated, as i use a watering can to douse entire tray.
Because I am just a low volume home gardener I don't use the high count trays to start seed. I use 4 inch pots into which I put three seeds, and pick the strongest one once they've opened their first, or even second set of true leaves. This saves a lot of re-potting/transplanting. After much experimenting, when pulling the weaker plants, I take note of the root length for each variety ( Tomato, Pepper, ... etc.). This allows you to pre-plan when the roots will hit the fertile soil in the pot, as opposed to the sterile seed starting mix in the top few inches of the pot. For example my tomatoes typically have 2 inch roots by the time their first true leaves are developing. So for that variety, my top 2 inches in the pot is seed starting mix, and the bottom 2 inches is potting mix with organic fertilizer, and some worm castings thrown in for good measure. It takes around two weeks for the germinated tomatoes to grow their first true leaves just as the roots are finding the organically amended soil which has now festered for two weeks, providing nutrients. Its an approach that has been successful for me for many years.
@@GasOperatedDad : i dont bother with re-potting, unless i really need to delay seedlings for later planting. seedlings go straight from cell tray into soil, without any mucking about. they've been under growlight and can go straight into veggie patch row. they take off within a week. cell trays will last me forever, and they're quick to setup with smaller amount of media than pots. i take the cell trays every couple of days out of the light and heat matt to water or fertilize.
So I assume that microgreens would need fertilization too? How do I go about it? Thank you
Great suff!
This is video is old, however, how do you compensate for tap water that is running 205ppm?
Do the roots benefit the same as the top growth?
How do you calculate this for a veggie garden?
Thanks plant mon
is there any difference between both roots? thanks
I start seeds in pre fertilized potting soil with good results.
You are in Canada, so are you talking imperial or US gallons?
Good question. Because here in Canada, volume is one area where we've full on switched to metric (litres) so using gallons wouldn't be a useful measurement for Canadians or European folks. And using imperial gallons wouldn't translate for US folks (a US gallon is about 3.7 litres; an Imperial gallon is 4.5 litres)
In my trials I have found that the smaller the seed (Snapdragon, Petunia, Lobelia, Foxglove, etc.) the more critical early nutrition is to seedling development.
Does a 2:1:1 foliar fertilizer benefit the soil? If so, how? Since it is to be sprayed on the leaves and not the soil.
So if you are using a 3.1.2 how would you calculate the ppm?
Nitrogen 30-50ppm week 1, 50-100ppm week 2-3.
Phosphorus 10-30ppm all the way, plants don't need more, even adult ones.
Potassium same as Nitrogen, may be slighty higher.
Calcium same as Nitrogen, or a bit lower.
Magnesium approx. 1/4 of Calcium
Sulphur approx 1/2 of Nitrogen
This is the general hydroponics rule. If you look at actual plant nutrient consumption (or commercial hydroponics formulas) which is completely different thing than nutrient content in leaves which is a wrong method used to guess what the plant needs, you'll see that Potassium consumption may be even higher than Nitrogen and Phosphorus is the lowest, alongside with Magnesium. Calcium can be as demanding as Nitrogen.
Note that the 3-1-2 he mentioned is just a ratio. For example miraclegro fertilizer is 3-1-2 ratio but the actual npk amounts is 24-8-16.
His math uses 10% nitrogen. If you were using miracle gro fertilizer that is 24% nitrogen you’d would use roughly 50% less, 1/2 tsp per gallon.
If you were using a fertilizer with 3% nitrogen then you’d want to use about 3 tsp per gallon.
@@instantsivThe indoor scoop that comes with Miracle Grow 24-8-16 is already 2.5 mL. So it has the right NPK ratio and the right dosage too? Mind blown!
@@instantsiv
So once you have it mixed how much do you give the plants in 5 gallon containers? Ive always wondered this and just guess. 8oz, 16 oz or water until it drains?
@status101-danielho6 🎉isn't ml a measurement for liquids? If it's a dry measurement, should they not have indicated grams on the scoop?
What is the source on this?
I know some fertilizers like uriea baded niteogen cause issues in a lot of scholar studies.
I haven't been able to find much on chemical based fertilizer other than they are bad early on but organic good. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
How to do the calculation?
Unfortunately I didn't see this video before I used full strength Miracle Grow (24% nitrogen) on some 3 week old broccoli seedlings. This caused their demise after a day or so. I should have read the label as it recommends 1/2 tsp per gallon of water for inside plants. I used 1 Tbsp in a gallon of water. I have tried twice this year to start DiCicco Broccoli inside and it dies. N. Florida.
10 % fertelizer or 1 tsp or 5 grams /gallon =132 ppm.
I use 30:1 diluted urine and water. Works as good as synthetic water-soluble fertilizers.
I wish you made this video 3-4 months ago lol
You always emphasize that we are fortifying the soil and the plant will take what it needs. We are NOT feeding the plant. So why not just fertilize when you plant the seed and the nutrients will be there waiting when the seedling needs them? You also don’t address that many potting soils have fertilizer already in them.
How about a taste test? I would bet the high nitrogen plant is bitter.