Wow! Hey before you know it you’ll be where I’m at! It goes by so fast. Congrats too, very cool! Thanks all, OK, see you tomorrow.
Yes, I will try and relax by weeding till I go! Everybody is setting up, I’m home alone just waiting for the time to go. It’s about 50 miles away, a very nice place too. I think I’ll weed for awhile as I have time for the garden but just want to browse around, no serious work, I need all my reserves for tonight! About 125 people are coming, it’s a fairly big wedding. It will be good to see my good friends, it’s going to be a lot of fun. My son is getting married in October, the 15th actually. Certainly turning out to be a red letter year!
These are all really good suggestions. Unfortunately I don’t think most are feasible for me. Partly because I don’t have the resources around me that some of you do, and by the end of the summer I’ll have 150+ 5 gallon or larger containers. It’s a lot, so I need something strong and long lasting. Drew’s suggestion comes close, but I think Osmocote slightly beats it out.
I’ve really enjoyed this thread so far, partly because I just bought some Osmocote for the first time (the plus kind with micros). I was thinking about getting two to start with but after reading through here perhaps it’s best I started with one. I’m definitely interested in possible alternatives to it, don’t really have any experience with slow release fertilizer though as this is new to me. On that end is the 6 months usually correct or does anyone who use it find themself having to reapply more often? Same question for something organic like fish emulsion or alfalfa seed meal.
A.M. Leonard offers several different Florikan controlled release fertilizers in 50 lb bags, including a good all purpose 18-5-12 with a decent array of micronutrients for $67. Shipping can be a little costly depending on where you live (they’re in OH), but they have a lot of promotions and occasionally offer free shipping. They also sell Osmocote, but it’s considerably more expensive.
Dan, yours will probably need to be reapplied more frequently because “timed release” isn’t actually based on clock time. It’s based on moisture and warmth. The Bahamas tend to have plenty of both. So, the release rate will be quicker.
As sometimes happens, I had misrembered what I learned years ago about Osmocote. I thought it actually dissolved at a reliably predictable rate independent of the soil temps, instead it is predictable because its release is entirely controlled by soil temps so if you know the temps you can predict release rate. Looked it up because I was about to contradice MM and decided not to trust my memory. However, it does release more N in cool soils than other time release forms, apparently, which probably makes it somewhat more effective for fruit plants that benefit from spring N.
They usually send out notices about their current promotions by e-mail, so be sure to sign up for their e-mail list. As best I recall, the free shipping promotions (several times a year) are usually very brief in duration.
I can’t say for the organics, but you brought up a very important point. No it rarely lasts 6 months. I think on the label it states that release becomes quicker when temps are over 80F. Why I use dynamite instead. It is for 9 months and with heat may only last 6 months. Osmocote would be 3 months. I have found this is very accurate and it only lasts about 3 months for me. Although both are excellent products. Dynamite also has an organic form. That product only lasts three months, which is probably is the maximum length all organics last.
My local grain/fertilizer/chemical farm co-op sells its own CRF at a fraction of the cost of Osmo. I bought some but have not used it yet. Those of you in the country might try that route. I will report in when I have results, but I expect it to be similar to Osmo.
Thanks for the Dynamite suggestion, is it usually cheaper or more expensive than Osmocote? 3 months per re application doesn’t sound too terribly bad to me objectively for my situation, but I only have ±20 pots right now so a say 2 lb bottle seems like it’ll last me longer than I thought. On the other hand the idea of having to lay down fert only once every 6 months and within that time have my plants grow great with my just watering them sounds wonderful lol.
The time it lasts has to be considered too, that probably makes dynamite cheaper. Even though it is more expensive per pound. A pound goes farther. I use this product as a supplement. I’m not sure I would rely on it as a total fertilizer. Plus with some plants you want to switch fertilizers to one lower in Nitrogen when say growing peppers or tomatoes. So it’s not perfect.I usually put around 1/2 to 3/4 of the suggested amount and supplement with an organic. Once plants start to fruit. I stop the organic. Sometimes Osmocote is a better choice as I only want any fertilizer for the first three months only. I try not to fertilize anything after August 1st. Some exceptions, depends on the plant.
Okay thanks for the comprehensive reply; I haven’t seen Dynamite over here but I haven’t specifically been looking for it so might’ve missed it, will check again when I hit up the local stores.
I bought myself a 25 lb bag of ClassiCote (15-8-23) from greenhousemegastore. Pretty much through the entire bag now, which means I used about 50 lbs of slow release this year.