Hello, fruit gurus! I am a novice fruit grower. Upon moving to East Texas in the summer, I have planted several fruit trees and shrubs, and I’m slowly gaining knowledge about how to optimize yields from them in the years to come.
I’ve read about Dr. Jimz’s “Chicken Soup for the Soil,” with some people saying that it delivers great results, while others on this forum have said that it’s way over priced for what it is.
What I’m wondering is, is it actual fertilizer? Or, if you use it or something like it, can you use it in addition to fertilizer? From what I can tell, the ingredients don’t really align with what is usually considered to be fertilizer.
Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
It is missing potash (K) which is essential to fruiting plants. Some will argue that soil already contains K, but a fruit tree will consume nearly all available K in the soil within 7 years of growth beyond juvenile stage. Note that “available K” includes any that would be available to soil biology, and thus Dr.JimZ does not provide a means of manufacturing more available K in your soil.
The total contents of nutrients is about 7% by weight. This works out to 8.34 lbs / gal-H2O * 1.07 * 0.07 ~= 0.625 lbs nutrients. At $34.95 per gallon, that means the nutrients cost $55.95 / lb. Meanwhile that same formula in water soluble powder is $1.70 / lb.