Micronutrient sources?
 

I think I recall that fish and/or seaweed emulsions can be used for supplying micronutrients to tomatoes. Can an expert(s) confirm and give recommendation(s)
of economical brands. Economical alternatives would also be helpful. Thanks.

Tom

Someone in another thread recommended getting packages of dried seaweed (not roasted or seasoned) from an Asian-foods store, adding one sheet to a gallon of water, and using it after a week (instead of buying the expensive liquid seaweed product).

Wow habitat, thanks. Neat idea, I will have to look into it.

I don't know what dried seaweed costs in an Asian food store or what species it is, but I would think you would need a ton of it to compare to the micronutrient content of a bottle of cold pressed Ascophyllum nodosum. I think I'll stay with my Seacom PGR, besides brewing dried seaweed tea sounds like too much work for the likes of me.:)

Blackstrap Molasses is also a good source of micronutrients—and cheap too!

What about just side dressing with alfalfa pellets? They are supposed to have lots of micronutrients, too. Plus, alfalfa and seaweed both work as a sort of "growth hormone" which is why I like either at transplant.

I get alfalfa at a local pet store. It's much cheaper than at the garden store. Just be sure to check the ingredients, since additives are used for some pet feed.

Thanks for the responses. How much do you alfalfa folks use during a season?

You might want to think about rock dust. [URL="http://remineralize.org/"]http://remineralize.org/[/URL]

Look at Azomite also.

chalstonsc, I have a garden that is about 2000sq ft and I use about 15lbs of alfalfa pellets with planting in the spring and my climate is mild enough that I plant greens, leeks and garlic in the fall and use about another 5 lbs... It is sold here in Tucson at the feed stores in 50lb bags for about 17 dollars. I also use it in sprays by soaking a cup of pellets in 5gal of water along with a couple cups of compost and a few tablespoons of black strap molasses and I use the pellets around my fruit trees in the spring, so a 50lb sack lasts about 2 years. At least when my granddaughter doesn't use it all up for her horses... LOL.

I use [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Diatomaceous Earth for [/FONT]micronutrients. Contains:

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium, zinc, calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulfur[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]50 cents a lb buying in a 50 lb bag[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Not good for worms, if you have them in a container. Good control for other pests. Great water retention.[/SIZE][/FONT]

This is how I make soluble seaweed from a bag of kelp. Collect a garbage bag full of seaweed and tie it shut. Leave it in the garden over winter. In the spring, open the bag and you will find a much smaller amount of odourless black powder or finely composted material that dissolves easily in water. Great for the plants, and free for the taking. :D

Last year I also found a specific seaweed that was easy to crumble when dry. The 'leaf' of seaweed looked like a cheese grater - full of holes. I don't know the name of this seaweed but I think it's a Laminaria. I collected a fair bit of it and crushed it up, and dug it into my container soil. I was turning the soil today, and couldn't find a shred of it, so I guess it was consumed. :roll: Most seaweed takes a full year to break down enough to be available to the plants.

Do you use the seaweed liquid to water or to spray the seedlings? and when can you first treat the seedlings?

You can treat the seedlings anytime. I have mixed seaweed meal and
seaweed powder into the seedling grow media that I was potting up
sprouted seedlings into. I have also watered them with some diluted
liquid seaweed extract. No ill effects.

I have sprayed larger plants with it without problems. I expect it would be
ok to spray seedlings, too. (You can always test with a few test seedlings
if you have doubts.)

i use maxi crop seaweed as a foliar spray and sidedress my plants with alfalfa meal that i buy at a feed mill seems to work well