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Old November 8, 2013   #16
Cole_Robbie
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There are guanos in different NPK makeups. Sea bird guano is the highest in N, because they eat fish. wormsway.com sells several guanos. Jamaican bat guano is the high P stuff. I can attest that it is strong enough to burn leaves when accidentally splashed on them.
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Old February 1, 2014   #17
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I realize this is an old thread, but was wondering why no one mentioned blood meal. My desert soil is naturally devoid of healthy levels of N for vegetable gardening, so it is always an issue for me. Well composted horse manure at about 6in per year is my base, then I use cottonseed meal when planting seed and after a few weeks if something is looking a bit dull I side dress with bloodmeal and water in with liquid fish and blackstrap for a quick green up of the leaves. It is economical enough and it keeps my worm population happy. If the worms are happy then I'm a happy gardener.
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Old February 1, 2014   #18
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Quote:
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I realize this is an old thread, but was wondering why no one mentioned blood meal. My desert soil is naturally devoid of healthy levels of N for vegetable gardening, so it is always an issue for me. Well composted horse manure at about 6in per year is my base, then I use cottonseed meal when planting seed and after a few weeks if something is looking a bit dull I side dress with bloodmeal and water in with liquid fish and blackstrap for a quick green up of the leaves. It is economical enough and it keeps my worm population happy. If the worms are happy then I'm a happy gardener.
Blood meal is typically 13% N. For an all-purpose quick-release water-soluble I'd choose 20-6-16 with minors and micros chelated in amino acid. Works great, far lower cost per dosage than blood meal, and no unwanted pharmaceuticals in the mix.
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Old February 1, 2014   #19
tuk50
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I don't use chemicals. It doesn't keep my worms happy.
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Old February 1, 2014   #20
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You asked for highest NPK and most of the answers were about N.
16-16-16 or 13-13-13 are available in your feed store.
From spread to burn is just 1 to 2 days if it gets watered and if you use too much.
If you get it just right it will make your plants turn blue green.

I love the stuff.

I also use MG tomato food later in the season and some local organic stuff called Lady Bug.
The later is concentrated in a one gallon jug and smells like all get out.
A good source of potassium nitrate is good old stump remover.
The stuff that comes in the jug you use to rot stumps.

http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C...3D3809&cad=rja

Grind up this stuff along with the right proportions of charcoal and sulfur and you get black powder.

Or you could use it to cure meat.
But I would get the food grade stuff myself.

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Old February 2, 2014   #21
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I don't use chemicals. It doesn't keep my worms happy.
I do and the worms are thriving.
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Old February 2, 2014   #22
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If the worms are thriving, then I wouldn't change a thing.
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Old February 2, 2014   #23
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I'm glad that your worms are happy! I have reservations about using cottonseed meal because cotton is a crop that gets sprayed with such a high amount of chemicals.

I like to be as organic as possible, for us as well as for our bountiful crop of garden worms. I just use cow manure, spread over the whole garden in the fall, and my own organic compost at planting time.

Blood, fish, and bonemeal would all be good additions (although the bonemeal might contain some heavy chemicals). However, I don't need stinky smells to attract my dogs into the veggie garden. They already like ripe tomatoes, and will lean over the short fence and pick their own if I don't watch them like a hawk....

Linda



Quote:
Originally Posted by tuk50 View Post
I realize this is an old thread, but was wondering why no one mentioned blood meal. My desert soil is naturally devoid of healthy levels of N for vegetable gardening, so it is always an issue for me. Well composted horse manure at about 6in per year is my base, then I use cottonseed meal when planting seed and after a few weeks if something is looking a bit dull I side dress with bloodmeal and water in with liquid fish and blackstrap for a quick green up of the leaves. It is economical enough and it keeps my worm population happy. If the worms are happy then I'm a happy gardener.
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Old February 2, 2014   #24
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For tomatoes here in my long growing season I am using 16-8-24 w/ minors and micros. For people growing determinates in a short season I would recommend a 15-20-25 w/ minors and micros chelated in amino acid(s).

... and for those few of you who might be working on difficult numerical determinant problems, I recommend the reverse Arnoldi methods.
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