Author Topic: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?  (Read 948 times)

dross99_si

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Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« on: March 27, 2020, 04:26:19 PM »
We have a tamarind and ice cream bean in pots and wondering if we can give them regular fertilizer or use something special for these plants?

SeaWalnut

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Re: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2020, 05:39:13 PM »
They really start to grow well if you give them nitrogen ,especially if they have problems growing.
Its detrimental to the nitrogen fixing thogh .
If they get nitrogen they will make less nodules.
I like to add a little of diluted cow manure to the pots.
It has verry little nitrogen if the manure its older or dry.

Curently my nitrogen fixer in pots are an inga that does poorly,4 african black wood trees ( Dalbergia Melanoxillon),2 sesbannia Punicea and 4 Guamuchil( Pithecellobium Dulce) trees .

dross99_si

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Re: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2020, 06:10:20 PM »
Ours are pretty small and just starting out. So you recommend manure or something organic with really low nitrogen?

pineislander

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Re: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2020, 06:29:57 PM »
Ours are pretty small and just starting out. So you recommend manure or something organic with really low nitrogen?
I used my regular potted tree fertilizer on Inga but they should go in the ground when rains start. Once Inga get established in ground they need nothing and keep very bright green leaves, brighter than almost any other trees. The Tamarind probably needs some fertilizer until it gets in ground too. You might try direct seeding Inga where you want them I put in 100 & got about 75% survival with very few initial waterings and then left them overwinter without any supplemental water so they have a good capability to find water, some have made 1 foot in 8 months with no care. The 25% which failed seemed to have germination issues at first growth. They can reach 15 feet in 3 years and bloom by the 4th season.

dross99_si

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Re: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2020, 06:43:41 PM »
Ours are pretty small and just starting out. So you recommend manure or something organic with really low nitrogen?
I used my regular potted tree fertilizer on Inga but they should go in the ground when rains start. Once Inga get established in ground they need nothing and keep very bright green leaves, brighter than almost any other trees. The Tamarind probably needs some fertilizer until it gets in ground too. You might try direct seeding Inga where you want them I put in 100 & got about 75% survival with very few initial waterings and then left them overwinter without any supplemental water so they have a good capability to find water, some have made 1 foot in 8 months with no care. The 25% which failed seemed to have germination issues at first growth. They can reach 15 feet in 3 years and bloom by the 4th season.

Thank you. In most of our other potted fruit trees (we have many) we use Osmocote plus. Will Osmocote hurt the Inga and tamarind? Or would it be safe to use? The tamarind is about 2 feet tall and the Inga probably 5 feet tall.

pineislander

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Re: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2020, 07:29:19 PM »
I used Nutricote Total which is very similar to Osmocote, with good results.

SeaWalnut

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Re: Fertilizing nitrogen fixers in pots?
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2020, 08:53:57 PM »
My inga,the last one left ,looks chlorotic,grows a leaf then dies,then grows another leaf and it always have just a single not too well developed leaf.
I moved it to a bigger pot made from a bucket to see if she makes a come back.

The guamuchil thogh ,grows soo well that i started to trim them to form the crown.No fertiliser needed for them.

The mimosa tree outdoor grew 2 meters in a season ( 6 foot)   after i fed her somme cow manure.
The cow manure its actually nitrogen negative if its dry.Instead of adding nitrogen to the soil it actually depletes the soil a little of nitrogen because its needed to getting decomposed.Just like wood chips so i either use verry fresh cow manure,diluted or i add nitrogen to it if its dry.
Dry one should be perfect for nitrogen fixers because it lacks nitrogen.