Recommand fertilizer with low Nitrogen

[Tony714]

Hi guys

Im using aquarium water to water my plants and i believe i have enough Nitrogen.  Im looking to buy some fertilizer with N lower than PK.  I looked at local stores but couldnt find any.   Does anyone know where to buy it?

Thanks
Tony

[spaugh]

Lowes has 0-10-10

Proper nurseries have gro power 3-12-12 with micros and humate.

[Tony714]

i saw 0-10-10 but it's not for fruit.  is that OK? 

[spaugh]

Its phosphorous and and potassium, its for any plants.  You can buy super triple phosate and (sul po mag) or potassium sulphate etc and make your own ferts.  The 0-10-10 is just convenient since its liquid.  You should really get something with micro nutrients in it for the long term. 
 
What all are you fertilizing?

[Tony714]

I m getting fertz for Longan,  (lychee grafted on Longan), Cherimoya/Atemoya and Citrus with multi grafts trees.

[behlgarden]

I m getting fertz for Longan,  (lychee grafted on Longan), Cherimoya/Atemoya and Citrus with multi grafts trees.

for my lychees, I have gotten good results and response from using tiger sulfur and cottonseed meal. Lychees love it! what works for me may not work for you depending on your soil.

[lebmung]

Potassium nitrate

[Coach62]

Right now you’re guessing. Get a kit and test your soil or send it off to get tested.

[Guanabanus]

And here in Palm Beach County, Florida, we have 0-3-16 with micros, at Truly Tropical and at the Rare Fruit Council.

[strkpr00]

And here in Palm Beach County, Florida, we have 0-3-16 with micros, at Truly Tropical and at the Rare Fruit Council.

I am using what HAR said, this Summer is my first usage of this product. I am using it on the mature trees only. Using 8-3-9 with micros on the young ones.

[Cookie Monster]

Har's 0-3-16 is awesome. I use it 3 - 4 times per year for all mangoes. Slow release potassium, wolftrax micros. Anybody in FL growing mangoes should be using this stuff.

[spaugh]

Cookie monster do you not give any nitrogen to mangos?  Or only once they are large?  Whats the reasoning?  Just curious so I can try and get the right mix to my trees. 

[Cookie Monster]

My mango trees get zero nitrogen, regardless of age. The one time I would give a mango tree nitrogen is if it were struggling to grow (as can be the case with some mangoes, NDM4 being a notable example). I do, however, give my mango trees everything else (P, K, Ca, micros, supplemental irrigation).

There are 3 major reasons why feeding mango trees nitrogen is not recommended (here in FL at least):

 - Nitrogen causes a tree to grow vegetatively, which can conflict with blooming. A semi-dormant mango tree is more prone to flower during the winter than one that is amped up on nitrogen. We don't always get enough chill hours here, so the added "calmness" can help a tree to bloom.

 - Mango trees grow too fast here. Not uncommon to plant a 3 gallon tree and 4 years later have it be over 12 feet tall and providing shade. Not uncommon for a mango tree to put on over 6 feet of growth per season. For those of us who wish to maintain our trees under 15 feet tall and wide, too much growth requires heavy pruning, which aside from being a pain in the neck (especially when over 90F and super humid), causes a growth response just before the critical bloom period.

 - Nitrogen (if not offset with plenty of calcium) causes internal breakdown in mango fruits.

Since you are in California, I'd say that most of the above is not applicable to you. For one, you get plenty of chill hours, so even a vigorously growing mango tree will have no problem blooming. Also, judging by the photos posted by californians, too much growth is definitely not an issue.

Four years ago, I planted out about 20 or so mango trees on a newly acquired lot, which I filled with a very N-deficient soil (so much so that all the non-mango species struggled to grow at all). The mango trees have done exceptionally well, better than those on my other lot, which is not N-deficient. Better productivity, less jelly seed, and a controlled growth rate.

Cookie monster do you not give any nitrogen to mangos?  Or only once they are large?  Whats the reasoning?  Just curious so I can try and get the right mix to my trees.

[FruitFreak]

I'm still struggling to find a K + micros blend that is OMRI certified....

[Cookie Monster]

To be honest, where the OMRI stuff matters most is in the pesticides. Many organic and "synthetic" fertilizers are basically the same. What varies is the source. So, one sul-po-mag product might be OMRI listed because it came directly from a mine where another may not be because it was a byproduct of acid washing, or something like that. That's a bit of an oversimplification, but source is the main difference. In theory one is better than the other because it's more sustainable, but I fail to see how mining ancient sea beds with gas powered equipment is sustainable and meritorious of OMRI certification .

When it comes to pesticides, though, organic products are different in a more meaningful way -- ensuring that the local environment is not harmed. I focus on using organic pesticides as much as possible and fill in the gaps with products classified as Reduced Risk by the EPA.

I'm still struggling to find a K + micros blend that is OMRI certified....

[Cookie Monster]

Tiger 90 is great. The nice thing about Helena Chem's 8-2-12 slow release with minors is that it comes with tiger 90 mixed in for acidification.

I m getting fertz for Longan,  (lychee grafted on Longan), Cherimoya/Atemoya and Citrus with multi grafts trees.

for my lychees, I have gotten good results and response from using tiger sulfur and cottonseed meal. Lychees love it! what works for me may not work for you depending on your soil.

[spaugh]

Thanks for the post about nitrogen cookie monster.  Maybe less of a problem here but that makes a lot of sense. You guys get a lot more rain too which probably has some N in it.

[GrassFlats]

How can someone get some of this 0-3-16 with micros up here north of Orlando?

[Guanabanus]

The 0-3-16 is a custom mix, which tends to mean that the minimum order from the factory is 4 tonnes.  One or two fruit clubs can put together a joint order, for all the members and for sale to the public at plant sales--- that is how we do it here in Palm Beach County.  Now that we have ordered several times, the factory has relaxed the minimum order.  At least for us?   The factory is Wedgeworth, in Bellglade.

[Cookie Monster]

Yep -- lightning equals nitrogen from what I understand, and we have plenty of lightning. Both that and rain were pretty rare in socal when I was there.

But also, we have heat like you would not believe during the summer (in Florida summer translates to the 6 month period from april to october), and mangoes grow much more rapidly with hot temps. I forget the terminology, but there is an equivalent to chill hours but for heat, and we have something like 3x what socal has (which would loosely translate into 3x the growth rate).

I lived my first 30 years in various parts of socal, and when I first came to south florida, I was astonished at how fast trees grow here. They fly out of the ground in comparison to socal. Even oaks can turn into towering monsters in just over a decade.

Thanks for the post about nitrogen cookie monster.  Maybe less of a problem here but that makes a lot of sense. You guys get a lot more rain too which probably has some N in it.

[Guanabanus]

You generally can't find mineral salt mixes certified organic, even though you can find each of the individual ingredients certified organic.  The government harasses certified organic growers by requiring lab tests to prove a need for each item individually.