Avocado starter fertilizer

[spaugh]

What would you add to a new tree to get the ball rolling?  How to encourage fast root development?

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

I like this. Applied directly on the roots and in the hole when planting. Works well for me.

Johnny

https://downtoearthfertilizer.com/products/blended_fertilizer/bio-live-5-4-2/

[kingoceanos]

I was under the impression that most people liked the Osmocote Plus. But hey if there is something better I would like to know too. I am trying to start over after our hard freeze here in Texas and plan to put up a high tunnel with a propane back up.

[spaugh]

Osmocote is ok for containers, I'm not really into it in the orchard.  I like that bio live stuff, have used it in the past but I dont think my nursery carries it.  They do have some other ones by that brand that are probably close.  The beneficial bacteria is a good idea. 

I already planted a lot of the trees and will top dress with fertilizer and then pile on mulch.  Some of the trees are still in pots and for those I'll use something in the holes.  Ill try and get something with the beneficial in it.

What do you guys think about mixing in ash or top dressing a little with it? I had cleared a lot of vegetation and made some giant burn piles and have ash available.

[FV Fruit Freak]

I started using this stuff a couple years ago and all the trees I used it on are healthy. It’s suppose to be really good for lychees too.
https://www.amazon.com/Organic-Laboratories-OLBM-Mycorrhizae-Fertilizer/dp/B010UTBGSU?pd_rd_w=gTs4o&pf_rd_p=55b32454-9339-4b51-b667-66ce51f155b6&pf_rd_r=EF0JAWC6B7DZZN76ZNXD&pd_rd_r=69a3079a-6fb5-4d9c-9d31-112cb91ca7a8&pd_rd_wg=yOdG0&pd_rd_i=B010UTBGSU&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_m_rp_7_sc

[pineislander]

My standard on new Florida sandy soil has been Nutricote Total 18-6-8 180 day 100% slow release. Every prill contains the same NPK and all micros. Working with unknown soils, even with two separate soil sample analysis I just didn't know for sure what to expect. This fertilizer is what nursery growers use when they pot up ornamental plants. It absolutely doesn't wash away and absolutely doesn't burn plants. I have worked with it planting seeds, air layers, even unrooted cuttings directly in contact and never burned anything. But, I also have never seen a nutritional deficiency in any of the above. Despite recommendations to not fertilize newly planted container trees I always put a handful or two alongside new trees with no problems and see immediate growth.
This season I am planting avocado seeds direct sown on 2 ft spacing and will be putting a 1/2 handful under every seed. I plan on doing 240 ft row like this. The seeds will go in as fruit becomes available ASAP during the late summer/early fall window. My intent is to grow seedlings in place and graft when buds push the following spring of 2022. On that close spacing the planting will be ultra-high density if all grafts take. Over time I plan to thin out the best growers. I'll post on how this goes and we will see what happens.

[spaugh]

My standard on new Florida sandy soil has been Nutricote Total 18-6-8 180 day 100% slow release. Every prill contains the same NPK and all micros. Working with unknown soils, even with two separate soil sample analysis I just didn't know for sure what to expect. This fertilizer is what nursery growers use when they pot up ornamental plants. It absolutely doesn't wash away and absolutely doesn't burn plants. I have worked with it planting seeds, air layers, even unrooted cuttings directly in contact and never burned anything. But, I also have never seen a nutritional deficiency in any of the above. Despite recommendations to not fertilize newly planted container trees I always put a handful or two alongside new trees with no problems and see immediate growth.
This season I am planting avocado seeds direct sown on 2 ft spacing and will be putting a 1/2 handful under every seed. I plan on doing 240 ft row like this. The seeds will go in as fruit becomes available ASAP during the late summer/early fall window. My intent is to grow seedlings in place and graft when buds push the following spring of 2022. On that close spacing the planting will be ultra-high density if all grafts take. Over time I plan to thin out the best growers. I'll post on how this goes and we will see what happens.

I'm doing something similar but putting trees on 18ft space and some on 12ft space and may do some smaller types on 6ft space.  May also plant multiple seedlings in each spot like 1-2ft apart just to up the odds of getting them all grafted.  I popped over 200 seeds in pots this year and am putting them in now.  Its easier to germinate them in pots here since I used seeds from winter fruit and kept them in the greenhouse until now.  Trying to get them in and going as fast as possible before our dry heat really kicks in.  Got to get those roots going asap. 

Honestly I have used the prills and its good but what I want to know is what does the polymer coating break down into?  Ive used osmocote and harrells polyon in the past but have stopped using it because the pills are always there for ever.  Having plastic pills in the orchard just seems bad.  But I haven't gone and researched it at all. 

[pineislander]

Yes, they stay but I bury them

[spaugh]

ive used a lot of this polymers in the past but at this point Im against it because its basically like putting plastic pieces all over the orchard.  Im not at all an organic nazi but this stuff I just dont want in my land.  some of the plastic products people use are bio accumulators and our bodies are not able to get rid of it.  and it accumulates in the food chain.  I dont want plastics in my environment or food. 


As far as their performance as a fertilizer, yeah its awesome they dont wash out and dont burn.  Its just the leftover shells I dont want so I will never use that again.  No offense at all to you pine islander or anyone else using it, its just not for me.

[spaugh]

what about using a scoop of ash on each plant.  Is there any reason not to?  I have lots of ash piles from where I burned all the brush.  I know it is PH alkaline but a small amount top dressed maybe ok?

[Plantinyum]

what about using a scoop of ash on each plant.  Is there any reason not to?  I have lots of ash piles from where I burned all the brush.  I know it is PH alkaline but a small amount top dressed maybe ok?

I read that wood ash is rich in potassium and some other elements, and and can lower the acidity of the soil a bit.
I have also thought about using the ash from the fire of our house heating system ,but then I usually use fuels to start the fire so I am constantly passing on this idea.
I would think the ash has all of the elements a naturally rotting wood could have, just concentrated and with a faster release .....that my way of thinking .

By the way I also have tree avocado plants planted in the ground in my greenhouse which I should start fertilising any time soon . The are all starting to force new growth .

[JCorte]

I mix up gypsum, azomite, super greensand, langbeinite, sulfur, biochar, seaweed meal, humic and fulvic acid in big batches and put in each planting hole, then add lots of mulch on top.  When the soil warms up, I add water soluble beneficial soil microbes with either MycoGrow from Fungi Perfecti or Plant Success Organics.  I have added wood ash with no problem but conscious of not putting too much on any plant.  I am going to experiment with Chilean nitrate of soda for increased nitrogen availability in cold soils.  It is a natural source of nitrogen and micronutrients but it is high in salts, so will use during our winter rainy season, when the accessible nitrogen will be useful.

Planted over 200 trees this winter/spring at the farm with the above mix and they’re all doing well except for the gopher and rabbit damage. 

Janet

[jtnguyen333]

I thought you've been using gro-power..it doesn't have plastic coating.

ive used a lot of this polymers in the past but at this point Im against it because its basically like putting plastic pieces all over the orchard.  Im not at all an organic nazi but this stuff I just dont want in my land.  some of the plastic products people use are bio accumulators and our bodies are not able to get rid of it.  and it accumulates in the food chain.  I dont want plastics in my environment or food. 


As far as their performance as a fertilizer, yeah its awesome they dont wash out and dont burn.  Its just the leftover shells I dont want so I will never use that again.  No offense at all to you pine islander or anyone else using it, its just not for me.

[K-Rimes]

what about using a scoop of ash on each plant.  Is there any reason not to?  I have lots of ash piles from where I burned all the brush.  I know it is PH alkaline but a small amount top dressed maybe ok?

I tried ash on some plants to try to stimulate flowering, various amounts. They were all eugenias and jaboticabas and stuff which like acidic conditions. They all suffered immediately and I had to dig it out by hand. If you're using ash, use very little in my opinion. I dunno if it was cause it was oak ash (which is highly alkaline) or something? I won't do it again. It was also from my wood burning stove which incinerates more than it does leave "bio-char" with chunky bits of charcoal or something.

The best stuff I've used of late is the Down to Earth humic acids, langbenite, azomite etc. It makes an immediate noticeable improvement in any plant I put it on, the humic acid especially and it's really cheap at Greencoast Hydroponic stores ($9 for 5lb). There was a study I was reading about Humic acids where they increased the yield of peanuts by 87%. I bought a bunch after reading it and yeah, everything loves it. Blueberries - sapotes - jabos - eugenias - dragonfruit whatever. It apparently allows the plant to better absorb nutrients and I would say the proof is in the pudding for me.

I hear you on osmocote plastic bbs. I think they are bio-degradable like some airsoft bbs are but it will probably take a decade or something. It's kind of an eyesore.

The fertilizer I keep coming back to is regular old chicken manure from Home Depot (the yellow Lowe's bags are not as good as the Home Depot red bags) which have pine mulch mixed with chicken manure. It helps retain water as a mulch, it acidifies as it's pine, and it has good supply of N - then I top the manure with whatever fertilizer I have around and it seems to chelate or bond to the mulch and then slow dose. Hard to beat honestly.

[K-Rimes]

Also re: mycorrizhae I used to buy lots of the mykos brand stuff and I didn't really notice any improvement so I stopped buying it. When I make soil mixes I throw some ProMix BX in it which apparently has mycorrizhae and call it a day now.

[spaugh]

Kevin, I got 30 chickens and use the litter in the coop for fertilizer too.  I'm trying to get away from paying for bagged products.  But I'm not there yet.  The grow power fertilizer Ive been using has 40% humic acid.  It seems like good stuff, its just a bit hot so I wait until the trees get going to use that.  And its expensive so I'm trying to phase it out and just use chicken poop and Mexican sunflower and mulch only but its still just a distant goal to reach that point. 

[K-Rimes]

Kevin, I got 30 chickens and use the litter in the coop for fertilizer too.  I'm trying to get away from paying for bagged products.  But I'm not there yet.  The grow power fertilizer I e been using has 40% humidity acid.  It seems like good stuff, its just a bit hot so I wait until the trees get going to use that.  And its expensive so I'm trying to phase it out and just use chicken poop and Mexican sunflower and mulch only but its still only a goal to reach that point.

Yeah, I feel you on that. I bought a truckload of redwood compost recently and that's been working pretty well as a top dress on the in ground stuff... Then I chipped 5000lb of oak and that's been a bitch to move around by wheelbarrow but it's slowly getting distributed. I liked what you had going with your thick mulch piles around the trees.

If I had chickens, that would be awesome for a source - but I know you have a ton of stuff out there in the orchard and 30 chickens still wouldn't make a dent.

I have been having some luck with vigoro avo citrus, 30lb bag for $10 at Home Depot ain't too bad and the pellets seem to fully dissolve.

[spaugh]

I went through 4 truckloads of mulch so far this year and can't get the trimmers to come anymore.  They hate coming out here and going up the hill.  Been begging them for more and offered to pay 50$ a load.  Signed up for chip drop...  Nothing..  So now I'm planting tons of the sunflower plants but thats years out from being useful. 

I'll probably buy some of the kitchen sink all in one type fertilizers like the bio live and pitch a little in each hole during planting with these remaining trees.  They have a similar one at the local store that is 5-5-5 with beneficials. 

I'll take your advice and not use the ashes.  Maybe just try it on a few trees and see what happens.  This mulching and fertilizing business is a big pain.  Its probably the biggest job here is getting mulch out and keep plants well fed.  Not easy to do on the side of a hill.

We had the chickens free ranging and that was working well except they kicked the mulch everywhere it wasn't supposed to be.  So now they got their own little area and I put some tough plants like pomegranates and mulberry trees in there.