Author Topic: Looking for a good controlled release citrus fertilizer with micronutrients  (Read 1925 times)

Calusa

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UF says now with HLB in the picture it's beneficial to use a CRF with enhanced micros. But I can't seem to find any online.

Anyone have a link to a retailer? Thanks

edweather

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Are you growing in pots or in ground?

edweather

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Calusa

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In the ground.

Many thanks for the link to Florikan.  :)

Millet

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According to the University of Florida' booklet titles Florida Your Dooryard Crus Guide By Jim Ferguson to fertilize 1 year old in round citrus tree 6 times per yea with a 6-6-6 fertilizer.  A 2 year old inground tree 5 times a year with a 6-6-6 or 8-8-8 fertilizer. A 3 year old inground tree with a 8-8-8 fertilizer 4 times a year, and a 4 year old  inground tree and older 3 times a year.  For trace elements there are many brands that can be found on he internet.  Look up soluble trace elements for use on plants. If your interested in receiving this booklet you can call the University of Florida IFAS Extension book store  at 352-392-3411

Calusa

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According to the University of Florida' booklet titles Florida Your Dooryard Crus Guide By Jim Ferguson to fertilize 1 year old in round citrus tree 6 times per yea with a 6-6-6 fertilizer.  A 2 year old inground tree 5 times a year with a 6-6-6 or 8-8-8 fertilizer. A 3 year old inground tree with a 8-8-8 fertilizer 4 times a year, and a 4 year old  inground tree and older 3 times a year.  For trace elements there are many brands that can be found on he internet.  Look up soluble trace elements for use on plants. If your interested in receiving this booklet you can call the University of Florida IFAS Extension book store  at 352-392-3411

Thanks Millet.

I do have about 25 lbs of a pretty good granular from Sunniland which has a pretty good array of micronutrients. I do suppose that for a couple of one year old trees it should last for a while. I ask about the CRF with micros because I read a couple of IFAS articles about fertilization in the HLB era. Maybe I misread that the feeding program is for HLB-infected trees only. I'll have to re-read them.

Here is a snippet from the label on the bag of granular I already have:

« Last Edit: January 09, 2023, 05:15:40 PM by Calusa »

Millet

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Your 6-4-6 shown above would be excellent for a 1 year old tree  Apply it around the trees root zone, but keep it 2 or 3 inches from the trunk.

Calusa

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I also ordered a tub of an old standby I used way back - Peters. I'll use this as a supplemental drench and foliar application.


Tortuga

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Not to high jack the thread but could anyone also recommend an organic alternative please?

Millet

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Organic fertilizers, would work when used on trees growing in the ground. However, they do not work with container grown tree. 

pagnr

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In containers I use a combo of regular and organic, to get the higher NPK on one hand and the availability / biological benefits on the other.
It can be hard to get the high Nitrogen from organic without using a large amount of fertiliser which can clog or crust the pot surface.
Also hard to find one organic type that matches the nutrient % profile of these regular fertilisers pictured.
That said, this is a big topic on its own.



Tortuga

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Organic fertilizers, would work when used on trees growing in the ground. However, they do not work with container grown tree.

Interesting. I’d love to research some of the sources that back that statement

Vlad

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Here is one article:https://www.al.com/living/2015/06/the_unnatural_truth_about_fert.html
Could not find any scientific studies but did not look deeply

pagnr

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In Australia I am using the earlier version of this organic fertiliser ( I still have bags left over from bulk purchase )
https://www.nutri-tech.com.au/factsheets/life-force-gold-pellets.pdf

If you look at the analysis, it is a reasonable match for the conventional fertilisers in this post.
The NPK is reasonably close, but the N is a lot lower and the K is a bit lower.
In organic methods, that would be assumed to be ok for several reasons.
The application rate for pots is 15g per litre, so a 50 litre pot needs 750g, and that supplies 3 % N.
To get a higher whack of N you need to add more, plus you are also adding all the other nutrients too.
You will hit a point of physically adding too much fine fertiliser to your pot, causing surface matting crusting problems.
Of course you can get around this be adding less more frequently, or incorporating better deeper into the pot mix.
Personally for containers I found it better to use this type of fertiliser and a conventional type to get the NPK up.

The high NPK fertilisers also cause problems, fertiliser companies also often sell insecticides and fungicides to control problems linked to fast plant growth rates.
There can be high rates of leaching of soluble nutrients  or vaporisation of N from conventional fertilisers. You may not get the full benefit of whats in the bag.

Calusa

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While we're discussing nutrition it would be interesting to read opinions and experience with using soil probiotics. From what I have come to understand the insecticides, herbicides and other chemicals used on citrus trees likely kill the beneficial microbes in the soil, to the detriment of the overall health and vitality of the trees. Has anyone used the store-bought probiotics and seen any success with it?

Millet

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The reason that organic fertilizers work for in ground citrus trees and plants but not for container citrus is due to::   organic fertilizers are slower to become useable by plants because they have to first  be broken down by soil microorganisms and fungi in order to feed plants. Organic fertilizer has to essentially decompose before the nutrients are available to plants. This process can take 2 to 6 weeks depending on many factors including soil temperature and moisture levels.  In container growing the essential soil microorganisms and fungi are absent, therefore the fertilizer is not available.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2023, 02:56:18 PM by Millet »

Tortuga

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The reason that organic fertilizers work for in ground citrus trees and plants but not for container citrus is due to::   organic fertilizers are slower to become useable by plants because they have to first  be broken down by soil microorganisms and fungi in order to feed plants. Organic fertilizer has to essentially decompose before the nutrients are available to plants. This process can take 2 to 6 weeks depending on many factors including soil temperature and moisture levels.  In container growing the essential soil microorganisms and fungi are absent, therefore the fertilizer is not available.

I haven’t found any studies that lead this to be true. My organic compost (rabbit, quail, llama fecal matter) added to my containers contains billions of beneficial bacteria and funguses species. Your logic may have some weight to it in a sterile medium

Millet

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Tortuga, it is not my logic, I learned it from Dr. Manors of Florida Southern University.  However, you are correct in that if you add all the manures you listed to a container mix, then n organic fertilizer should work.  However, most all container mixes contain no organic mixtures other than sterile peat moss and bark, perlite etc.

Vegan Potato Man

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In containers I use a combo of regular and organic, to get the higher NPK on one hand and the availability / biological benefits on the other.
It can be hard to get the high Nitrogen from organic without using a large amount of fertiliser which can clog or crust the pot surface.
Also hard to find one organic type that matches the nutrient % profile of these regular fertilisers pictured.
That said, this is a big topic on its own.

Neem seed cake has a fairly high amount of nitrogen. Usually labeled as 6-1-2

pagnr

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The reason that organic fertilizers work for in ground citrus trees and plants but not for container citrus is due to::   organic fertilizers are slower to become useable by plants because they have to first  be broken down by soil microorganisms and fungi in order to feed plants. Organic fertilizer has to essentially decompose before the nutrients are available to plants. This process can take 2 to 6 weeks depending on many factors including soil temperature and moisture levels.  In container growing the essential soil microorganisms and fungi are absent, therefore the fertilizer is not available.

I haven’t found any studies that lead this to be true. My organic compost (rabbit, quail, llama fecal matter) added to my containers contains billions of beneficial bacteria and funguses species. Your logic may have some weight to it in a sterile medium


If you have sterilised soil less media, it should be free of pathogens and have a reduced set of microorganisms, only those types that got thru the process.
It would take time to rebuild to activity that could process fertilisers requiring breakdown ( includes some synthetic types also ).
In a way this is also an argument to add biological activity, or ingredients that promote beneficial flora for plant nutrient absorption and root disease suppression.

Tortuga, as you say, you are adding compost to the pots, which has been processed by microorganisms in a controlled method, and includes both nutrients and microbes to further process.
This is generally the favoured method of adding "organic" fertilisers to most systems as the results are predictable by analysis, and reduces bulk application.
The soil has a huge buffer to deal with raw fertilisers, but composted forms are still preferred in recent moves to sustainable Agriculture.

I did try adding some Guinea Pig dung to some pots, mainly because the reminded me of chicken manure pellets in size.
Seemed to go ok,  but I didn't overdo it ay once.

Tortuga

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Tortuga, it is not my logic, I learned it from Dr. Manors of Florida Southern University.  However, you are correct in that if you add all the manures you listed to a container mix, then n organic fertilizer should work.  However, most all container mixes contain no organic mixtures other than sterile peat moss and bark, perlite etc.

I understand. I assumed you were thinking I used a bag mix but I use native sandy loam soil with additional fine woody material. I would think using a container mix is last resort for this reason. Thank you for the clarification

Tropicaltoba

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My Meyer lemon is in a 35 gallon that’s 40%pine park 40% promix (organic fruit and veg) 10% fresh vermicompost 10% bokashi waste (mostly fermented fruit peels, chicken carcasses). I got 130 lemons over a 14 month period. Only issue is u need to repot/root prune or productivity drops. I add fresh clover/alfalfa and more fermented stuff to the top and the worms, millipedes and wood lice break it all down.