Reading the feeding chart, it
does not state that Amending into soil is BEST. I can't find that wording anywhere, in the chart or the blogs. It simply states that upon transplant it is a good idea to amend a dose of Geoflora into the soil so as to jump start the microbe colonies. Everywhere else in the feeding chart they refer only to top dressing. Even on the actual page that you linked to above, it is stated very clearly under best practices: Geoflora is not water-soluble and
is best applied as a top dress for correct delivery of the ingredients.
So the reader should stop at your #1 and know that top dressing every two weeks is the way to go. I wonder how you would even try to go about 'amending the soil' in an established grow several weeks in??? Isn't top dressing all that is available to you at that time?
Your second question has to do with extended growing times, assuming both in veg and long running plants in bloom. You are wondering about something that does not happen in an organic grow... there are no salts to break down and build up or flush out. There is no concept of flushing in an organic grow. You have made an erroneous assumption that geoflora is more like liquid nutes than a water only organic soil, and I don't see the correlation. There is nothing to build up here that does not enhance the grow. The raw nutrients don't bother anything and are not even available to the plant until the plant asks for them and the microbes process and deliver them. For a great list of the types of nutrients that are included in the mix, check out the key ingredients page on their website:
Geoflora Nutrients | Key Ingredients | GEOFLORA Organic Dry Nutrients
Nothing is chelated, so there is no left over bonding agent building up as in a synthetic grow. Everything in there is natural. Your worries are unfounded; they are simply conjecture without facts.
You want them to clear up all doubt. I don't know how they could better spell out how to use this stuff. Apply once every 2 weeks. Topdress unless you are transplanting, only then mix it in the soil you add in. It seems black and white to me and with no room for doubt.
@Emilya ,
I do appreciate your time and effort here. However, the
actual feeding chart itself absolutely does state: "Amend into soil prior to transplant for best results. If unable, apply as a top dress and water in thoroughly." This is a direct copy and paste from GeoFlora's own feeding chart. I'm sorry that you haven't found that yet. Perhaps a picture would help:
Please refrain from making such assertions without doing more thorough research first. I would also appreciate it if you would soften your tone. I'm always apologizing to you and always giving you compliments and giving you the benefit of the doubt. Could you please do the same to me, in my grow journal?
As for the "Best Practices" section... I am totally aware of what was stated there. And once you have found and read in the actual chart itself in "week 00", you will probably see the discrepancy in their PDF between what's in the "Best Practices" section and what's in the "Feeding Schedule" portion. This is why I became concerned. In one section it states that top dressing is "best"... then in the other section it clearly states that amending into the soil is "best".
As I've stated before, I have sent this to the company and while I await their reply I posted it here to see if other
outdoor growers had any real world experiences with this product.
And I disagree with your statement that: "The reader should stop at your #1" simply because I have very clearly stated, in no uncertain terms, that I use pots during the veg phase, up-potting about every month or so. So, no, "top dressing is [
not] all that's available to [me] at the time."
Furthermore, I understand quite well about an organic grow and how salts and things are not a problem and that there are no flushes needed. And I am NOT making "an erroneous assumption", as you allege, that GeoFlora is more like liquid nutes. This is because of the
fact that, on the back of the
actual bag, it very clearly states "Derived from:" followed by all of the wonderful sources that they use. The use of the phrase "Derived from" is very different from "ingredients" or "contains". "Derived from" is what is commonly found on the labels of liquid nutes. I'm sure you know that. Right? I'm not making a false assumption that you'd know this, am I?
Also, I stand by my "correlation" (as you put it) between liquid nutes and GeoFlora. Let me use an example... If I make some vegetable juice in my juicer using carrots, apples, some greens, etc I would have made a wonderful and healthy beverage. However, I cannot say that there are whole carrots, apples, greens, etc in the beverage. I would have to say this juice is derived from these things. Why? Simply because I have removed something (fiber) from these food sources in the juice making process. In a similar way, there is something removed from the source materials that are listed on the GeoFlora label; otherwise it wouldn't be so concentrated and we'd have to use a much larger volume of the product, just like we do when we build living soils with whole ingredients like bat guano, alfalfa meal and the like from companies like Down To Earth. Labeling laws in this country are very strict. This is why companies must carefully use such terms as I have listed above.
You also state that the GeoFlora product is not chelated. I would LOVE this to be the case... honestly. What has lead you to make such a statement? Do you have proof? Documentation? If so, P-L-E-A-S-E share with all of us here. I love learning new things and gaining more knowledge.
In the meantime, I stand by my statement of doubt simply because of the double talk and the lack of clarity from GeoFlora. I'm sorry that you don't see it that way, but the messaging from GeoFlora leaves a
lot of doubt in any well informed readers mind. And, I do know how they can "better spell out how to use the stuff." They could include
complete info on how to use in an
outdoor grow, and address wether or not flushing is needed. (this alone would be a good selling point). As it is, there is way too much gray area and not enough black and white. Not
just "to me", but in the actual written verbiage.
Hope this clarifies things...
