Frankly all of this has got me rereading those 5 articles, although only in piece meal fashion so far. They seem to make more sense to me than they did a year ago when I first read them. I should go back and devote some more time to them.
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So, here's what I'm learning at the moment.
In my quest for the stickiest, best tasting weed possible, I'm experimenting with different forms of nitrogen and changing the ionic balance in the soil.
Nitrates are readily available to the plant, but they also leach out of the soil easily with watering. Ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4) is different. It has a positive charge, whereas the nitrate (NO3) has a negative charge. Cation is positive, Anion is negative.
NH4 is captured by particles in the soil and are stored there until the roots and mycorrhizae on the roots break them loose and feed them to the plant.
When you feed with strongly cationic forms of nitrogen, like Ammonium sulfate or ammonium phosphate, you get these cations and it stimulates reproductive growth from the plant.
Thanks man, I want to get better at finding these nuggets and sharing.Good find AW!
Frankly all of this has got me rereading those 5 articles, although only in piece meal fashion so far. They seem to make more sense to me than they did a year ago when I first read them. I should go back and devote some more time to them.
So what happens if we feed CalMag separately from the N? Will the soil buffer it, removing some or all of the need for higher ammoniacal N?Okay, after reading the five articles, and sitting and thinking, I have a question. So we know as indoor growers, especially under LED lights (for some reason), that a lot of calcium and magnesium are typically needed from early flowering/stretch until harvest.
From the articles, the suggested levels of Ca and Mg are 63 ppm and 21 ppm for orchids and most other flowering/fruiting plants. Together, when provided in low-EC RO water, this concentration is within the range of moderate alkalinity, which would suggest a fertilizer with about 25% ammoniacal N.
But if a grower finds that more CalMag is required, and the combined concentration of Ca and Mg, contributed by the CalMag and other nutes, now puts the feeding solution into high alkalinity. A fertilizer with about 40% ammoniacal N is now recommended, in order to balance the higher alkalinity.
Am I reading this right? I have looked at a lot of the popular water-soluble fertilizers, and not many have that much ammoniacal N (Dyna-Gro Grow has ~40%, and Fox Farm Grow Big has ~50%). Even the MSU RO formula (from the articles), only provides ~6% ammoniacal N.
Okay, after reading the five articles, and sitting and thinking, I have a question. So we know as indoor growers, especially under LED lights (for some reason), that a lot of calcium and magnesium are typically needed from early flowering/stretch until harvest.
From the articles, the suggested levels of Ca and Mg are 63 ppm and 21 ppm for orchids and most other flowering/fruiting plants. Together, when provided in low-EC RO water, this concentration is within the range of moderate alkalinity, which would suggest a fertilizer with about 25% ammoniacal N.
But if a grower finds that more CalMag is required, and the combined concentration of Ca and Mg, contributed by the CalMag and other nutes, now puts the feeding solution into high alkalinity. A fertilizer with about 40% ammoniacal N is now recommended, in order to balance the higher alkalinity.
Am I reading this right? I have looked at a lot of the popular water-soluble fertilizers, and not many have that much ammoniacal N (Dyna-Gro Grow has ~40%, and Fox Farm Grow Big has ~50%). Even the MSU RO formula (from the articles), only provides ~6% ammoniacal N.
This is a quote from the first page of the massive q&a thread of Docs. I’m not selling the kit or anything but he does seem to strike right at the heart of the earlier discussion regarding the different sources of nitrogen.
He, of course, goes on to discuss the ‘energy’ in soil and how flipping the charge at the right time can have a impact on the plants reproductive capabilities.
Good find AW!
Thanks man, I want to get better at finding these nuggets and sharing.
Hey so what type of Nitogen is found in earthworm castings? I have a bag of it here and it doesnt specify.
I agree Amy, I knew this topic sounded familiar.I’d put money on it that Doc would know the answer to that question. This whole discussion is pretty much what put him on the trail that led to his current enterprise
Ima ask him!
Worm castings (1-0-0) slow release 150g/sq ftHey so what type of Nitogen is found in earthworm castings? I have a bag of it here and it doesnt specify.
Hey so what type of Nitogen is found in earthworm castings? I have a bag of it here and it doesnt specify.
I’d put money on it that Doc would know the answer to that question. This whole discussion is pretty much what put him on the trail that led to his current enterprise
Ima ask him!
I agree Amy, I knew this topic sounded familiar.
Organic nitrogen---stuff that comes out of an animal or from a decaying animal or other organic matter---is NH3....the ammoniacal form of nitrogen. Urea breaks down to this form as well....being "organic." (using the non-political version of the word organic here)
Nitrates occur in rock and clay deposits or are manufactured.
So.....EWC has a the NH3 form.....mostly. If the dirt that goes in one end and comes out the other is also rich in CaNo3 (calcium nitrate) then the worm castings will also have some of that.
But we aren't really using the castings as a source of NPK. We use them to increase CEC, provide a long term slow-release source of nutrients and soil energy and also to help the biota.
As for pH....ignore it. It's a fool's practice to worry and fret over the pH of soil. There are so many buffers in the soil that a few drops of Sodium Hydroxide (Lye or pH up) or Phosphoric Acid (pH-down) won't change a damn thing!
The soil is either created with the proper pH or it is not.....with the sole exception of using aluminum sulphate to lower soil pH and make hydrangea's blue. You certainly don't want to do this to any food/medicine crop!
You can also lower pH "organically" by using elemental sulfur, but all this should be done when the soil is being amended.....
You don't change anything but massive overdose to the plant with something it doesn't need if you try to "pH" your feed water, etc. It's mythology....the kind that isn't true.
Obviously, Hydro and sterile mediums are different.