Amendments to Add in Spring for the Summer Garden - Ep. 192

[00:00:00] So back in November I talked to you about doing a soil test, using slow release amendments

[00:00:06] in the garden to do their work gradually over the winter and then doing another soil test

[00:00:11] in the spring to see how well it worked.

[00:00:14] Well now is the time in most areas to be doing that spring soil test before you start planting

[00:00:19] your spring or summer gardens.

[00:00:21] But what do you do if that spring test shows the amendments that you added in the fall

[00:00:26] just weren't enough to fix the problem?

[00:00:28] This time around you'll need something that works into the soil a little bit more quickly

[00:00:33] if you want the garden ready in time to grow a lush crop for spring and summer.

[00:00:38] And even then, you may find the need to add some supplemental plant food to directly feed

[00:00:44] the plants instead of the soil to be sure that you get a good harvest.

[00:00:48] So today on Just Grow Something we'll go over the organic amendments that you can

[00:00:52] be adding to the garden now that will give the soil a quick boost and the possible

[00:00:57] ways to feed the plants directly while waiting for the soil to improve.

[00:01:02] Let's dig in.

[00:01:03] Hey, I'm Karen.

[00:01:04] I started gardening in a small corner of my suburban backyard and now 18 years later I've

[00:01:08] got a degree in horticulture and operate a 40 acre market farm.

[00:01:12] I believe there is power in food and that everyone should know how to grow at least

[00:01:16] a little bit of their own.

[00:01:18] On this podcast I share evidence based techniques to help you plant, grow, harvest

[00:01:22] and store all your family's favorites.

[00:01:25] Consider me your friend in the garden.

[00:01:27] So grab your garden journal and a cup of coffee and get ready to Just Grow Something.

[00:01:57] Before we jump into soil amendments let's talk about a little gardening news.

[00:02:14] The United States Department of Agriculture or USDA proclaimed April 2024 as invasive plant

[00:02:22] pest and disease awareness month.

[00:02:25] I am not kidding.

[00:02:27] So if you are a gardener or a camper or if you travel or you do any kind of online shopping

[00:02:32] for plant or ag stuff it is important to learn about the danger of invasive plant pests and

[00:02:38] what you can do to help.

[00:02:41] The problem with invasive pests is that they really don't have very many enemies when

[00:02:47] they get to a new environment and so they multiply really quickly and their population

[00:02:53] continues to increase unchecked.

[00:02:56] Eventually they start to compete with the native species for resources and then they can cause

[00:03:01] problems for the environment and for area farms and then also for us as gardeners.

[00:03:08] Non-native plant pests can actually hitch a ride in all kinds of ways.

[00:03:13] They can come in on untreated firewood, they can attach themselves to vehicles and

[00:03:17] other outdoor surfaces, they can even take a ride through the mail.

[00:03:21] They can also get into new areas on agricultural material like soil or seeds or produce or plants.

[00:03:29] So here is what we can do to reduce the impact of invasive plant pest species.

[00:03:35] First off visit your state's Department of Agriculture or Department of Conservation

[00:03:39] website and learn about what quarantines are going on in your area.

[00:03:45] Familiarize yourself with the signs of invasive pest infestation whether they're on outdoor

[00:03:50] gear or on wild plants or even in your garden.

[00:03:54] If you find signs of a new plant pest or disease in your area then report them to your local

[00:04:00] extension office or to your state's Department of Agriculture.

[00:04:04] Now if you're a camper or if you use a wood stove or fireplace don't move untreated

[00:04:10] firewood in or out of your local area even if it looks like it's pest free on the outside.

[00:04:16] You never know what is being carried around on the inside.

[00:04:20] And then when ordering agricultural materials online figure out where the item is being shipped

[00:04:27] from and make sure that you are adhering to any import requirements for any agricultural

[00:04:32] materials that are coming from overseas.

[00:04:34] If you don't know where an agricultural product is coming from don't buy it online.

[00:04:42] This is especially important for us in the US because US regulations apply to the importer.

[00:04:47] That means the person who is making the buy and technically importing the product.

[00:04:52] It is not the online merchant that is liable for this.

[00:04:55] So buy the item domestically or learn how to safely and legally import plants and

[00:05:01] seeds before you purchase them online from overseas.

[00:05:06] And kind of along with this is also don't mail homegrown plants fruits or vegetables.

[00:05:12] I am actually kind of guilty of this one not the fruits and vegetables but the plants.

[00:05:17] My brother and sister-in-law have a neighbor with a greenhouse and she grows tropicals.

[00:05:21] She has gifted me plants occasionally two that I brought back with me in my carry

[00:05:26] on and one that my sister-in-law is supposed to be mailing me there in Oregon.

[00:05:31] I'm in Missouri.

[00:05:32] Of course these are house plants and I am vigilant about cleaning the plants for pests

[00:05:36] before I put them in my house but that's not an excuse.

[00:05:40] That doesn't mean that I should be doing this.

[00:05:41] So this was a reminder for me not to be mailing plants.

[00:05:46] And finally declare all agricultural items including seeds, soil or

[00:05:53] agglurated crafted items to the US customs and border protection for inspection when

[00:05:59] you are returning from overseas travel.

[00:06:02] During these items protects local plants from those invasive pests and it is required by

[00:06:07] law.

[00:06:08] So if you want more information about invasive plant pests and diseases you can go to the

[00:06:14] USDA animal and plant health inspection service website that is hungry pests dot com and

[00:06:21] I will leave that link in the episode notes.

[00:06:24] So happy spring everyone and happy invasive plant pests and disease awareness months.

[00:06:32] Yay?

[00:06:33] Okay so as gardeners we sometimes are going to need fast acting soil amendments to address

[00:06:40] nutrient deficiencies and to adjust pH levels in our gardens in the spring.

[00:06:45] In the fall we talked about slow release.

[00:06:47] Today we're talking fast acting.

[00:06:50] Now of course I am not a proponent of synthetic versions of these amendments for long term

[00:06:55] use so those will not be covered.

[00:06:57] Although we will talk about some synthetics when we talk about fertilizers so more on

[00:07:01] that later.

[00:07:02] So let's talk about some organic amendments that can quickly boost nitrogen, phosphorus

[00:07:07] and potassium levels and then we will talk about some options for adjusting pH.

[00:07:12] First up is nitrogen.

[00:07:13] We know nitrogen is an essential nutrient for our plants but why is it so important?

[00:07:19] Nitrogen is a primary building block of proteins which are essential for plant structure and

[00:07:24] function.

[00:07:25] Many enzymes that drive biochemical reactions in plants require nitrogen.

[00:07:30] It is a critical component of chlorophyll molecules which are essential for photosynthesis

[00:07:34] and the plant's ability to produce sugars.

[00:07:37] Adequate nitrogen supports vigorous vegetative growth including leaves, stems and branches.

[00:07:42] It also plays a crucial role in cell division and elongation contributing to overall

[00:07:47] plant size and structure.

[00:07:50] Nitrogen plays a role in the uptake of other essential nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium

[00:07:54] and micronutrients and it helps regulate the opening and closing of stomata which

[00:07:59] affects water and nutrient uptake.

[00:08:03] Now keep in mind that the temperature of the soil is going to affect the available

[00:08:08] nitrogen so your soil test may not always be completely accurate in terms of how much

[00:08:13] nitrogen you actually have in your soil.

[00:08:16] If you've grown plants in that spot before it's kind of a good assumption that you're

[00:08:20] going to need to add some sort of nitrogen back into the soil.

[00:08:24] That's just one of the many reasons I like organic nutrients because you have less of

[00:08:28] a chance of overdoing it and burning your plants if you adhere to the proper application

[00:08:33] ratios and you are building the soil at the same time.

[00:08:36] My favorite two fast-acting nitrogen amendments are blood meal and fishy

[00:08:42] mulchian. Blood meal is usually got an NPK ratio of around 1200. It's derived from

[00:08:48] dried blood so it does provide a quick nitrogen boost. Typically you might use

[00:08:53] around a half to one cup of the blood meal per 10 square feet of garden

[00:08:58] bed and you just mix it into the soil and then water it in really well.

[00:09:02] Fishe mulchian is a liquid fertilizer. It's made from fish byproducts.

[00:09:06] It also gives a nice quick nitrogen boost. When I'm using it to treat the

[00:09:11] soil I'm usually mixing it with water and applying it as a soil drench.

[00:09:16] So depending on which one you get you should follow the instructions on the

[00:09:19] product but generally around one to two tablespoons for a gallon of water is

[00:09:24] what I use. Next up is phosphorus. Phosphorus is a key component of adenosine

[00:09:31] triphosphate or ATP. This is the molecule that is responsible for

[00:09:34] storing and transferring energy within cells and this includes photosynthesis

[00:09:39] and respiration and cell division. Adequate phosphorus also promotes strong

[00:09:44] root development. It is crucial for the formation of flowers, seeds and fruits.

[00:09:49] It helps plants transition from vegetative growth stage to the reproductive

[00:09:55] growth stage so this impacts the flowering time and the fruit quality.

[00:09:59] It also plays an important role in nutrient uptake especially nitrogen

[00:10:04] and potassium. See they're all working together there. And adequate

[00:10:07] phosphorus levels enhance a plant's ability to withstand environmental

[00:10:12] stresses so like drought and disease. If you have low phosphorus in your plant

[00:10:17] it makes it weaker and more defenseless against those environmental stresses.

[00:10:21] Now I don't know of any organic soil amendment out there that is super

[00:10:28] fast acting in terms of organic phosphorus. So your best bet is to

[00:10:34] continue using the slow release amendments that we talked about for use in the

[00:10:39] fall and that is bone meal or rock phosphate. So bone meal is a natural

[00:10:45] source of phosphorus and PK is usually around 315 zero. It's made from

[00:10:51] ground animal bones so you might use about 1 to 2 cups per 10 square feet.

[00:10:55] Just mix it into the top few inches of the soil. Again water it in really

[00:10:58] well. Rock phosphate is another sort of slow release phosphorus source. It can

[00:11:04] have a really wide range of an NPK ratio. It could be zero three zero all the way

[00:11:09] up to zero twenty zero so it depends on what you buy. It does release the

[00:11:13] phosphorus gradually over time. You're looking at about using two to four

[00:11:18] pounds per hundred square feet mixed into the soil. Also remember that

[00:11:24] organic material as it breaks down releases phosphorus into the soil. So

[00:11:30] keep adding compost or other organic materials to your soil to prevent a

[00:11:36] phosphorus deficiency and it will automatically add that phosphorus

[00:11:39] naturally.

[00:11:46] Next up is potassium. Potassium helps regulate the opening and closing of

[00:11:51] the stomata those tiny pores on the leaves. This regulation affects water

[00:11:55] uptake it helps the plants maintain proper hydration. Potassium also helps

[00:11:59] control the movement of water and nutrients within the plant cells. It's

[00:12:04] also involved in activating many of the enzymes that are responsible for

[00:12:08] various metabolic processes like photosynthesis and respiration. It

[00:12:12] also plays a role in the synthesis of ATP that energy in the cells that

[00:12:17] we talked about earlier which again helps in photosynthesis. Potassium

[00:12:22] supports flowering and fruit development and it also enhances a plant's

[00:12:27] resistance to diseases and pests by strengthening the cell walls. This

[00:12:31] makes those plants less susceptible to pathogen attacks and environmental

[00:12:35] stresses. Unfortunately with potassium there is also nothing very fast

[00:12:41] acting in an organic sense so we add the same amendments that we would

[00:12:45] in the fall and that is wood ash or green sand. So wood ash

[00:12:50] contains potassium it also raises the pH of the soil so this should be used

[00:12:58] cautiously and not excessively because it is so alkaline. So generally you

[00:13:03] start with a very light application a couple of inches across the top of

[00:13:06] the soil and then you mix it in really well. Green sand is a mineral

[00:13:11] rich amendment it has an NPK around 003. It also releases potassium very

[00:13:17] slowly you would probably use about 5 to 10 pounds per hundred square feet and

[00:13:21] mix that into the top in a few inches of the soil. It's not too frequently

[00:13:26] that we see much in the way of a potassium deficiency. All three of

[00:13:31] these macro nutrients work together to supply our plants with the

[00:13:35] essential functions to be their best little plant cells but one other

[00:13:40] component of the soil that's almost as equally important is the soil pH so too

[00:13:47] high or too low and it can restrict the movement of those important macro

[00:13:53] nutrients through the soil and a lot of the micronutrients too. Nothing is

[00:13:57] going to change the pH of your soil quickly nor do we want it to if you

[00:14:01] take your test in the spring and the pH still needs adjusting the two best

[00:14:05] options are lime and sulfur. We use lime for raising the pH two common types

[00:14:11] are dolomitic lime which contains magnesium and calcitic lime. The rates

[00:14:16] are going to vary based on your soil test results but a general guideline

[00:14:20] would be 5 to 10 pounds per hundred square feet to raise the pH by one

[00:14:25] unit so if you're at a pH of 5.5 and you want the soil at 6.5 that's

[00:14:32] one full unit so going from 5.5 to 6 would be a half unit so you would use

[00:14:36] the lime at half the rate and don't forget wood ash also raises the pH

[00:14:42] level so if you're adding that for potassium then wait to add the lime

[00:14:47] to be sure that you don't raise the levels too much. Now we use sulfur

[00:14:51] for lowering the pH that application rate again is going to vary based on

[00:14:56] your soil test results but generally speaking around 1 to 2 pounds per

[00:15:00] hundred square feet is going to lower the pH by one unit so if you're at 7.5

[00:15:05] that rate will drop it to 6.5 again for only half unit use half the rate it's

[00:15:11] best to incorporate sulfur into the soil well ahead of planting to allow time

[00:15:17] for it to take effect so if you are doing this in the spring don't expect

[00:15:22] the pH is going to change too much until more like the summertime just

[00:15:27] keep testing and adjusting in small increments as you go of course it's

[00:15:34] very possible that even with these amendments our plants may show some

[00:15:39] signs of deficiency what are those signs and what can we do to help our

[00:15:44] plants immediately if they're in distress

[00:15:52] you're looking to create timeless beauty in your garden there's no better

[00:15:56] way than to add roses heirloom roses knows that the best roses start with

[00:16:00] the best roots which is why they only hand propagate own root roses roses from

[00:16:06] the big box stores are grafted onto different rootstock which is why I

[00:16:10] think I've never had much luck with roses these own root roses will

[00:16:15] outlive and outshine those others resulting in stronger disease resistance

[00:16:19] a longer lifespan and stunning blooms that are always true to variety

[00:16:25] located in Oregon heirloom roses is a family owned business that grows over

[00:16:28] nine hundred varieties of roses for gardening zones three through eleven

[00:16:33] yes nine hundred varieties you can use their great search tool to narrow down

[00:16:39] your choice based on zone fragrance growth habit color and more that's

[00:16:43] how I found my new favorite the Julio Iglesias rose plus they have a one

[00:16:47] year guarantee so if your rose doesn't thrive in its first year they will

[00:16:51] replace it for free as a special offer for my listeners heirloom roses is

[00:16:56] offering twenty percent off all roses with code just grow now through

[00:17:00] October 31st 2024 and since they ship year-round you can shop now and

[00:17:06] choose the perfect ship date for your gardening zone it's time to

[00:17:09] experience growing roses the way nature intended on their own roots take

[00:17:15] twenty percent off your roses with code just grow at heirloom roses dot com

[00:17:21] emergency feeding of plants is sometimes going to be necessary if they are

[00:17:26] really struggling and sometimes the plant foods or fertilizers that are

[00:17:31] going to work best for our plant in that situation might not be organic

[00:17:35] in nature so organic fertilizers usually contain plant or animal

[00:17:42] nutrients in lower concentrations depending on the raw material but they

[00:17:46] have a much wider range of nutrients than just the big three the nitrogen

[00:17:50] the phosphorus and the potassium right there's usually micronutrients involved

[00:17:54] as well the bonus with organics is they also help improve the soil

[00:17:59] structure this is why when I'm feeding my plants a supplemental plant food as

[00:18:05] part of my like regular routine it's usually elm dirt's plant juice or

[00:18:09] bloom juice because it works well with the soil but in a plant emergency a

[00:18:14] product like that just doesn't have a high enough concentration of nutrients

[00:18:18] to affect the plant immediately there are others we can use which will go

[00:18:23] over in a minute but sometimes we need something stronger synthetic

[00:18:28] fertilizers go through a manufacturing process finished conventional

[00:18:33] fertilizers do start with naturally occurring mineral deposits and

[00:18:38] atmospheric nitrogen and then they're processed into a form that can be used

[00:18:42] by the plants and then there's sometimes combined with other elements and

[00:18:45] other processed products to basically create a plant food these are generally

[00:18:50] focused on those big three macronutrients and they are available in

[00:18:56] much higher concentration than most organic versions the reason synthetics

[00:19:03] get such a bad rap is partially because of that higher concentration if

[00:19:09] they're overused whatever the plants don't take up remains in the soil and

[00:19:15] then since the soil microbes really can't use it because of the form

[00:19:19] that it's in it just gets washed away with the next rainstorm or the

[00:19:23] next time that we irrigate and then it makes its way into the watersheds

[00:19:28] and into the waterways and it starts causing problems downstream and

[00:19:31] it's just a mess most of the times we think about this on a large scale

[00:19:36] we're talking about you know large agricultural production but the same

[00:19:40] thing can happen in our gardens just to a smaller extent so what I

[00:19:46] rather everyone use organic amendments and fertilizers yes do I

[00:19:51] recognize that in an emergency situation in order to save a plant

[00:19:55] or an entire bed of plants in the garden that the synthetic version

[00:19:59] may be the more fast acting approach also yes just be sure that

[00:20:06] whatever fertilizer you choose you are using it as directed on the label

[00:20:13] for your safety the safety of your plants and the safety of our water supply

[00:20:24] so if you're looking in your plants and they're starting to look kind of

[00:20:27] funky let's figure out what these deficiency symptoms are a nitrogen

[00:20:31] deficiency usually results in stunted growth they may have small pale

[00:20:36] leaves the leaves may start to yellow usually it's going to be on those

[00:20:41] older leaves so they're gonna start turning yellow from the bottom up

[00:20:43] starting with those lower leaves you're gonna see fewer flowers and

[00:20:48] fruits which is of course going to impact your yield and you just get

[00:20:52] this sort of overall look of a sickly kind of plant it's just

[00:20:58] they're more susceptible to diseases and environmental stresses when

[00:21:01] they lack nitrogen so some types of fertilizers that can be used to

[00:21:05] quickly address nitrogen deficiency are blood meal and fish

[00:21:10] emulsion when we're talking about the organic stuff now in this case

[00:21:14] the blood meal is going to be used as a side dressing so this is

[00:21:20] one of those things that we can use as a soil amendment to amend the

[00:21:25] soil but we can also use it to sort of immediately feed the plant

[00:21:29] because the form of nitrogen that is in blood meal is in a readily

[00:21:34] available form to the plant so we just kind of use it as a side

[00:21:37] dressing about a half to one cup per 10 square feet of garden

[00:21:42] bed and then just water it in really well and that watering

[00:21:46] in is going to deliver that nitrogen in a quick way by using the

[00:21:51] water and typically the MPK ratio again for blood meal is around

[00:21:54] 1200 so this should give your plants a good boost of nitrogen

[00:21:59] another one is fish emulsion this one in this instance we're

[00:22:04] gonna use it as a foliar spray so whereas we're treating the

[00:22:08] soil before and we use it as a soil drench which you could

[00:22:10] still do in this case as well but you can also dilute it

[00:22:15] and use it as a foliar spray which makes it a little bit more

[00:22:18] immediately available where the plant needs it because the MPK

[00:22:23] ratio is usually very fairly low at 511 you're not in danger of

[00:22:27] damaging the plants so long as you're not spraying this on in

[00:22:30] the middle of the day and then letting them cook in the sun

[00:22:32] so mix one to two tablespoons of gallon or per gallon of

[00:22:35] water and then apply it around the soil around the plant

[00:22:39] root zones or dilute it even further and just spray it

[00:22:43] as a foliar spray now another fast acting nitrogen fertilizer

[00:22:48] would be urea the MPK ratio on this is typically 46 00 so we

[00:22:54] are talking high high nitrogen in most instances this is a

[00:22:59] synthetic organic nitrogen fertilizer meaning it is created

[00:23:03] with both organic and in organic substances usually by

[00:23:08] combining ammonia and carbon dioxide however there are

[00:23:12] organic options out there a Spoma I think has one and this is

[00:23:16] possible because urea is the main nitrogen containing substance

[00:23:20] in the urine of mammals so if we take some of that animal waste

[00:23:24] and we ferment it with other organic ingredients then

[00:23:27] boom we have another waste product that's been turned into

[00:23:29] fertilizer so read the label of what you find and choose

[00:23:34] according to your gardening preferences this is very very

[00:23:38] rapidly going to dissolve in water for quick uptake by the

[00:23:41] plants so be cautious because it is very very strong be sure

[00:23:46] that you are following the package instructions if it's in a

[00:23:49] granular form it's usually just like one tablespoon per square

[00:23:54] feet if it's in a liquid form then you're going to dilute it

[00:23:57] according to what the manufacturer says to use

[00:24:00] and then finally we have ammonium sulfate it is a

[00:24:03] fully synthetic fertilizer containing nitrogen and

[00:24:06] sulfur the MPK ratio on this is usually around 21 0 0 so not

[00:24:12] quite as strong as the urea but definitely stronger than the

[00:24:16] blood meal or the fishy motion which is what makes it so

[00:24:19] effective it does provide very quick nitrogen for your

[00:24:21] plants best applied when the plants are actively growing

[00:24:25] so make sure that you are checking the instructions on

[00:24:28] the back it's usually about a quarter to half a cup per 10

[00:24:32] square feet and then watered in really well but make sure

[00:24:34] that you're following the instructions on whichever one it

[00:24:36] is that you pick up regardless of which one of these that you

[00:24:40] use after applying any type of a nitrogen fertilizer to the soil

[00:24:44] you want to water the plants thoroughly to help those

[00:24:46] nutrients move into the root zone and you want to do this

[00:24:50] with plants that are actively growing do not do this when

[00:24:53] you have plants that you have newly transplanted because

[00:24:56] this is just too much all at once and the plants are

[00:24:58] already going to be under a little bit of stress just

[00:25:01] being transplanted at all always read and follow the

[00:25:04] instructions on the fertilizer label for the specific type

[00:25:07] and brand that you are using now when plants show signs of

[00:25:12] a phosphorus deficiency it is actually pretty critical to

[00:25:15] address this pretty promptly because this is how we're

[00:25:18] going to support healthy growth development and flowering

[00:25:21] and fruiting phosphorus deficiency symptoms include

[00:25:24] stunted growth they may actually just look short some of

[00:25:28] the plants may develop purple or reddish discoloration on the

[00:25:32] leaves especially on the underside of the leaves

[00:25:35] phosphorus deficiency can delay flowering or reduce the

[00:25:38] number of flowers and the fruits and the seeds may be

[00:25:42] smaller or fail to develop fully if they don't have

[00:25:45] sufficient phosphorus so other than bone meal and rock

[00:25:50] phosphate most phosphorus fertilizers are in organic

[00:25:55] you often can find organic fertilizer blends that contain

[00:25:59] equal amounts of nitrogen phosphorus and potassium plus

[00:26:02] some micronutrients but if you truly just need the

[00:26:06] phosphorus and the bone meal or the rock phosphate aren't

[00:26:10] doing the job while the inorganic stuff may be what

[00:26:13] you need to use in a pinch the inorganic forms are

[00:26:17] generally derived from phosphate rock that has been

[00:26:20] treated with sulfuric acid which separates out the

[00:26:23] phosphorus and then this creates phosphoric acid and

[00:26:26] then that byproduct can be combined with like ammonia or

[00:26:29] sulfur or whatever to create additional fertilizer

[00:26:31] products you're generally going to see phosphorus

[00:26:34] fertilizers labeled as something like super phosphate or

[00:26:37] triple super phosphate just look closely at the label

[00:26:41] and decide what you need and follow the directions on

[00:26:44] the label but here is something to think about before

[00:26:48] you jump to going and buying a phosphorus fertilizer

[00:26:52] phosphorus availability decreases in the soil when the

[00:26:57] soil has a high pH so it's very important to maintain

[00:27:01] the proper pH level for phosphorus uptake so make

[00:27:05] sure that you're checking your pH level before you

[00:27:08] assume that your soil doesn't have enough phosphorus

[00:27:12] it may just mean the phosphorus can't get to the

[00:27:14] plant because the pH is too high of course after

[00:27:17] applying any kind of phosphorus fertilizer you

[00:27:19] want to water the plants thoroughly again just to

[00:27:22] make sure you get those nutrients to move into the

[00:27:24] root zone and then finally let's talk about potassium

[00:27:28] deficiency this is going to manifest itself in

[00:27:32] weak stems so they may be prone to bending or even

[00:27:35] breaking you can see yellowed edges or the

[00:27:39] tips of the leaves look like they have literally

[00:27:43] been burned we call this leaf scorch it looks

[00:27:45] like they are burned all along those outer

[00:27:48] margins potassium deficiency can also lead to fewer

[00:27:52] flowers or fruits or they just have a really low

[00:27:56] quality or they're really small and then the plants

[00:27:59] themselves may just grow really slowly and that's

[00:28:04] when they don't have enough potassium so as far as

[00:28:08] organic potassium fertilizers were back to

[00:28:11] wood ash and it is not fast acting we know that

[00:28:15] in this instance you would be doing it rather

[00:28:17] than tilling it into or turning it into the soil

[00:28:20] you're just going to sprinkle it lightly around the

[00:28:21] plants and water it in just remember again this

[00:28:24] might possibly change the soil pH so there's got

[00:28:27] to be a little give and take there make sure that

[00:28:29] you're not using too much make sure that you're

[00:28:32] checking your pH as you go along the inorganic

[00:28:35] or synthetic version of this is potassium sulfate

[00:28:39] and this has got an MPK ratio of zero zero

[00:28:42] 50 so really really high on the potassium end so

[00:28:48] obviously very quickly available for plant uptake

[00:28:51] you will either mix this into the soil or apply it as

[00:28:54] a side dressing the rate is usually about one or two

[00:28:59] tablespoons per plant but specifically follow the

[00:29:02] package instructions and again potassium availability

[00:29:07] just like phosphorus decreases in high pH soil

[00:29:11] so if your plants look like they have a potassium

[00:29:14] deficiency check your soil pH if it's above seven point

[00:29:17] oh that may be the real issue just like with

[00:29:19] phosphorus so feed the plants what they need but

[00:29:23] then work on your soil

[00:29:28] OK so here's the gist of all of this test your

[00:29:31] soil in the fall amend at that point with slow

[00:29:35] release amendments test again in the spring to see

[00:29:39] if there's still a deficiency or if you're

[00:29:41] testing for the first time and you find a problem

[00:29:43] then use some faster acting organic soil amendments

[00:29:47] if your plants start showing signs of deficiencies

[00:29:50] during the growing season find the best fertilizer

[00:29:53] for the job and feed the plants while continuing

[00:29:57] to work on improving your soil do the best you

[00:30:00] can with what you can get your hands on and

[00:30:03] understand that maintaining the soil to grow

[00:30:07] plants that are not native to that soil can be

[00:30:12] a challenge and you are not alone in this until

[00:30:16] next time my gardening friends keep on cultivating

[00:30:18] that dream garden we'll talk again soon thanks for

[00:30:21] listening to another episode of just grow

[00:30:23] something podcast for more information about

[00:30:25] today's topic and to find all the ways you

[00:30:27] can get in touch with me or support the show

[00:30:29] go to just grow something podcast dot com

[00:30:34] it's derived from dried blood which gives a

[00:30:36] kind of quick nutrition boosts

[00:30:38] nutrition i did that again

[00:30:42] until next time my gardening friends keep

[00:30:44] learning and keep growing