This past Sunday I was trying to take back my yard from the
weeds that have grown since February when the spring season hit at Possum’s (what’s
the saying about the shoeless cobbler) and I got hit with an unexpected rain
shower as I was finishing up about 3
hours of spraying.
I guess I will have a good idea how long it took for my concoction
to become rain fast. Hopefully, where the spray had a chance to dry, the
spreader sticker helped out, but there were other areas that didn’t have a
chance to dry.
While spraying in my beds, I did notice a huge number of
moths, which usually indicates a worm attack is not too far away. Time to get
out a little preventive worm killer it looks like. If you have ever experienced
worm damage, you know it hits your lawn hard and fast, so preventative applications
will keep you from having any surprises if you go out of town or even take a
long nap! The worm season so far this year has been weird – very spotty.
As the summertime heat and humidity begin to move into the
Lowcountry, I want to remind you of some of the benefits of using organic
fertilizers, composts, mulch, wetting agents with biostimulants, and bridge
products. Some of the things I write about are generalizations (ex. 10-10-10 is
all synthetic – a fertilizer blender could put organic filler in the formula,
but not likely).
When you purchase a typical 10-10-10 fertilizer, you are
getting 30% nutrients and the rest of the bag is probably not used by the plant.
Filler usually consists of drying agents to keep the fertilizer from absorbing
moisture and becoming clumpy. Filler is also limestone (might get a little
calcium or magnesium benefit) or other non-nutritional ingredients (including
rocks). The nutrients in a 10-10-10 are water soluble so the plant can absorb
them. The 10-10-10 is usually all fast release, so once it goes out on the
ground, the plant better be ready to take it in, or the Nitrogen (what part
hasn’t already volatized into the atmosphere as N2 gas) and the Potassium will
leach through the soil profile or run-off into non-target areas.
Unlike humans, plants uptake only the nutrients that they
need. No obese plants out there! A natural or organic fertilizer may have a
lower N-P-K ratio; however, all the ingredients are either a food source for soil
organisms, plant essential minerals or micro-nutrients. Organic fertilizers are
not water soluble, and depend on beneficial soil organisms to convert the
nutrients into a form that the plant can uptake. This is the same process that
feeds the trees from fallen leaves and limbs in the woods. This process is the
true, original slow release fertilizer. Nothing is lost to evaporation or
run-off which is good with all the water around here. If you own a pig (cattle,
chicken) farm along a river and we have excessive rainfall, you could have some
run off into the river; however, that is from surface run off and not leaching.
With an organic fertilizer you generally have slow steady
growth as the soil organisms meter out the nutrients. Slow steady growth is
easier to maintain and less susceptible to disease and insect attack. The plant
will grow deeper roots, making it more drought tolerant; therefore requiring
less water (lower water bill).
A 10-10-10 might cause “flush growth” that requires more
hedge trimming or mowing. The plant will be more susceptible to disease and
insects. Excessive fertilization could also add to thatch in the lawn areas. A
plant that is putting out a lot of new growth is often sacrificing root growth
for top growth and the landscape needs more water as a result.
