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kelp meal for foliar feeding ?

Posted by lesmatzek209 ca. zone 9 (My Page) on
Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 9:39

hi friends,

can a person make a foliar feed tea out of kelp meal ?
thank,s in advance for any help you can give me.

les matzek


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: kelp meal for foliar feeding ?

  • Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
    Fri, Jul 3, 09 at 12:12

You can make it, but it won't be very effective. Only SOME plants can absorb an appreciable amount of nutrients by way of a foliar pathway. The nutrients they DO absorb need to be in ionic form, and organic preparations like fish and seaweed emulsions are very heavy in organic molecules which cannot be absorbed and very weak in nutrients in ionic form. Also, cultural conditions on leaf surfaces are generally not conducive to further breakdown of organic molecules into ionic form.

The good news is it won't hurt anything (as long as you don't mix it too strong) & the organic molecules will eventually be washed from leaf surfaces where they will end up in the soil to eventually be broken down by soil biota into nutrients the plant CAN use.

Weak doses of soluble fertilizers are far more effective at providing nutrients via foliar pathways.

Remember too, that there is no good reason to foliar feed unless there is a recognized nutritional deficiency and you're trying to temporarily alleviate it. The soil to root path Mother Nature designed is much more effective at supplying necessary nutrition for nearly ALL the plants we would be discussing on this forum. You can't force-feed a plant, and common hort sense says you shouldn't try. ;o)

Al


 
 

 

 


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