Specifically, the weekly fertilizer mix uses...

* Nitrogen
* Phosphorus
* Magnesium Sulfate
* Potassium
* Boron
* Manganese
* Zinc
* Iron
* Copper Sulfate
* Molybdenum

I know that's all largely just materials straight from the periodic table and many of those things are already in soil...but just feels odd.

Maybe I'm being overly cautious?

My soil mixture will be 75% sawdust (actual dust...not shavings/chips) and 25% sand...as recommended in the book.

It's a bit wasteful in nutrient use and ends up dumping a lot in the bottom of the soil underneath the sand/sawdust mixture over time.

Some people like it, though.

That said, if one buys into such unusual experimental methods you have to buy in whole hog for it to have any hope of working.

So if one wasn't comfortable (I wouldn't be either) with what is the primary element of the approach - the weekly need to dose with all that stuff - then why consider using the method at all?

but just feels odd.

Trust your instincts.

Dave

Joe

shpigford - you specifically asked if the chemicals are a problem so consider these points:

1) there is already ample evidence and publication of ground water and run-off contamination problems from agricultural excess with many of these. Yes they are all natural elements but that doesn't mean they cannot be toxic. Phosphorous especially.

So ground water contamination aside, if you live near a body of water, are adjacent to any wells, are on a septic system, or have any sort of ponds - natural or artificial - then yes, the use of this mixture on a weekly basis could create some serious problems for you.

2) even a raised bed, unless it is built with a solid bottom, drains into the surrounding soil and ground water. Since raised beds require more frequent watering because they dry out more quickly, all of these products will quickly be leaching out of the bed into the ground every time you water. Any of those components, when used in excess can lead to soil toxicity that is eventually reflected in the plants. Google boron, iron, and manganese soil toxicity for all the details on each.

Just a couple of things to consider.

Dave

Is this a method where you are actually buying all of those separately (if so - in what form and where?) or is there just a marketed fertilizer that is specific to this "method"?

I stick to organic fert once my plants are in the garden - I am a believer in soil building - but I recognized everything on your list as something I have seen listed in organic fertilizers of one kind or another.

So - it seems to me its more about the form in which these materials are added and the amounts that people are alarmed about.

Anyone doing container gardening is probably fertilizing this much arent they?

No mention was ever made of growing in sawdust! The garden itself and my property are on dune sand. It's incredibly fine and actually water repellent. Nary an organic particle anywhere to be found unless you put it there. Then it disappears in short order, as if it had been an unfortunate animal that wandered into quicksand.

Needless to say the initiator of the garden had trucked in all kinds of amended soil to make raised beds and I have, over time, added much organic material to my raised beds. But the sand always reappears. So the battle continues....

Back to Mittleider, but first a confession: I am a retired chemist. One of the things I tried to teach my students over the years was a respect for what chemicals can do for us, both good and bad. "Chemical-free" are fighting words. In a "chemical-free" world, this conversation would not be taking place. Nor would anything else. So I don't have a problem with chemicals, per se, which many people seem to regard as the work of the devil.

That said, I was amazed at the amount of fertilizer suggested for the method. Now my sand is essentially sterile, so I have to add all kinds of nutrients on a regular basis, and also have to add new organic matter as old disappears into the vast underground area where things organic go to die in this dune sand. Organic matter helps the sand absorb water (which otherwise runs off unless a real deluge comes and lasts (we should be so lucky).

I took two of my raised beds and planted the same plants, fertilizing one according to the Mittleider plan and one with an organic mixture I had recently come across (and still use). By harvest time it was a wash, but the Mittleider bed had required a lot of fussing every week, whereas the organic bed with its slower acting fertilizers took care of itself after the initial feeding when the bed was prepared.

I have to add that organic fertilizers are not necessarily "cheap", but they do the job.

One more thing: you have to do what works. In my case, with the sterile sand that constantly needs organic additions and will not retain any soluble nutrients for long, I face one additional challenge: low heat and summer fog. So my soils are typically colder than I would like. Of course I do all the usual things to warm them up, especially when warm season crops are planted.

But I have found that one part of Mittleider method works for me: when I prepare a bed for planting, I apply the suggested "starter" fertilizer mix and water it in. The next day I plant, using whatever amounts of the organic mix are appropriate for the plants going in. This works for me because the soluble chemicals from the Mittleider "starter" mix are immediately available, and my plants with their roots shivering in cool soil get a little boost to get them started.

I'm not sure that sawdust is much better than dune sand, but I would not go out of my way to find out.

>I took two of my raised beds and planted the same plants, fertilizing one according to the Mittleider plan and one with an organic mixture I had recently come across (and still use).

This particular method seems overly complicated to me, but it's not really different then typical container methods that use non-soil mixes. The chemicals you refer to are all vital to plant growth and life. Organic fertilizer provides the same ingredients - the exact same. No plant has ever been able to tell the difference between organic and 'chemical' fertilizer.

If there are any Mittleider method gardeners in Australia; I'd be interested to hear from you!

In the mean time Patricks tomatoes all have leaf curl from being in dry beds during 2 weeks of over 90 degree weather where at its peak hit 121 degrees. I was watering my tomatoes and potatoes twice a day during that and Patrick stuck to his schedule. in spite of the uncontrollable, his plants are HUGE. the Zucchini alone is producing 24" long behemoths, (see Image) and lots if them, I have some of the same plants as patrick (we germinate seedlings together) and mine are just starting to produce fruit, except the cherry tomatoes, I have gobs.

But Patricks garden is not without other problems, insects are devouring a lot of his greens and some fruit has blossom rot. and a coup[le of his plants have died for no apparent reason. and his peas took a serious hit from a fungus. My sweet pea flowers also contracted it.

I'll stick to my Organic ways. Patrick will learn and increase his knowledge and expertise, as do I. I do hope he pays a little more attention to what I'm doing... after all I started gardening at the age of 9, 50 years ago. I have learned a lot studying his method and realized I need to add some supplemental nutrients to get better yields and treat my very clay soil.
On the other side of the Mittleider coin we have harvested about 100 Lbs. of deliciousness and it is just the second week in June. So the method has merit!

I like merits of this method in spite of the start up costs. Those out there who a voraciously attacking the Mittleider method are probably the same folks who are afraid of GMO and bigfoot.

I tried the semi-hydroponics once few years ago. I found the need for keeping precise chemical levels, right temperature and humidity etc too difficult. It needed very regular attention, lot of measuring etc. I soon gave up and went back to the nature's way.

Tested by whom? A completely independent third party lab, not contracted by Dr. Mittleider?