Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
nicholas_delo

Organic Rose Foods

nicholas_delo 7a
9 years ago

Ok, this question is specifically about Rose Tone, which I have been using to good effect for the past few years.

Does Rose Tone, or any of the other Epsoma products, have a negative impact on soil health? I know they are organic in terms of makeup, but I am guessing the "organic" label has more ot do with the source of the ingredients than whether or not it is beneficial or detrimental to the microbial life of one's soil.

So that being said, do the Epsoma products lead to healthier soil or do they have the same effects as others of killing off microbial life?

I've been looking for the answer to this online and cannot find a clear, definitive answer.

Anyone?

Comments (10)

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    Check which "Tone" you're buying -- there are two lines. One states it is "rich in organics" but also contains synthetic fertilizers. Another line is all-organic. My opinion is that if you are adding lots of nutrient-poor mulch (such as wood chips), the addition of nutrient-rich organic fertilizers will help to convert the mulch to on-site compost over time. Others may have more specific opinions about which fertilizers work better, but for me, if the N-P-K numbers are similar, the choice comes down to cost per pound.

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • seil zone 6b MI
    9 years ago

    I use the Epsoma products and I think they're good fertilizers on the whole. Do make a comparison of them though. I found that the Rose Tone and Holly Tone products are virtually the same and the Holly Tone price is always less than the Rose Tone. Any time they can put "rose" in the title they tend to charge extra for it even though it's the same product.

  • nicholas_delo 7a
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for answer.

    I guess my real question is if the organic "Tone" products will kill the beneficial microbes or cause salt build-ups over time (I'm guessing no).

    My soil is a bit out of whack in my garden and needs some life in it. I've been amending it over the past few years with composted leaves from the township, but I think I need more beneficials bacteria to actually break down this rather monolithic layer of compost.

    I like the Epsoma products as they result in nice roses and flowers, but I just wanted to make sure that these are a part of my overall goal of soil life rather than soil death.

  • Jasminerose, California, USDA 9b/Sunset 18
    9 years ago

    As long as no pesticides are applied, adding organics should support existing populations of beneficial microbes in soil. Epsoma adds beneficial microbes to their Tone products, but it really isn't necessary as per what I read from the below link, "The Living Soil". As per the article, "Adding decomposing bacteria from a purchased product is generally not necessary, because decomposing soil organisms are already present in the soil. Even if their populations are low due to unfavorable conditions, as soon as organic matter and water become available their populations rapidly increase". So, in conclusion, adding organics (such as the ingredients in Rose Tone) in moderate amounts will help you to have "live" soil.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Living Soil

  • iowa_jade
    9 years ago

    I like leaf mulch myself. I think I stole over 32-40 leaf bags this year, mostly maple leaves plus my own of course.
    One tends to run out of browns in the summer. We have two huge compost bins we keep cooking.
    You may wish to start out a bit smaller.
    Foghorn L.
    IAGL

    Here is a link that might be useful: Soil, Compost and Mulch

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    9 years ago

    I hear you about "running out of browns in the summer" and want to offer a suggestion. First, do you have a leaf shredder, or do you use the leaves whole? If you do have a shredder, consider cardboard as a leaf substitute for "browns in the summer." Where I live, businesses put out their collapsed cardboard boxes for recycling pickup once a week. If your shredder can handle it, try it.

    If you don't have a shredder and need the "browns" for composting, consider using the cardboard as the "pasta" in a compost "lasagna", and throw your "greens" in between the cardboard layers. If you wet it down, the cardboard will bend to the shape of the pile beneath it. Then just dump more greens on top, then a layer of cardboard, etc.

    I'm trying to make a composting area and kill the persistent weeds there at the same time, so I'm doing the "cardboard lasagna" thing myself. I'm in no rush to "harvest" the compost, mainly trying to first kill the ivy and whatever this prickly reed-like herbaceous weed sending out runners is back there. The soil level is lower there, so my "lasagna" layers are helping to bring it up a bit. I've got tree branches, leaves, coffee filters and cardboard for "browns", while "greens" is anything from the yard, plus Milorganite and coffee grounds.

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • buford
    9 years ago

    Rose Tone won't negatively effect your soil the way chemical fertilizers like Miracle Gro will. But if I were you, I'd get a soil test first if you are having issues. There are so many variables that can effect the nutrients in the soil and how the plants can take them up.

    Compost isn't monolithic, but depending on the kind of leaves you are using, they could be changing the PH of the soil and that can greatly change the way the nutrients are available to the plants. A soil test will give you the PH, but you can also buy a PH meter or kit at a garden center. It's probably the most important factor after sunlight and water.

  • mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
    9 years ago

    Why do you think your soil is out of whack? Unless it's been hit with a lot of chemicals, it should have the normal amount of bacteria, insects, etc. What I have found is that the organic matter has to be dug into the soil originally. Piling it on top doesn't really do much.

  • nicholas_delo 7a
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I think its out of whack because when I started the garden the soil had been covered for at least a decade with thick plastic sheets, weed barriers and stone. When I uncovered it after buying my home, it was very very very dense clay with some odd pockets of soft, dry sand.

    So being a novice garden, I started a flower garden without amending the soil at all, and used a lot of things like miracle grow and Bayer products to help the plants eek out a horrible existence.

    Over the last few years I have been tilling leaf compost into the garden and using only the epsoma products for both flowers and roses. I do, however, still use a Bayer fungicide.

    Either way the Ph in my soil is still high, as it is in my well water in general. If I don't remediate this in my house with a water conditioner system, it pretty much destroys my pipes.

    In my garden, my roses suffer magnesium and iron deficiencies. I fix this with twice a summer applications of a liquid iron chleate and epsoms salts.

    What I am hoping is to get Ph level down through other means, but have yet to really take a crack at this.

    So that's my story.

    Cheers

  • mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
    9 years ago

    ???????

    Soil pH should have a high correlation with groundwater pH. So the soil pH is correct according to its own logic. It is going to take active work to lower it, because that is going to be an artificial construction - commonly known as sulfur. Basically, unless your pH is over 8, the problem isn't with the soil, but with what you think it should be. Adding organic matter will get is somewhat closer to 7, but not a lot.

    Basically, I've been there, done that. There are roses that much prefer an acidic soil that I don't grow. I also don't grow blueberries, azaleas, or any rose of multiflora heritage. If it likes a pH over 7, it grows like a weed.