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| I live in the rainy PNW, and I have sandy soil, which has caused a boron deficiency. I understand that boron must be available so calcium can transport nutrients into and out of the cells -- "Calcium is the truck, but boron is the driver".
Since I found some specific directions at http://www.soilminerals.com/information.htm (near the bottom) for using 20 Mule Team Borax (about 10% boron) as a soil amendment, I shall be using that: "7 ounces of 20 Mule Team Borax per 1000 square feet equals approximately 1 part per million of boron. Take it easy. As noted above, a boron deficiency can be induced simply by dry soil. Don't add boron without a soil test that indicates a need for it. 1-2 ppm per year is maximum." I have recently heard of the ag product Granubor, which is 15% boron. The only amount recommendation I can find says, "To calculate the amount of Granubor 2 required, multiply the elemental boron by 7.0". Fine. But what does "multiply the elemental boron by 7.0" MEAN??? Please use small words and short sentences. My ADD sometimes causes me to have trouble understanding complicated concepts that a 6-yr-old would understand the first time around. Thanks! Sue |
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| Boron is an essential plant micro nutrient, but just a little too much in the soil causes toxicity concerns. Nothing i have found tells me that Boron is that essential to Calcium utilization although Magnesium is. There are numerous things a Boron deficiency might cause, fruit cracking, stem cracking, etc. How do you know there is a Boron deficiency in your soil? Did a good, reliable soil test indicate that? How much organic matter is in your soil? |
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| We have the same problem out here, high annual precip and well-drained soils. All soil tests I have done give very low B, even in the best soils. According to some, low B is a primary cause of crops being vulnerable to insect predation among other problems. So I have been using borax for a couple of years, and the results seem to have been good, except for one case where I stupidly tried to distribute it without a filler material and temporarily caused an excess in some small areas. As Kim says it goes to toxicity very easily, but this can be very easily avoided by NOT spreading borax straight. What I do is mix it thoroughly with lime and spread them both. I put the lime in a five gallon bucket and throw the borax on top, then mix it in with a large drill and a paddle such as is used to mix plaster. Or one could do it in a wheelbarrow and mix it up with a hoe. Out here the soil as an endless thirst for calcium so it it's a great method. I have had no toxicity problems doing it that way. Soil with nearly immeasurable B, like mine here in MA, can easily take 30 lbs of borax per acre per year, at least for a few years. And unless the OM is built up to high levels the B is constantly leaching. For example, at my florida place B was not measurable, and at less than 1.5 % soil OM it would be pretty much a waste of time and money to add borax without something for it to stick to like humate or bio-char or at least a very mature compost. |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Aug 12, 12 at 15:05
| Western WA soil are often low in boron. The attached link may be helpful in understanding this phenomenon. It is still important to have a test done before supplementing with boron. |
Here is a link that might be useful: PNW boron deficiency
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 12 at 13:27
| Belgian, I think what that 7.0 factor means is that the product is 15% B or 1/7th (approximately). So if you have a soil test that recommends that you add x pounds of boron per 1000 sq. ft. (or per acre), multiply that by 7 and add that much of the product to obtain the appropriate amount of elemental boron. |
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| Which is why 30 lbs borax per acre is pretty safe. Borax is about 11% B, so 30 lbs is a little over 3 lbs of B. 2 million pounds of soil per acre means that is adding about 1.5 parts per million. |
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- Posted by belgianpup Wa/Zone 7b (My Page) on Sat, Aug 18, 12 at 17:40
| Okay, thanks Toxcrusadr! That makes more sense. One would think that when a person was writing the instructions for Granubor (for the people who needed to read the instructions), they could have added very few extra words to make it clear: Instead of "multiply the elemental boron by 7.0" maybe something like "multiply the elemental boron recommended in your soil test by 7.0". I believe 20 Mule Team Borax has been an American company since the beginning, so there shouldn't be any excuse about 'English as a third language' problem from a foreign country, unless they outsource their advertising. Or, their advertising company is a victim of our public school system. Again, thanks for the info. Sue |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 12 at 10:26
| Bad writin will be the future downfalling of sivilization. Together with bad readin and rithmetic. :-) Happy gardening! |
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| More likely bad farmin' |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 10:46
| Good point! Although civilization can disappear but farming still continue. Just look at parts of rural Missouri. :-p I'm here all week, try the veal! |
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| In all my travels in all the States I think Missouri was the rudest, very closely followed by Arkansas. |
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- Posted by toxcrusadr (My Page) on Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 13:21
| We don't take kindly to outsiders. "You ain't from around here, are ya boy?" LOL |
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| Actually, I'll amend that, I think we did encounter one or two friendly people in MO; I can't recall a single one in Arkansas. |
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