Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
plentyofslow-releasenutrientsthatwillcontinuetobereleasedthroughthenaturalcyclesofthemicrobial
life, but the “Big Bang” effects of those nutrients burn out rather quickly.
REV'S TIP
High-phosphorus bird and bat guanos are very acidic and will quickly lower
the pH of your soil mix, so it is not a good idea to mix these globally. This is due to their highly
available levels of phosphorus, which is proven to discourage fungi and algae in things like golf
course ponds and home water features. This includes the all powerful and beloved Mycorrhizal
fungus, so that puts bird and bat guano soil additions out of favor with TLO growers. You'll notice
the 2.1 soil mix calls for zero high-phosphorus bird or bat guano mixed globally, and there's a good
reason. However, I do love high-phosphorus guanos in special nutrient blends I use for layers or
spikes, for flowering plants.
I use the Down to Earth brand feather meal
Feather meal
is very out of the ordinary and is a fantastic element in your TLO soil mix. N-P-K ratios on
thisoneusuallyarearound12-0-0,butitisavery“slowburning”sourceofnitrogen,anditlastsforalong
time,eveninsupernaturallivingsoilmixes.Calciumisanotherbenefitfromfeathermeal,andwhileread-
ingthis topic youwillhearalotabouthowveryimportantbothnitrogenandcalciumaretoallthesoillife.
Take a look at pretty much any good, all-purpose, dry organic fertilizer and you will see “feather meal” in
the “derived from” portion of the label. There's a very good reason for this; this slow-release nitrogen is
wonderful for larger flowering plants in an organic garden.
You might read various opinions regarding feather meal, such as someone's belief that the bio-avail-
ability of nitrogen in feather meal may be very low, or how nematodes and bacteria are the primary de-
composers of feather meal. I can tell you firsthand that it is an extended-release nitrogen source, and just
like any other nutrient, you can overdose your soil mix with it, causing problems and burning your plants.
Feather meal is a byproduct of the poultry industry, and another perk of using it is that it brings calcium to
your mix. Feather meal gives a continuous medium to slow nitrogen feed for about 10 weeks or so in my
experience, and I dearly love this stuff.
