Quote:
Originally Posted by bower
Well Worth is right, it all depends on what's in the soil to begin with, so if your plants are responding the way you want them to, that's what matters!
I've seen my mom get a great crop of slicers from a container plant just using fish emulsion, that is highest in N, some P and no K.
I'm personally a little paranoid this year about the K situation for my plants after two years of K deficiency issues and two changes of the container soil, not sure I got it right. I used more peat than compost and I didn't see the kind of fruit growth I expected. The plants responded well to the 5-4-3 chicken manure product and extra compost but roots were to the surface in a week. So I wanted a fert that is soluble organic and meant for tomatoes, this is the only soluble thing I could find.
Today I watered early in the morning, and then diluted the stuff to full strength and applied that mid morning, also a good bit more than the first time, so we shall see if there's a noticeable response. I do think N plays a role in getting a good fruit size, so if this doesn't produce some fruit growth I may try alternating with fish emulsion for the N punch, as I think I have a small bit of it left.
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Potassium is one of the most plentiful nutrients around but if you are having issues with K deficiency in containers it's either a real deficiency or it's an induced deficiency. K competes with magnesium and calcium and even too much N may limit uptake of K and other nutrients in some circumstances.
If you think you have a real K deficiency, Potassium Sulfate, Potassium Magnesium Sulfate are soluble natural sources. Soluble Kelp Powder is also high in K since it was hydrolyzed with Potassium Hydroxide.