NPK Values

[The Helpful Gardener]

I have an addition!

Found the NPK value for cocoa hulls in the American Horticultural Society's Encyclopedia (a most wonderful tome).

3-1-3.2 (not to mention lots of humic acids and trace elements)

GOOD STUFF!

Scott

[opabinia51]

I need to get a bag of those! I think I'll drive out to Home Depot today to see if they have them. (As per Val's advice)

[grandpasrose]

I hope you find them! If not, do you have a Rona store? That is where I got some as well as my farmer's co-op. Maybe I could send you some if you send me some seaweed!!!!(ya right!)
VAL

[Grey]

Seaweed would do wonders for my garden too - look it's an entreprenurial opportunity! Find a way to ship seaweed (without making the mailman keel over from the odor) and I'll send... GA clay? Not much else in abundance around here. But the clay has shown me it's pretty healthy stuff! I've never had a tomato plant like these before.

[opabinia51]

Actually you guys, there is a product called Kelp Meal that you can get. It's a dried version of seaweed. And I am almost certain that the meal would have more than just kelp in it. Probably a few members of chlorophyta like Ulva and what not and perhaps a few Red Algaes as well.

Val, if you and your husband ever do a trip to Bella Coola, bring some sealable buckets for when you are at any beaches. Or, I guess it would be Bella Bella techniquely speaking. Anyway, somewhere to the West of you is the Great Wide Pacific.

Oh and by the way. The green algae fround in lakes and ponds, works wonders for the garden. Reading Gaia's Garden will tell you why, just ask the brothers on Orcas Island, Washington USA; they put it in their permaculture garden (more like a forest) and reap the wonders.

[grandpasrose]

I know about the algae from ponds, cause we use it from our own pond. Do you know anything about the long feathery type plants that grow in the fresh water lakes? I am not sure what they are, but wonder if they might be similar?
I have put kelp meal in my rose garden, but I still think the true kelp would be better. When my grandfather was alive (15 years ago) he used to have his daughter from White Rock save plastic bags full of dried kelp off the beaches there for him so he could put them on the roses. I remember how stinky they were by the time they got here!!!!
Thanks Opa for the help.
VAL

[opabinia51]

Actually if you look at the NPK thread; apparently dried seaweed has more nutrients available for plants to use than does fresh seaweed. So, I would think that Kelp meal would actually be better. Though, I personally really like adding the Chlorophyta, Phaephyta and Rodophyta as a good mix to my garden. I also add a light spreading of kelp meal in April though.

Oh yeah, the feathery plant in lakes and ponds is actually not an algae. It is a so called primitive vascular plant. (as far as I know). I'm blanking on it's name and I don't have any nutrient values for you.

I'm just trying to think of someone whom I can ask about that.... Maybe a person in the Herbarium at UVIC. I'll get back to you.

[grandpasrose]

Probably the dried kelp has more nutrients than the fresh because it is concentrated more (no water volume).
I'm sure curious to find out about the lake plants - we have them growing out at our cabin at Quesnel Lake. If they are good, I'll haul them home!
Thanks for checking Opa!
VAL

[opabinia51]

Well, that is an interesting subject that you bring up because, the nutrients are always there, but after drying they just become more concentrated. Perhaps in the wet seaweed (with water in it) the nutrients are more easily leached from the seaweed.

I don't know, I'll have to look into that.

I'll check on that plant for you, I'm sure it would be good (it wouldn't be bad), I just don't know what the nutrient values for it would be.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Careful moving those pond plants. Many are invasives and are illegal to transport ANYWHERE, so watch out for DEP...

Scott

[grandpasrose]

What's DEP?
VAL

[The Helpful Gardener]

Department of Environmental Protection (our state level crew)...

[grandpasrose]

Oh.....I see! We don't have those up here.
I was meaning that I would bring the plants out of the lake home to put in my compost, not to put in my pond. You're very right, they would take over my little pond in no time!!
VAL

[The Helpful Gardener]

Got ya, but in our state, moving those invasives ANYWHERE is a crime. Forewarned is forearmed...

[opabinia51]

The plant that val is talking about is actually part of the local flora in our province. So, I don't think it will be a problem.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Because I live in the original colonies ,many of the plants that people think of as natives are actually European intros. Parrot feather is a really common one here that is being spread, mostly by trailered boats. Aquatic invaders have that most pernicious of vectors, water, to move around in, so they spread even quicker than most...

Scott

[grandpasrose]

I'm pretty sure this isn't parrot feather, because it doesn't survive the winter here. It's like a fresh water seaweed. I'm going to do a little investigating on the web myself and let ya know!
VAL

[grandpasrose]

I've looked at the web, and I'm pretty sure the plant I am referring to is "potamogeton crispus" or curled pondweed. It is on the canadian plant lists as "possibly invasive" in areas where winter kill does not occur, which I guess lets us out up here!
Still not sure what nutrient value it has though, if any.
VAL

[The Helpful Gardener]

Best to know before you move them...

[grandpasrose]

I don't see an address Opa?
VAL

[opabinia51]

I think I pm'ed it to you. Could you put it up there for me?

[grandpasrose]

This is the address you PM'd me, but it is for the U.S., so when you referred to BC invasive plants, I thought you meant a different one!

http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/prof ... tics.shtml

Thanks a bunch Opa!
VAL

[opabinia51]

Hmmmm, let me see.... well, here is Canada Government publication but, it isn't the site that I meant to put up here. Strange.


http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publication ... ndex_e.cfm

[grandpasrose]

Thanks Opa! You always have your fingers on everything!
VAL

[DoubleDogFarm]

[LindsayArthurRTR]

But the clay has shown me it's pretty healthy stuff! I've never had a tomato plant like these before.

Yeah! Here here!

[tomf]

This is very interesting, I mostly use stuff from the yard to compost with house scraps and maybe some manure. My gole is to get to 100% organic.

[The Helpful Gardener]

And a fine goal at that, Tom!

HG

[Radwan]

No words to describe the beauty of your info OPA.
thanks a lot

[losingamy]

LOVE IT! Thank you so much for posting this. I'm new to gardening, but was determined to be organic from the get go. Now I have an idea about what I put in my compost and how it effects the NPK values.

[vermontkingdom]

Congrats on going organic and welcome to gardening. You will find, as I have over some 50 years of gardening, that there will be, as Jim McKay used to say in sports but is true of gardening as well, thrills of victory and the agony defeat. Learn all you can from family, friends and garden site members who have tried it all before and you too will enjoy the journey.

[workwithnature]

I have never seen such a good list. David

[Tilde]

So glad I peeked at the thread. Good to know some of this for my composting ...

[imafan26]

Impressive list. I did not realize tobacco leaves had so much nitrogen. Is it safe to compost considering tobacco may have tobacco mozaic virus which can infect many plants?

[farmerlon]

I have 8 pages of this stuff... .

Very interesting lists; thanks for posting.
I was curious to know more about your source(s) for the list?

[affgar]

Very cool information. Thanks!

Understanding your soil & what it needs is the hard part I guess.
I made up a cool fertiliser using corn meal, blood & bone, dolomite line, seaweed meal & a few other goodies. It really pumped my vegetable garden along lol

Permaculture & organic compost methods are great too.

Very helpful thanks

[imafan26]

Another list of NPK of everything including manures.

Realize that source material for the compost and feed for the animals will impact the final product.

The nature of organic "fertilizers" is such that it is mostly in a form that needs to be mineralized by the soil microbes and the mineralization rate is affected by many factors such as temperature, moisture, the type and number of organisms present, etc. Nitrogen is released slowly so the total nitrogen is not available or in a form that is readily absorbable immediately.

http://www.lundproduce.com/N-P-K-Value- ... thing.html

[caters]

how come you don't have the NPK for cow manure or chicken manure?

[applestar]

A couple more resources with analysis of organic fertilizers:

http://www.mofga.org/LinkClick.aspx?fil ... &tabid=133

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/234.html

[goodngreen]

I'm new today is my first day and I'm overjoyed and very thankful for this info. I just started having compost workshops and this would be excellent to share with my gardeners. Thank you for sharing.