My neighbor just gave me the remaining portion of his gallon jug of Dr. Earth "liquid bloom" organic fertilizer! he claims it doesn't work... ok... either way, ive been getting into organic gardening/fertilizing myself for the first time this spring and I thought his timing was great! the instructions on the bottle say, "3 tablespoons per gallon of water; every 7-10 days or as needed." ok, I get the "7-10 days" thing. but im wondering if theres some useful hints regarding the, "as needed" part? does, "i need more blooms!!!" satisfy the "as needed" part? haha!

That's sort of like a Rx label saying take every 4-6 hours or as needed. Does that mean you can take it every 2 hours or perhaps only need to take it once a day/week/month? Labels need to give directions not confuse the reader.

If I were using that blooming fertilizer, I would dilute it, perhaps 1 tbl. per gal. and apply it every time I watered.

thats the same thing I was thinking, Dawg. that's how I use my organic 4-1-1 fish emulsion on our 65 hostas. Ive been diluting it to half strength and using it every two weeks since mid feb. when the new shoots started showing. our hostas are thriving to say the least!! I just wasn't sure if "bloom booster" worked on the same level without causing unintended harm.

I Googled to find out more about it but I can't find any mention of Dr. Earth 0-6-0 liquid fertilizer. Is it an old product? Do you know for sure that your soil needs phosphorous?

does it work on plants that have a very specific bloom window, where they only bloom for a short period than then they're done for the season? such as peonies, or Asiatic/Oriental lily's...? ive heard bloom boost can "force" certain plants to produce more flower buds to prolong their bloom times, but im curious as to what degree that theory holds true...

Any fertilizer low in nitrogen will typically boost blooming. The nitrogen in the formula is used by plants more for vegetative growth.

sooby - opps! my mistake, its not Dr. Earth, it Peaceful Valley. I was searching Dr. Earth earlier and must have gotten it stuck in my head... and yes, it appears to be an older bottle. the label is worn and the plastic bottle itself appears to have been around the block a few times. perhaps its not working for my neighbor because its lost its ability to do its job?

Jason, here is some info from PVFS on their fertilizer... I hope this helps.


http://www.groworganic.com/rpk...

and some info on the way plants utilize phosphorus and general info on phosphorus efficacy and fertilizer efficiency .

http://passel.unl.edu/pages/in...

riverman123 said: perhaps its not working for my neighbor because its lost its ability to do its job?

Not sure, according to the website it is derived from rock phosphate. Whether the formulation deteriorates over time I don't know. I notice it also contains 6% calcium, perhaps also from the rock phosphate.

Assuming it doesn't deteriorate somehow, effectiveness depends on the plant and how it is being used (soil or container). If it's applied to the garden soil and there's already adequate phosphorus in that soil then extra P most likely won't do anything even in those plants that respond to it for flowering (which isn't all of them). Also if you go too high with phosphorus it can cause deficiencies of other nutrients.

If you're using it in potted plants you still need to provide the other nutrients as well.

I really like this type of fertilizer for my potted heavy bloomers. Here are pictures of the same two plants, photographed on the same day; the only real difference in their care regime is that the second one received bloom booster regularly after the fist bud was seen. The plant in the first picture wasn't as easily accessible, so it was skipped more often than not. Both of these plants (and any others I use this on) start out getting a balanced fertilizer. It doesn't seem to make any helpful difference if the bloom booster applications are begun before bloom-set. In fact, I think it swings more to the detrimental side of the equation. Plants don't grow as well as they should.


Hope this helps.

Okay, help me out here -- fertilizer is always listed as NPK; I know nitrogen is "leaves," so the phosphorus is "flowers" and potassium is "roots" (in a very basic manner of speaking, I realize...) I can never remember which is which, other than the N.

weedwacker - sounds like you got it.

There are some variations but a common saying is nitrogen for leaves, phosphorus for roots and flowers and potassium for stems, and yes it is an oversimplification and often misleading. Modern recommendations are to stick more with lower phosphorous fertilizers (something like a ratio of 3-1-2) unless you know for sure that your soil is deficient in P because many/most garden soils are adequate or already have too much. Much better to get a soil analysis and fertilize accordingly.

My great Aunt taught me an easy way to remember....I was 8 at the time...

NPK...
Nitrogen, nice and green
Phosphorus, pretty flowers and plentiful roots
Potassium (K), keeps plants strong