Ironite Vinegar and MG.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I set the Ortho dial and spray dial on 8 oz and put filled it up with 5% acidity vinegar then sprayed 2 5X12 beds with it.
The ground foamed when it hit.

You should try 1-0-1 Ironite.

Worth

I'm going to keep your recipe. Every summer and winter, in the heat and cold I have iron deficiency symptoms. Especially the peppers and hibiscus. Lemons, too.
I may have to give some foliar feeding a try, myself. It's getting really hot early here and my plants aren't far enough along.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by TigersAU777

I also have alkaline soil...but dont have the spray and dial. I have a pump spray bottle that is 40 oz. can you tell me approximately what percentage of vinegar to water i would need? Also would boric acid work or no?

Stay away from the boric acid! Borax toxicity is horrible and it doesn't take much to make soil toxic to plants.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I'm going to keep your recipe. Every summer and winter, in the heat and cold I have iron deficiency symptoms. Especially the peppers and hibiscus. Lemons, too.
I may have to give some foliar feeding a try, myself. It's getting really hot early here and my plants aren't far enough along.

Tracy the Ironite I use was put on the ground at about 1/2 inch to 1 inch spacing between granules.
I just slung it on by hand.
I have been Doctoring my neighbors yard that adjoins mine.
He is stumped as to why that part of the yard looks so much better than the rest of his yard.
He knows I'm up to something he just doesn't know what it is.

Worth

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by tedln

Worth, I'm also growing in raised beds and you are right. The minerals and nutrients leach out the bottom of the beds unless you seal them on the bottom with plastic or something. I didn't seal mine because I wanted the earth worms to be able to move around at will. I can tell my beds leach by the growth rate of the grass growing in the walk ways between my beds. I treat all my beds the same when preparing them through the winter. I then treat each plant type individually as required through the season based on growth, production, and foliage color. I noticed this morning one of my cucumber beds was exhibiting yellowing leaves with the yellow color extending into the fruit that has set the last few days. Normally that sign indicates low nitrogen and iron. I lowered the timed water to the bed to reduce leaching and applied some nitrogen fertilizer and some Ironite and watered it in. Within two or three days, the cucumber plants should return to their normal dark green color. We have experienced a few days of hot and very windy weather. That usually means the tomato plants will be pulling a lot more moisture from the soil to replace the excessive moisture lost by increased transpiration. When that happens, it interferes with the calcium uptake rate resulting in some blossom end rot on the developing fruit. I added some Ironite to my tomatoes last week and watered it in well to compensate for the lower calcium uptake to the fruit. Hopefully the problem is resolved before it occurs. Ted

I never thought to use ironite for the calcium with BER caused by heat/transpiration! Dang, that's the problem I'm having with my Striped Romans right now. I put gypsum around them last night and watered them with some fish emulsion. I was hoping the sulphur and calcium in the gypsum would help.
I've not used ironite for this purpose but have used it for Worth's problem with very quick results.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Tracy the Ironite I use was put on the ground at about 1/2 inch to 1 inch spacing between granules.
I just slung it on by hand.
I have been Doctoring my neighbors yard that adjoins mine.
He is stumped as to why that part of the yard looks so much better than the rest of his yard.
He knows I'm up to something he just doesn't know what it is.

Worth

Ha ha! Hasn't he seen the ironite bag? It says "it greens up lawns fast" or something like that.

Tracy, The gypsum will work also. I used to pulverize old gypsum wall board into powder and use it. I wouldn't do it with modern wall board because it contains so many other products I don't want in the garden. I like the Ironite because it contains so many minerals in one application. Ted

[TigersAU777]

I ended up applying bone meal for calcium and gave a vinegar solution treatment as well to give my soil more acidity. There was a soil acidifier at home depot but it was granular and seemed like it would take a while to take effect. I am also considering adding an iron supplement but from what I am reading the alkaline soil could just be blocking the plant from absorbing iron that is there. Should I wait and see if the vinegar works or go ahead and add something with iron? Also can I get ANY molasses for my plants or is it specific kinds?

I've seen symptoms of iron deficiency this year in some of our perennial beds. I put down some Texas greensand and it cleared it right up. I figured that the other trace minerals in the sand would also be helpful for the plants. I liked it so much, I think I will start to add some to each raised bed in the spring. It took about a week to see results on our perennials, so the ironite might be a faster option as well.

[TigersAU777]

I could not find 1-0-1 ironite in a small enough bag at home depot so I bought the 12-10-10 Ironite plus with 2% Iron. I have held off on my fertilizer for several days so that I could apply it without fear of burning. I put approximately 1 Tbsp. per 5 gallon container that I have. Is this enough or could I stand to put more?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by TigersAU777

I could not find 1-0-1 ironite in a small enough bag at home depot so I bought the 12-10-10 Ironite plus with 2% Iron. I have held off on my fertilizer for several days so that I could apply it without fear of burning. I put approximately 1 Tbsp. per 5 gallon container that I have. Is this enough or could I stand to put more?

Lowes has the small bag of 1-0-1

Worth

[TigersAU777]

Well I bought the 12-10-10 lol...do u know how much of IT i should use?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by TigersAU777

Well I bought the 12-10-10 lol...do u know how much of IT i should use?

I have no idea sorry.

Worth

I'm starting a new fescue lawn in the front and back of our house. We built a new house in Jaunary and the soil around the house is almost devoid of minerals and nutrients. I will be putting a 40 lb bag of 13-13-13 fertilizer and a large bag of Ironite on the front lawn and the same on the back lawn. The total area is not very large. In the garden, I usually mix the same fertilizer and Ironite at a 50/50 ratio in a 42 oz coffee can and store the can in the garden. Some vegetables like cucumbers and squash are nitrogen and mineral hogs requiring frequent applications by hand. I can't even guess at the amount for each application. My tomatoes rarely require extra nutrients through the growing season. One of the reasons I plant my tomato seedlings really deep is to allow them to benefit from the nutrients leaching downward through the beds all season.

Ted

[TigersAU777]

Well, I am only really applying it for the Iron...and I will probably lay off of any fertilizers that are not organic for a while to make sure I dont burn my plants. How much of the 1-0-1 would I put per plant? Thanks for putting up with all the questions Worth. I am a total noob!!!

[TigersAU777]

NM...using a little math and a scale to weigh a tbsp I came up with about 2-3 tbsp for all my plants the 12-10-10 based on the bag saying to use 1.5-3 lb for 300 square feet. Thanks again Worth for all the help you have given me on here!