"Frank" wrote in message
...
jeff wrote:
Frank wrote:
Billy wrote:
In article
,
Eddie G wrote:

Hi,

I'm a pharmacist and have some potassium nitrate in the pharmacy. Can
I use this next spring in my vegetable garden? If so, how much? Just
a small dusting and work it into the ground? Can or should I work it
in the ground now and let it sit all winter?

Thanks!!

My post may attract a "crazy", but my investigation into chemferts
(a.k.a chemical fertilizers) boils down to them being bad for the soil,
if used as directed, or in greater amounts, and bad for the plants
which seem to love them. They are bad for the plants because the
nitrogen is stored in the plant leaves, and the nitrogen encourages
fast growth, which leads to young, tender, leaves that become targets
for insects.
If you insist on using your nitrates, grow "organically", and use the
nitrates, at 1/4 strength or less, as a performance enhancer.

Does this mean the original saltpeter from decayed organic material is
superior to chemically prepared material? I think not.


I believe the point Billy makes is that salting the soil (which is what
chemical fertilizers are) is not a fine idea as it kills soil organisms.
This makes sense to me. Is not Potassium Nitrate a salt?

Jeff

Of course, but my point is that an organic farmer might consider it
synthetic while in past years it was a naturally occurring material.
The world and the soil is full of salts.

indeed Frank. However to my simplistic manner of thinking, the issue is in
what form the salts, minerals etc occur and how they are used within the
soil to benefit the plants. That is, how the items occurring in the soil and
the inputs we add provide a benefit to our soils which them provide benefits
to our plants. The other way is seemingly to treat the soil simply as a
place to site the plant and simply bypass it and provide the inpits directly
to the plant. Sort of like maybe eating a nice meal versus injecting a
nutritional fluid in to our body.

rob