GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

songbird[_2_] · 10-01-2014, 07:49 PM posted to alt.home.lawn.garden

wrote:

Common use fertilizer used to come pretty generic, like
8-8-8, 10-10-10, 13-13-13, with little-to-no
micro-nutrients. Last spring I started seeing something
different, like 10-10-10 with "up to 8% sulfur" and
"up-to-12% chlorine". That's not MICRO-nutrients!
I contacted the factory and asked why, and got weird
answers. "Soil needs sulfur and they are eliminating it
from industrial smokestacks", and "Don't use chlorine if
you plant tobacco" (what about veggies?)

i'm about the last person to ask about those type
of fertilizers as i've not used them for some years
now. next time i'm at a store i'll take a look and
see what they have on 'em.

sulfur would be ok in small amounts for a garden
that has a higher pH (8 or higher). they must be
talking about chlorine compounds and i'd not
generally want those as some might be as common as
table salt. for an arid climate or near arid climate
garden you really don't want to add salt to the
garden. for places that do get enough rain to
leach salts away it isn't as bad, but i still
would not want it.

Have you heard anything about all this or am I the only
one who noticed the fine print?

i have read a few things about what is used for
filler in some manufactured fertilizers and that
it can be about anything. i don't think there are
as much regulations as long as it isn't certain
animal wastes/byproducts.

as a rule, if i don't know what is in it or where
it came from i don't put it on my gardens.

i think what you might be seeing is that more and
more people want to know what it is in what they are
buying. so the manufacturers are now spelling out
what they use whereas before people didn't care.

i am not surprised at all to hear about flue
scrubbings being used as filler. if the power plants
don't have to pay to have it landfilled they are
coming out ahead on the deal.

songbird