Seasol benefits

[sreeve]

Hi Jester
Going back to your very original post, I also use Seasol religiously.

This obviously proves that I am no where near as educated as your horticultural teachers, nor for that matter, are the thousands of people who also use it……..

I cant talk on behalf of all those that do, but this must mean I am daft.

I remember a saying something along the lines of "the proof is in the pudding"....the DOING - not the THEORY

Perhaps your lecturers can suggest what I / others should be using in its place as an excellent root conditioner etc.

If they are so adamant, perhaps they have the basis to take the manufacturer on in court and prove their claims wrong………………..

You stated that….. “It conditions / strengthens the roots and for me”, well that obviously proves that you are as misguided as myself and one or two others around Australia.

Had a quick look over the other links posted which I found interesting. As for whether a particular lady was validated in posting with or without reference doesn’t particularly worry me.

As a scientist who has employed 500+ staff, quite a few of them have been Doctors and I would pretty quickly dismiss (sack) them if they started citing references. They are paid for their opinion and their expertise, not their ability to cite references. Citing references is for numb nuts like me when they got their various degrees back when Noah built his ark.

In my humble opinion, the lady in question wrote an article / web page intended for the general public and as such was written in a user friendly manner. I am sure she would be happy to provide a massive list of references (complete with annotation) if and when anyone wanted. Gotta say – I agree with you on this one Ben.

Reverting back to your post and your question Jester…....
My experience is that Seasol strengthens and conditions tree roots.

If your lecturers have a pedestal that they want to sit or stand on and deny that it has any benefit, then let them sit / stand on it mate. Get your pass, earn some really serious bucks and leave them behind.

Good luck with it mate

Regards
Steve

[sreeve]

Hmmmm
Reflecting on this topic now, it seems like some of the posts have disappeared.

Guess that I should follow the lead of a bonsai guy just north of me in Maitland and sorta disappear also

Not happy Jan
Bye Steve

[Pup]

Hmmmm
Reflecting on this topic now, it seems like some of the posts have disappeared.

Guess that I should follow the lead of a bonsai guy just north of me in Maitland and sorta disappear also

Not happy Jan
Bye Steve

I concur with that Steve I feel there are too many protected species.

[Glenda]

My Horticulture teachers recently told me that they don't like or acknowledge it because (a) There are better fertilisers out there and (b) because there is no chemical analysis on the bottle.
John

If your lecturers have a pedestal that they want to sit or stand on and deny that it has any benefit, then let them sit / stand on it mate. Get your pass, earn some really serious bucks and leave them behind.

Jester, Steve is right. I am currently working on my third degree (PhD) and it is only now that I am permitted to have an inkling of an "original thought". To get the good marks in any degree, you need to agree with the person who is marking, even when that goes completely against the grain. Tell them what they want to hear, and laugh at them behind their backs if you want.

Glenda

[Joel]

My hort. teachers and the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney use it. Good enough for me! I love the stuff. Wish it came from taps.

Joel

[craigw60]

I am with the non scientific folk. I love seasol it makes all my plants grow and I use lots of it. One and a half caps in a nine ltr watering can. I buy it in bulk and am always running out of the stuff.
Craig

[Grant Bowie]

Yeah for the non scientists.

You just hope the work has been done and follow the directions on the bottle as to useage rates.

Grant

[Rhiannon]

I've been wondering something... if you let your trees do the talking, how do you know if it's not working?

I've only been at this about 4 months and have just followed the advice of others when it comes to feeding my trees. They've always been healthy and have grown quite well, so I just figured it was working fine, but how do I really know?

Is it as simple as 'if it works your trees will grow, if it doesn't work they won't', or is it more complicated than that? If it doesn't work are there detrimental effects? I know if you feed it soon after being repotted/root pruned etc the nitrogen can burn the roots, but I mean does it have detrimental effects if used on a perfectly healthy tree. And how can a beginner like me tell if the food is actually helping the growth rate or if it's just growing at it's normal rate regardless?

[craigw60]

Hi Rhiannon, If your trees are growing nicely and the foliage is a good healthy colour then you are doing the right thing.
Craig

[Bretts]

That's a very good question Rhiannon. Of Course it is true as Craig states but it is harder for us beginners to get a grasp of wether we could be doing things better. Some times trees can look very reasonably healthy yet there could be said to be several levels of healthy I think.
It is very possible that many of us have trees that seem healthy enough but we don't realise we could be doing alot better.
Take this pine seedling that I have twisted up.

ps2.jpg

It looks healthy enough and is obviously growing seeing the wire biting in.
Yet when I compare it to this one growing in Akadama of the same age it is obvious that the first one could be doing alot better.

ps1.jpg

ps3.jpg

So unless I was experienced with pines and new that the first tree should have grown much more or was shown the better growth by someone else.I could have no idea that I could be doing alot better for my seedlings.
Some seedlings or cuttings take a long time to get going and only knowledge of this will be able o tell you whether there is some thing better you could be doing.

But lets get practical. The first thing you should do as a beginner learning is inspect the leaves of your tree closely looking at the veins of the leaf out and see if there is any change in colour that maybe should not be there. Pale green or yellow is the common feature of some thing that is missing. Whether it is in the old leaves or fresh growth. Whether the colour fades out from the veins or the veins are the palest part of the leaf are all clues to what is deficient in the plant.
When I first started learning this it was said a good horticulturalist will be able to see a tree that is lacking in nutrients only two weeks after the last dose of fertiliser.
This amazed me at the time, but as was also stated to me, this becomes much easier to judge when you have a number of trees to compare to each other.
Have some fun inspecting all the plants around your garden and see how many you can find that are lacking some thing.

This is a huge subject. There is a great book at my local library called Nutrient deficiencies in ornamental trees and shrubs. It describes why and how each deficiency shows up. There was also a simplified version of this in an article by a Ron. A great American bonsai friend that passed away a few years ago. Fly would know him as a Chat baby I believe. He may even know where to find some of his online articles these days?

You may never need to delve this deep and just find it enough to add a general fertiliser with trace elements at the sign of any deficiency but I doubt any nurseryman could claim to be worth a grain of salt without having a good understanding of this subject.

Once you have all this down pat there is a even more refined way to make sure the tree is growing as it should with a refractometer.

http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/blog/?p=908

[anttal63]

Good change of topic, now moving onto medium's and container's One is in terracotta and the other in plastic. So therefor the comparison of mediums is not accurate. However both look relatively heathly, one growing more compact than the other, which terracotta tends to do with most plants and would most likely still do if it had akadama in it. It is able to draw moisture and nutrient out of the medium and starve the plant if not attentative to this fact. Especially in a dryer climate. Then if any poor mix of soil compacts in terracotta the problem of starvation is greater But yes you are right in saying its not always easy for a beginner to see the tell tales. This is why with the plethora of info out there one must also get out there and be in contact with their trees. Close up and personal. Use all this information so it can get as close to second nature as possible. If your horticulural practices are sound the rest will become easy. Besides we wont keep every plant happy all of the time. Thats gardening. PS sorry watching logies had to deliver this in sections.

[Bretts]

Sorry Antonio I have ones in black pots that are also not growing as well as the one in Akadama. I guess you could say the growth is more compact but to me it looks just the same as the akadama one did before it took of It just isn't growing as fast.
I did or am doing something wrong to these guys as although I have several in various potting mediums only the one in Akadama has taken off.
Some how what I have done wrong is negated by the Akadama.
Plenty more to see if I can get it better this year

As with any education a balance of theory and field work will reap the best Results.

[anttal63]

ummmm many of us are not using akadama down here and the pines are taking off no prob, so it cant just be that but as you say, is fixing whatever else it is thats wrong. what is in your other mixes?

[Bretts]

There is a variety of mixes. 100%Diatomite, diatomite and zeloite, diatomite and organics. 100% scorio 100% chandlers appugulite clay, terracota and organics.
That may be half the trouble as they are not worth the effort to manage for their individual needs per mix yet I think there is more to it.
In any event the plan is to get most of next years batch into a sand mix graded for drainage as is suggested in most literature I know, would have to do some in akadama as well after the results of his one, and worry about narrowing down the issue if it persists then.

[Pup]

There is a variety of mixes. 100%Diatomite, diatomite and zeloite, diatomite and organics. 100% scorio 100% chandlers appugulite clay, terracota and organics.
That may be half the trouble as they are not worth the effort to manage for their individual needs per mix yet I think there is more to it.
In any event the plan is to get most of next years batch into a sand mix graded for drainage as is suggested in most literature I know, would have to do some in akadama as well after the results of his one, and worry about narrowing down the issue if it persists then.

The Japanese mix for Conifers, is a 50-50 mix of Akadama and sharp sand as in 1-4mm in size. For miscellaneous trees is 100 percent akadama. With the exception of Satsuki Azaleas which is the Kanuma.

This by the way is what we are told by our Club Sensai, Hirotoshi Saitoh. Who will be in Melbourne in June.

Understanding the Macro and Micro elements in fertilisers is very important, as each has a specific job. The reaction of these elements is different in pot culture as to open ground growing. As was pointed out with animal manures. The pots also make a difference being plastic it will keep the soil warmer so more growth is allowed.

Terracotta breaths and retains moister when a breeze passes it will cool it. So if you are going to trial use one of each. Using the same mediums, is a better way to get results.
Also time is what it takes, experience of years is invaluable. Pass on what you know works by your own trials. That way you know it will work. In some cases it takes 10 years to prove something. Like bending Branches pass the parallel in some species,and not others.
Cheers Pup