Micronutrient Vehicle Alternatives?

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Hammbone81
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Micronutrient Vehicle Alternatives?

Post by Hammbone81 » April 20th, 2021, 4:06 am

Are there alternatives to Milorganite as a micronutrient vehicle?
I don't have anything against milo, it's just that it's not in my plan. Can I use 19-19-19 as a vehicle? (Not sure how well it'd work to get that wet). SBM? Alfalfa? Cracked corn?

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andy10917
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Re: Micronutrient Vehicle Alternatives?

Post by andy10917 » April 20th, 2021, 9:04 am

You can do your own experimentation, but I documented the use of the Milorganite because its pretty much universally available, always works, and doesn't have a ton of fertilizer impact. When I was experimenting, I found that (a) mixing it with many pelletized products worked poorly, (b) some other products stuck to the spreader container when slightly dampened, and (c) foliar applications (with a sprayer) should not be done at the quantity amounts that we're applying. Since I've got a universally-available, documented solution, I have no plans to spend time adding additional options.

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Micronutrient Vehicle Alternatives?

Post by MorpheusPA » April 20th, 2021, 12:59 pm

I did do a little personal experimentation. Cracked corn works OK.

I'm not sure about most of the others, but if you want my opinion? SBM is probably going to get a little sticky and cakey, but should work. With the 19-19-19, go light on the water. It'll stick to itself and the spreader. Alfalfa will start to swell in water, so...I'd avoid that if I could.

I have sprayed because it was convenient with kelp and soap, but I'm enough of a chemist to know that you don't want that absorbing into the leaf in any significant way. I was irrigating each zone behind myself instantly, more than enough to wash all of it off and into the soil. Nor was it something I was making a habit of doing.

NutterButter
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Re: Micronutrient Vehicle Alternatives?

Post by NutterButter » April 24th, 2021, 10:01 am

Last year was my 1st time applying micros ( and I just mixed it with the 10-10-10 fertilizer I was applying. This was for boron and zinc. I did two applications. Once with milo and once with the 10-10-10. It seemed to mix just as well with the 10-10-10 as it did with the milo.

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