Is top dressing a phosphorus source effective?

[Phillybonker]

I wouldn't treat my journal(s) as the gospel. There isn't much to learn. It's all pretty hands off with no problems until I make my lactobacillus. Then I over use it and have to foliar feed kelp to get my plants through.

I do pick up some good ideas from journals so I spend a fair bit of time watching the journal section, especially the outdoor grows.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Inoculate with some Bio-phos

 

[Pat Puffer]

@Phillybonker
My super soil is used in my 2020 grow. The patient grows thread is a stepped down grow using exhausted super soil with another nutrient input. We were about to move and didn't have time nor a need for a major grow like I used to do.

 

[Phillybonker]

Inoculate with some Bio-phos

I've read about bio-phos before but breezed through the description without fully understanding what it was, I just assumed it was simply another phosphorus source, I didn't know it also contains fungi and bacteria to make phosphorus more plant available. Thanks

 

[Gee64]

Rock Phosphates are slow acting as in months and years, but bone meals, fish meals, and kelp meals will all give you organic phosphorus thats available in a few days to a couple weeks. If you are desperate for organic phosphorus, foliar kelp feedings will get it in quick but try not to spray the buds, and its only a crutch until the meals start working. Keep your ph in check, 6.2-6.7, or phos will lock to aluminum or calcium. Myco fungii has a unique ability to procure phos from the soil by bribing and supporting phos miners, but beware synthetic phos if you are organic, it will make your plant stop supporting myco colonies if you use too much, and not much can quickly become too much.

 

[SmokingWings]

Rock Phosphates are slow acting as in months and years, but bone meals, fish meals, and kelp meals will all give you organic phosphorus thats available in a few days to a couple weeks.

My understanding is that a lot depends on the source of the bone meal. Fish bone meal is quicker to break down than something like chicken bone and beef bone can take longer. And the size of the particle of bone is important. I have read instructions on some bone meals to allow months before the Phosphorous becomes available.

Kelp Meal is great stuff and really helpful for providing minerals and helping with overall plant health. The only downside to Kelp is that it is not a significant source of the macro nutrients, especially Phosphorous. Some producers of Kelp Meal find so little Phosphorous in their product that they do not even list it as part of the NPK numbers.

It is the minerals and and naturally occurring hormones in the stuff that promote root and stem production. The good stuff is available to the plant starting within hours and can take a week or two before finishing breaking down.