Are You Wasting Money on Excess Nutrients?

One way to use the scientific method to save you money would be to do a little experiment to test if you are using/wasting too much nutrients. Many readers write in about brown spots or necrosis on leaves. While this has many causes, it is often a sign of over fertilization. (I have written about what to do if you do over fertilize your plants)

 Many people want to "max. out" and get the most of their plants, which is understandable.  But, good growers know the Goldilocks principle, not too much, not too little but just the right amount is what gets the best results and keeps you from being mired in mediocrity.

A simple scientific test would be to apply half the recommended fertilizer to one of your plants and the normal manufactures recommended amount to the rest. If you are growing several plants, you could also give a few plants 10% over the recommended fertilizer too.

After a week, you want to keep a journal about the plant being mindful of anything different about the plants. First, is one group of plants greener? Do you notice a height difference? Do you notice brown spots, or burnt leaf tips?

Once you get your data, you can then decide if you are using too much, too little or just the right amount of fertilizer.

Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers