Fish and Seaweed Blend Fertilizer

[ALToronto]

I use it in low concentration, indoors, and it's not so bad. Maybe I'm used to organic smells because we have our pet bunnies in the same room. But with all due respect to Ray, I think that 100 ppm N from a fish emulsion is a huge amount, especially for orchids. Aim for 20 ppm N, with every watering, and you'll be fine. Otherwise, you're just accelerating the breakdown of your medium. Ray has a great calculator on his website.

For fractions of teaspoons, I get the closest standard measure (usually 1/4 tsp) and eyeball the fraction. It's not exact science.

[blackvine]

Originally Posted by Ray

For 100 ppm N, you need 3/4 teaspoon per gallon.

For 100 ppm N, =4 teaspoons per gallon,

Ray, I'm not a math wiz and a bit new at growing orchids, but . . . isn't parts per million the common denominator that brings variance in concentration down to a level playing field? So, why the difference? Vendors vary in concentration of NPK, so 20 10 20 for one product could produce a different PPM that 20 10 20 for another product. But, PPM brings the actual amount of nitrogen down to an actual concentration . . . right? Oh, maybe I'm wrong, but . . . 'splain to me! Thanks!

[Ray]

You're right that two different fertilizers, each containing the same amount of nitrogen in their formulas, would require the exact same amount for 100 ppm N.

However, it requires twice as much of a 10-10-10 as it would with a 20-20-20 .

The Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Blend is a 2-3-1, so you'd need 10x the amount of it to be equivalent to the 20% N fertilizer.

[blackvine]

Thanks, Ray!