MSU Fertilizer

[LFC25]

Just got my MSU fertilizer (RO formula) today.

I used distilled water, TDS meter measured 2ppm. After added half recommended dose of fertilizer into the water, my TDS meter measured a high 600ppm.

Can someone tell me is this normal to have such a high ppm reading with the MSU fertilizer?

Thanks in advance.

[Ray]

At what concentration did you mix it? The greater the concentration, the higher the TDS...

How often do you plan to feed your plants? That will determine the recommended concentration.

[LFC25]

Originally Posted by Ray

At what concentration did you mix it? The greater the concentration, the higher the TDS...

How often do you plan to feed your plants? That will determine the recommended concentration.

After seeing 600ppm, I diluted the solution by adding another 0.5L of water. In total, 1/4 tsp with 1.5L of distilled water. The reading went down to 410ppm.

I'm planning to fertilize them weekly.

Is that ok, Ray?

[Ray]

Your current dilution is about 110 ppm N, which is fine. Personally, I'd probably add another 500ml to that and go with about 75.

[LFC25]

Originally Posted by Ray

Your current dilution is about 110 ppm N, which is fine. Personally, I'd probably add another 500ml to that and go with about 75.

Thanks Ray. Can enlighten me how did you get 110ppm N?

[Ray]

Search for "fertilizer TDS calculator", and plug in the fertilizer formula. I just converted your teaspoons per 1.5 liters into teaspoons per gallon.

[LFC25]

Got it. Thanks again, Ray!

[LFC25]

Since we are in the MSU topic, can I check is it possible to use it on my other soil plants knowing that it does not contain any urea?

[Ray]

Originally Posted by LFC25

Since we are in the MSU topic, can I check is it possible to use it on my other soil plants knowing that it does not contain any urea?

Go ahead.

[estación seca]

Plants mainly take up nitrogen through the roots in the form of nitrites. Nitrite salts are not stable in warm temperatures; the nitrite decomposes to molecular nitrogen relatively quickly. Most fertilizers have nitrogen in the form of compounds that must be degraded by soil organisms to nitrites. Urea, ammonia, ammonium salts and also various nitrates fall into this category.

Here in Arizona almost all lawns are bermuda grass, which goes dormant and brown as temperatures drop in the fall. Many people overseed in late fall with rye grass, which is a cool-season grass. In this way they can have a green lawn all year.

People here fertilize lawns with ammonium sulfate in the summer. I heard a U of AZ soil scientist say that in the summer, with our high temperatures, ammonium sulfate spread on a lawn, and watered in, is converted to other nitrogen forms and absorbed by the plants, or decomposed to nitrogen, within an hour.

Our soil bacteria are not so active in the winter, so people are told to use calcium nitrite for winter lawns, because the nitrite is immediately available to the plants. They don't even sell calcium nitrite here during warm weather, because it decomposes to nitrogen so quickly.