| I'm pretty much in the Kevin/PhalPal camp. This is a subject that will get more answers than a physics test in a kindergarten. What that tells me is nearly everything works about the same.
The only things that do seem true if you measure by the number of proponents are (1) too much nitrogen might lead to less bloom and tender foliage that is more susceptible to disease (many horticulturalists believe that), (2) too much phosphate is a waste of money and if it does anything at all, it's bad not good.
There are some facts that seem to be accepted by most plant scientists. Plants need carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen that they get from the air. Calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus,potassium, and sulfur are required at higher levels than other nutrients and are called macronutrients.
Chlorine,copper,iron,manganese,molybdenum and zinc are needed in small quantities and are called micronutrients. In some cases? sodium and silicon might be beneficial. Just supplying these is not sufficient. In order for the plant to utilize them they need to be supplied at 5.5-6.5 pH.
Not all fertilizers are complete. They only contain the macronutrients. It is best to use a complete formula. If you use pure water be certain your fertilizer has calcium and magnesium.
I use MSU and it works great, but I suspect any balanced, complete formula is perfectly acceptable.  |