Dish soap in foliar feeding

[Petalsofsugar]

I have seen posts on other boards about putting 2-3 tsps. of gentle dish soap in a gallon of water with fish emulsion or other fertilizer and foliar feed. Does anyone on this board do this? I sprayed a plant this morning and didn't like the suds on it. I was a little nervous about leaving soap on the plant like that. I know that using soap is good for getting rid of insects but, does this help keep the fertilizer on the plant long enough to absorb the nutrients? Any comments or suggestions would be helpful, inquiring minds want to know!!

Julie

[brookn]

I use dish soap on my plants, and it does not seem to be hurting them.

[PhalPal]

I use 2-3 DROPS of Dawn dish liquid per quart of water in just about everything I use for my plants.
My housekeeper uses 3 drops + 16 ounces of rubbing alcohol to clean just about everything and it works great. Soap is a great surfactant and increases the abilities of whatever it is added to.

BTW- you shouldn't be seeing suds!

[heatherbear10]

I always use just a drop or two when I fertilize. Doesn't seem to hurt anything, and does help keep the bugs off.

[zonepusher]

Do the antibacterial properties of the newer dish soaps hurt anything? or should you only use the non antibacterial type?
Andi

[Petalsofsugar]

Originally Posted by zonepusher

Do the antibacterial properties of the newer dish soaps hurt anything? or should you only use the non antibacterial type?
Andi

I was told to use something mild like Ivory or Dove. Well, I bought some Ivory last night and I think I will start with a couple of drops and add a couple each time until I get bubbles and then back off just a bit. Thanks so much guys, I just put too much in.

Julie

[Tony]

If you are afraid of the strength of Dawn or other soaps, try Murphy Oil Soap. Its a natural soap and is much milder. It actually works more like insecticidal soap. Tony

[arleneg]

Tony,

I have Murphy Oil Soap and would like to try. How much do you put in a gallon of water?

[Tony]

Arleneg

You don't need much, just a couple of drops, unless you are going to use it like insecticidal soap. Then you would put maybe an ounce into a spray bottle. Tony

[arleneg]

Tony,

Thanks! I'll give it a try on my next foliar feeding or as an insecticide.

[Leisurely]

Tony,
Do you know if Murphy's Oil Soap will affect the flowers? I sometimes foliar feed with a hose end sprayer and everything in the greenhouse gets wet, including the flowers.

[Tony]

Leisurely

I would be careful with any flowers. I don't know what it will do. The only advantage it has when you use it with fertilizer is that a couple of drops of soap breaks the water tension and acts as a sticking agent. The soap doesn't provide any nutrients to the plants. I would test it on a leaf or two to make sure the plant is not sensitive to it. Thats true with almost any product you would spray on the leaves. Tony

[flowerchild]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

I use 2-3 DROPS of Dawn dish liquid per quart of water in just about everything I use for my plants.
My housekeeper uses 3 drops + 16 ounces of rubbing alcohol to clean just about everything and it works great. Soap is a great surfactant and increases the abilities of whatever it is added to.

BTW- you shouldn't be seeing suds!

In addition to those two items the dish soap and the rubbing alcohol a long time grower in our group says to put some mineral oil too. It is what he sprays his some 200+ orchids with before he brings them back in for the winter. He puts almost everything he owns outside for the summer, what a sight that must be eh?

[Leisurely]

There is something that you must be careful about when using liquid soap that I don't think anyone has mentioned. When used in conjunction with other products, it works well as a spreader sticker but it can also cause phytoxiciity and damage the plant tissue when exposed to ultra violet light. I damaged a number of my phals once. The result was raised bumps that resembled blisters and did not go away.