subject: Fantastic Foliar Feeding Formula [print this page] Foliar (or leaf) feeding is one of the most efficient way to fertilize your garden. When you apply fertilizer to the soil, the roots may take up as little as 10 percent of the nutrients, but when fertilizer is applied to the leaves, 90 percent of the material is absorbed. I regularly foliar-feed all of the nursery stock, as well as the plants in my home landscape. This formula includes fish emulsion for nitrogen and seaweed for trace minerals, growth stimulants, and plant hormones. One of my secret ingredients is blackstrap molasses, which contains iron and sulfur as well as simple sugar that nourish the plants.
Ingredients and supplies
2 tablespoons fish emulsion
1 tablespoon blackstrap or horticultural-grade molasses
1 tablespoon Medina or other biostimulant (if available)
1 gallon water (rainwater, if possible)
Pump spray bottle
Directions
1.Mix all ingredients well.
2.Pour the mixture into a pump sprayer and spray on plants, especially the undersides of the leaves, until the liquid drips off.
Note: You can use this solution on annuals, perennials, roses, vegetables, and fruit trees. Start weekly applications as seedlings develop their first set of true leaves and continue until blooming begins. For vegetables, make one final application when your plants set fruit. Apply to fruit trees as blossoms drop and leaves begin developing. To use as a transplant starter, mix the solution at half strength and apply as a soil drench.
