ALFALFA MEAL
(2-0-3) Alfalfa meal is the material that is produced when you mill or grind up alfalfa. The resulting green powder is typically thought of and used as a livestock feed, however, to the organically minded gardener, it is also a valuable resource to be added into the soil. This meal is rich in carbohydrates and proteins, which provide the building blocks for new cell growth and act as a bio-stimulant, by feeding and encouraging the microbial life in your soil. Alfalfa also contains micro-nutrients and triacontanol, an important plant growth regulator. Alfalfa meal becomes available to plants as a fertilizer only once it has been consumed and pooped out by the microbial life in your soil. As such, it is necessary to work this meal into the top few inches of soil under the drip line of the plant that are feeding, this lets the soil life attack and eat the incorporated meal from all sides.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 3 cups per plant 3-4 times a year. Garden beds: 10 pounds per 100 sq ft when prepping, and 3-4 pounds as a mid season feeding. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work the alfalfa meal into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
AZOMITE
(0-0-0.2) Azomite is a unique, water soluble, rock mineral that is mined from a volcanic deposit in Utah. Azomite contains over 70 different nutrients, including the 19 that are essential to plant and animal growth. When you use this material, you are adding back into the soil, the full spectrum of minerals and nutrients that may have been used up by the plants that have been growing in your garden or landscape. Azomite is great to use when you want to bring back and restore a tired and yellowing container plant, rejuvenate the soil in depleted garden beds, and feed and maintain your fruit trees.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1-2 cups per plant 2-3 times a year. Garden beds: 5-7 pounds worked into each 100 sq ft of bed space at the time of preparation. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, broadcast under the drip line and then watered in. Soak 1 Tablespoon per gallon of water and use as a soil drench. Available in 44 pound bags.
BAT GUANO
(10-3-1) Bat guano is the high nitrogen shit of the bat. Typically mined from the floors of caves and other areas that make up the habitat of the bat, this guano is rich in organic matter and is a ready, water soluble source of nitrogen, as well as some of the trace minerals. Most perennial and annual plants, including vegetables, may be fed a dose of bat guano in the spring, in order to stimulate vegetative growth. With the onset of flowering, stop using bat guano and other fertilizers that are high in nitrogen, instead, switch to a fertilizer that is high in phosphorous in order to boost flower and fruit production. See the shit of the seabird.
Application rates: Annuals and vegetables: Apply and work in, 4-6 pounds of guano for every 100 sq ft of garden bed while you are preparing for planting. Containers: 1 tablespoon, for every 4” of pot diameter, 2-3 times per year. Perennial shrubs and trees: 1/4 cup of guano per inch of stem/trunk diameter, 2-3 times per year. Tea: 1-2 tablespoons guano per gallon of water. Place guano in a sock or rag, in order to strain out any insolubles, and soak overnight. Water into plants a little at a time. Available in 25 pound bags.
BAT GUANO HIGH IN PHOSPHOROUS
(3-10-1) Here is a new product that we are carrying at Island Seed & Feed. This is a bat guano that is high in soluable phosphorous which makes it ideal to use on those plants that you really want to push into blooming and then have produce plentiful, strong flowers. Like bat guano that is high in nitrogen, this type of bat guano is loaded with trace minerals and provides a strong dose of what your plants will need to grow. When your vegetables, flowers or shrubs show signs of going into their blooming mode, cut back on the use of nitrogen fertilizers and switch over to feeding with a material such as this. The small percentage of nitrogen that is in this guano will not hinder the blooming process, actually it should be quite beneficial to your garden plants as it will be giving them a maintenance dose of nitrogen that will keep the plants green and healthy.
Application rates: When building a garden bed, mix in 3-4 pounds per 100 sq ft. When transplanting vegetables, mix 1-2 tablespoonss of guano into the planting hole. For individual container plants, mix in 1-2 tablespoons per 8” of pot diameter. You can also create a guano tea by filling a sock with 2 cups of guano and then soaking the sock in a 5 gallon bucket of water for overnight. In the morning, stir the mixture, wring out the sock, and hand water the brew around yer bloomin’ plants. You can empty the contents of the sock under a fruit tree and then water it in. Available in 25# bags.
BLOOD MEAL
(13-0-0) This is a feed grade blood meal, that is a by-product of the livestock slaughtering industry. As a result, it is a somewhat suspect product, and we cannot guarantee anything about its integrity. What we can say is that blood meal is a strong source of quick hitting nitrogen and also delivers a good dose of trace minerals, including iron. Care should be taken to follow application rates and to not over apply this material, you can easily “burn” tender plants and new growth. When using, work deeply into the soil around your plants and then water in. Blood meal is also used as an activator for compost piles. The hot nature of the nitrogen in this meal can quickly heat up a compost pile and lead to faster decomposition.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs:1/2 cup per foot of branch spread. Garden beds: 4-6 pounds per 100 sq ft when prepping the beds. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work the blood meal into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, leaving a two foot collar around the trunk, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
BONE MEAL
(2.5-12-0) 20%Ca Bone meal is an excellent source of slow release phosphorous and is traditionally used when planting bulbs. The high level of calcium can really help tomatoes and fruiting trees with fruit set and by fortifying plants against blossom end rots. Add 1-2 lbs into the bottom of the hole when planting trees, this will aid root development and give a vital source of minerals to the tree while it is establishing itself. Bone meal contains moderate liming properties and can be used to raise the pH of acidic soils.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1 cup per foot of branch spread, 1-2 times per year. Garden beds: 4 pounds per 100 sq ft of bed space, when prepping. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 2 pounds into the bottom of the hole when planting, and 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter every spring. Work the bone meal into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 40 pound bags.
COTTONSEED MEAL
(6-2-1) Cottonseed meal is an end product of the process by which oil is extracted from cotton seeds. While cotton is the most heavily sprayed agricultural crop in the world, virtually none of the chemical residues are present in this here material. What this is, is a relatively high nitrogen, acid fertilizer that has a slow nutrient release rate and continues to feed the soil for up to 4 months. Cotton seed meal has a wide range of applications from lawns to fruit trees, however, where it shines brightest is in feeding your acid loving plants like, azaleas, gardenias, roses and berries.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 2 cups per plant 2-3 times a year. Containers: Use 1/4 cup per 6” of pot diameter. Garden beds: 7 pounds per 100 sq ft when prepping, and 3-4 pounds as a mid season feeding. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work the cottonseed meal into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
DOLOMITE LIME
Dolomite lime, or calcium magnesium carbonate, is an excellent pH stabilizer for garden soil. When added to your acidic garden soil, pH is guaranteed to increase, and the soil will “sweeten” as a result. Dolomite lime is also a good source of calcium and magnesium, two important plant nutrients. Plants use calcium to build up strong cell walls and magnesium is essential in the production of chlorophyll, which makes plants green.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1/2 – 1 cup per plant 1-2 times a year. Garden beds: 2-10 pounds per 100 sq ft, worked in when prepping, amount depending on the soil pH. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1/2 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work the dolomite lime into the top 1-2 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 25 pound bags.
FEATHER MEAL
(13-0-0) Feather meal is the dried and ground leftovers from the poultry processing industry. This means that this product can and most likely does contain feathers, beaks, bones, blood and any unusable meat that remains after butchering. These remains are steamed for sanitation purposes and then ground into a powder that makes a fantastic nitrogen fertilizer. While the nitrogen component of feather meal is fairly high for an organic fertilizer, the nitrogen is released slowly into the soil as the material is broken down and decomposed by the soil microbes. This slow release characteristic of feather meal makes it ideal for vegetables, flowers or crops that have a long growing season, or extended nitrogen requirements.
Application rates: We recommend working feather meal into the soil when you are building garden beds at the rate of 5 pounds per 100 sq ft or 1-2 tablespoon per individual plant. When feeding trees and shrubs, apply 1/2 cup of feather meal for every 1/2” of trunk diameter. Available in 50 pound bags.
FISH MEAL
(10-4-2) Fish meal is the ground up remains from fish processing facilities. The resulting material is an excellent, general-purpose, organic fertilizer that contains a rich supply of all the major elements, and the trace minerals too. In this powdered form, fish meal is slow to break down, and will remain active in your soil for 6-8 months. Plants respond very well after being fed with fish meal, and will typically ‘green up’ quickly, and experience a flush of growth. This product is very clean, with no pesticide or heavy metal residue. One word of caution would be that, fish meal has a distinct odor that can be attractive to dogs, and as a result, some dogs have been known to tear through bags to get at this stuff. However, don’t worry, there is no health risk to your pet, just a mess to clean up.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1 cup per foot of branch spread, 2-3 times a year. Garden beds: 4-6 pounds per 100 sq ft when prepping, and 3-4 pounds as a mid season feeding, worked in around the individual plants. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work the fish meal into the top 1-2 inches of soil, under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
GYPSUM
(0-0-0) –21Ca-17S While not a fertilizer in the traditional sense, gypsum or, calcium sulfate, is more of a soil conditioner, and is an economical and easy way to add readily available calcium and sulfur to your garden. Most importantly for us here in the southwest, is gypsum’s ability to loosen clay soils and improve water and air penetration into the soil by breaking up the ionic bond between soil molecules. Also of note is gypsums ability to buffer salts in the soil and the help that it gives in promoting root growth and in maximizing nutrient uptake by those same roots.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1 cups per plant, once a year. Garden beds: 10-25 pounds per 100 sq ft. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 5-10 pounds per tree, once a year. Work the gypsum into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
IRON CHELATE
(0-0-0) 4.5Fe Iron chelate is an organic substance that holds micronutrients, especially iron, in a form available for easy absorption by plants. Iron chelate is often used to treat chlorosis, or yellowing of the leaves.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1-2 Tablespoons per plant. Garden beds: 2 Tablespoons per 150 sq ft of soil area. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 6 Tablespoons per inch of trunk diameter, once a year. With all applications, sprinkle the iron chelate evenly over the surface of the soil and then water in, to a depth of 4-6 inches. Available in a 20 oz tub.
KELP MEAL
(1-0-2) This is a feed grade, low-salt, kelp meal, that is harvested in the cold waters of the North Sea and is one of the richest known sources of trace minerals, plant growth regulators, vitamins, hormones, amino acids, enzymes and chelated nutrients that you can feed to your plants. The combined effect of adding these important plant building blocks to your garden soil, is a strengthening of the cellular structure of your garden plants, to a point where they are able to repel piercing insects such as aphids, leaf hoppers and white flies, and can also build up a resistance to bacterial and fungal infections. Its form as a meal means that it is slow to break down in the soil and will continue to provide a steady stream of goodness into your garden for up to 6 months. I use kelp meal as a nutritional compliment to fish and cottonseed meals, in a light food for my orchids, and to rehabilitate sick and diseased plants.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1 cup per plant, twice a year. Garden beds: 4 pounds per 100 sq ft when building a new bed, and 2-4 pounds, per 100 sq ft, worked around existing plants, one or two times a year. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, once a year. Work the kelp meal into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
KELP- ACADIAN SEA KELP
Acadian Sea Kelp is a highly concentrated, crystalline source of chelated minerals, vitamins, and hormones that are in a balanced form, which is easily absorbed by plants. Acadian Sea Kelp is made from cold-water sea kelp that has been through a unique extraction process. The result is a brown, water-soluble powder, one pound of which, is concentrated from over 200 pounds of kelp. The benefits of Acadian Sea Kelp are many and include the following. With regular foliar applications of Acadian Sea Kelp, plants can choose the specific minerals that they need to build up and enhance their natural defenses against insects and diseases. Foliar spraying will also give recent transplants a vital and immediate source of nutrients, thus cutting down on transplant shock. Kelp provides a degree of frost protection to tender plants by cutting down the amount of water that is stored in the tissue. By working or watering Acadian Sea Kelp into the soil, you are giving food to many soil microorganisms, especially the nitrogen-fixing algae and bacterium. Full mineral nutrition in the soil allows your plants to develop better and bigger root systems and grow more leaf mass. Results can be seen, one to two days after application. The gardener will notice that newly fed plants are darker green and are standing up stronger and straighter.
Soil applications: When watering into the soil, the standard dilution rate is 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of dry powdered Maxicrop, to one gallon of water. 1-2 pounds of Maxicrop will cover an acre, once.
Foliar applications: Dilute the dry powdered Maxicrop at the rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water, and then spray onto the leaves, branches and trunks of your plants. Spray the leaves until there is a slight run-off, whatever falls off will feed the soil microbes, and enhance their gig. For best results, spray at sunrise, before the day heats up, the next best time is at two or three pm. The most important thing is just not to spray during the heat of the day, or you risk burning the leaves of your plants. Available in 1/4, 1/2 and one pound bags.
LANDSCAPE MIX
(3.75-1.5-1.75) This is our very own, specially blended, mix of alfalfa, soybean, kelp, fish and feather meals and has come to be known by a variety of names including, The Dan Bifano Cocktail, “your rose food”, Karl’s Mix, or “that green stuff in the white paper sack”, around the store, we simply call it Landscape Mix. Originally designed as an organic soil food for growing roses, we now recommend landscape mix for all gardening and landscape applications, except when feeding your lawn. When using this material it is essential that you get down and actually work it into the top 2-3 inches of soil. In its present form, it is not recognized by your plants as a food. The microbial creatures in your soil must first eat, digest and then poop out the material before it is in a form that is available to plants. As a result, the benefits of using this, or any other meal type fertilizer, are not seen over night, instead the nutrients come on slowly, usually over a 2-3 week period, and then remain active in the soil for 3-4 months.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 3 cups per plant 2-3 times a year. Garden beds: Up to 10 pounds per 100 sq ft when prepping, and 3-4 pounds as a mid season feeding. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work the landscape mix into the top 2 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI
These are soil-living fungi that have established symbiotic relationships with over 95% of the earth’s plant species. They attach themselves onto a plants roots and assist their host with water and mineral uptake, in return the plant provides the fungi with sugars and carbon, which are otherwise hard for this class of fungi to come by. In healthy soils with an active microbial population, mycorrhizal fungi can effectively double the root capacity of a plant, and thus greatly enhance a plants ability to feed itself and defend against calamity. To you and I, and our naked eyes, mycoohizal fungi appear as fine hairs, and can make healthy roots appear to be fuzzy. The products that we sell are meant to be used as inoculants for your soil. Typically mycorrhizal fungi are added to the soil when you are planting new trees, revitalizing a depleted bed, or trying to save a sick plant. We do not recommend wasting your money on these products if you are using inorganic or chemical fertilizers because the fungi are delicate and will be killed or burned by these applications.
Application rates: When planting roses and small perennial shrubs, add 2 tablespoons of mycorrhizae into the soil as you are filling it back in. For trees, add 6-8 tablespoons into the soil as you are filling the hole back in. To use as a soil drench, dilute 1-2 Tablespoons per gallon of water, and then water in. Available in 8 and 12 oz bottles.
SEABIRD GUANO
(1-10-0) Mined from under the butts of sea birds, this product is the most rapidly available, organic source of phosphorus known to plants. With its high humus content and wealth of micronutrients, seabird guano makes an excellent soil builder, and has been found to greatly stimulate beneficial soil life, aid in nitrogen fixation and help plants fight off diseases. In the middle of the growing season, when plants are just starting to show signs of budding, diluting seabird guano into a tea and watering into the soil around plants will dramatically increase both the amount and size of blooms. For more immediate results, you can steep, filter and then foliarly spray onto your plants. My tomato growing friend Wayne, throws a handful of seabird guano under each tomato as he is planting to aid in flower production and with the fruit set.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1/2 cup per plant, 1-2 times, during the blooming season. Garden beds: 4-6 pounds per 100 sq ft, as a mid-season feeding. Fruiting trees: 4-6 cups per tree, right when the buds are beginning to form.. Work the sea bird guano into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 25 and 50 pound bags.
SOFT ROCK PHOSPHATE
(0-2-0)-16 Ca Also called colloidal phosphate, this is a great source of phosphorous and calcium and is both quick acting and long lasting in the soil. Our product is made up of the bony structures of prehistoric marine sea creatures, and is mined in Florida, from the best deposit in the country. This soft rock phosphate averages 16% P2O5 (2% readily available), 16% calcium, 2.7% iron, 21% silica and contains good amounts of at least 14 trace minerals. Use by working into the root zones of either annual or perennial plants. This will help promote bloom production and disease resistance and by balancing acidic soils. Soft rock phosphate is most commonly mixed into the soil when creating a new garden bed or planting a new tree, supplies of phosphorus and calcium are available for up to five years after application, depending on the crop.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 1 cup per mature plant, once a year. Garden beds: 5-10 pounds per 100 sq ft when building, and then 3-4 pounds every other year, as a replenisher. Fruiting trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, every two years. Work the soft rock phosphate into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 25 pound bags.
SOYBEAN MEAL
(6-2-2) This is a by-product of the process by which soybean oil is made. The resulting powder, or meal is an excellent, all purpose organic fertilizer for your fruit trees, vegetable garden beds and perennial ornamentals. Soybean meal has a similar nutritional composition to that of cottonseed meal, but has a neutral pH. Soybean meal, along with alfalfa, kelp and cottonseed meals are the primary components of vegan based fertilizers. This material needs to be worked into the top 2-3 inches of the soil in order for it to become available to the soil microbes, who in turn, eat the stuff, and then poop it out, in a form that is available to plants as a food and nutritional source.
Application rates: Roses and perennial shrubs: 2 cups per plant, 2-3 times a year. Garden beds: 5-10 pounds per 100 sq ft when prepping, and 3-4 pounds worked in, as a mid-season feeding. Fruiting and ornamental trees: 1 pound per inch of trunk diameter, 2 times a year. Work soybean meal into the top 2-3 inches of soil under the drip line of your trees, and then water in. Available in 50 pound bags.
EB STONE- NATURE’S GREEN LAWN FOOD
(10-1-4) Currently this is the best all natural, granulated lawn fertilizer that we can find. The product is easy to apply by either hand or with a fertilizer spreader, quickly works itself down through the grass blades, and once watered in, provides a quick greening effect to your grass patch. During the warm season when your lawn will want to be fed, we recommend new applications every 6-8 weeks. One 20# bag will feed 2000 sq ft. We also suggest using this product as a general purpose nitrogen fertilizer that you can toss around hard to reach plants, plants that you want to give a quick boost to, or to fire up a stagnant compost pile. Ingredients: Feather meal, blood meal, bone meal and sulfate of potash. Also contains 1.3% humic acids derived from leonardite. Available in 20# bags. Call or stop in for pallet prices.