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I posted this someplace else, but here it is again---
EM, microbes, actually are the providers of food to plants. Plants don't eat nitrogen, potash, potassium, these are eaten by microbes, and microbe's poop is plant food.
If soil is fertilized with the 10-10-10 or whatever numbers, the microbes, little boogies, have a super meal, over populate, and then all starve and die. Leaving the soil poorer.
Soil bacteria and mycorrhizae are destroyed by too much chemical fertilizer; even too much organic fertilizer.
Ureas or ammonia and other combined nitrogens are the most toxic, They destroy Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, and other bacteria which convert ammonias into usable plant nitrogen.
Dusting your garden with granular fertilizer, and pouring on too much fish emulsion, both can kill beneficial bacteria and fungi. It is best to fertilize lightly, and more often, than put large doses of ferts in your garden once in awhile.
Hi Jenn, to foliar feed your plants in Kihei with your ocean organics; mix one teaspoon per gallon of water (a third of the recommended amount in the directions) of fish emulsion or liquid seaweed, and dump it all over the plant, getting everything wet (not flowers). Do so once a week! This will feed the plant and the microbes; it will not burn the leaves or soil.
I do the same, and as Dave says, I also do less than the recommended amount. It's not only good foliar feeding, but it helps prevent some pests, and deters others. In fact I wrote a blog about this earlier this month in the Houston Chronicle. I learn a little bit more each time I dig for more info!
This one says: Many species of plants open the stomata during the day" All of the stuff I've just read says stomata close with water stress, dry, and also close with deficient potassium.
Anyway, upon consideration of that I read, seems when a plant is metabolizing, it's pores are open. Asleep, stressed, or hibernating, they're closed. Duh! Or something like that.
