Feed Mill - Great Source of Fertilizer
I have a lot of plants and trees to fertilize, and fertilizers can be expensive. In addition, I want to use organic fertilizers, not chemical/petroleum based ones. In his book, former director of Urban Harvest Dr. Bob Randall recommends cottonseed meal as the cheapest organic (debatable) fertilizer readily available, and recommends MicroLife balanced organic fertilizer as an even better option.
The best source of these fertilizers in my area is Hieden Feed and Supply on Stuebner Airline Road. I was able to pick up two 50-lb sack of cottonseed meal for $14.75 each ($0.30/lb), and one 40-lb sack of MicroLife 6-2-4 for $25.95 ($0.65/lb). I hauled it all home and mixed it up in an old 55-gallon steel drum (mouse-proof), and added just a little garden sulfur to help with soil pH. The final mix made approximately 30 gallons, or 480 cups of fertilizer, costing around $0.12 per cup. I have somewhere around 50 trees and plants, so this works out to be a very economical way to fertilize and add organic matter to the soil.
According to the EPA, the average N-P-K of cottonseed meal is approximately 6-2-1, and the N-P-K of Microlife 6-2-4 is 6-2-4. By combining 100 pounds of cottonseed meal with 40 pounds of Microlife, I wound up with a 6-2-2 mix. MicroLife is great fertilizer, but this hardly seems worth the extra cost of the MicroLife. I'm told that MicroLife also contains lots of other micronutrients and minerals, but since I also mulch and supplement with composted kitchen scraps, I'm probably already getting these.
The next time I go for fertilizer, I'll probably just get cottonseed meal. Considering the cost difference, it would be cheaper to add more cottonseed meal per tree than to buy the MicroLife. Leave a comment and let me know what experience you've had with different fertilizers.
The best source of these fertilizers in my area is Hieden Feed and Supply on Stuebner Airline Road. I was able to pick up two 50-lb sack of cottonseed meal for $14.75 each ($0.30/lb), and one 40-lb sack of MicroLife 6-2-4 for $25.95 ($0.65/lb). I hauled it all home and mixed it up in an old 55-gallon steel drum (mouse-proof), and added just a little garden sulfur to help with soil pH. The final mix made approximately 30 gallons, or 480 cups of fertilizer, costing around $0.12 per cup. I have somewhere around 50 trees and plants, so this works out to be a very economical way to fertilize and add organic matter to the soil.
According to the EPA, the average N-P-K of cottonseed meal is approximately 6-2-1, and the N-P-K of Microlife 6-2-4 is 6-2-4. By combining 100 pounds of cottonseed meal with 40 pounds of Microlife, I wound up with a 6-2-2 mix. MicroLife is great fertilizer, but this hardly seems worth the extra cost of the MicroLife. I'm told that MicroLife also contains lots of other micronutrients and minerals, but since I also mulch and supplement with composted kitchen scraps, I'm probably already getting these.
The next time I go for fertilizer, I'll probably just get cottonseed meal. Considering the cost difference, it would be cheaper to add more cottonseed meal per tree than to buy the MicroLife. Leave a comment and let me know what experience you've had with different fertilizers.
MircroLife 6-2-4
Cottonseed Meal
My Fertilizer Mixing Drum
Sulfur to lower soil pH.
Monarch Butterfly
