Fertilizer spikes? Has anyone tried them outdoors?

I've heard that slow release ferts are bad because once they're in the soil mix, they are there for months and months and possibly longer. I came accross these organic fertilizer spikes which are for sale at Canadian Tire in Canada. Can anyone tell me if they'd work for the veg period outdoors? It says 8 weeks which is the right period for me outdoors in BC. At amazon it says that the NPK readings are: 2.7.4.

Here's the link:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/j...-fertilizer-spikes-0592270p.html#.VybbH6tQ3ww

There is another product made by the same company which uses 6.18.6. I believe. What will happen if the middle number is higher than the others?

Here is the link for this other fert spike...

http://www.amazon.com/Jobes-6005-18..._86_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1SBHQM5T0PPZGE734VQ0

There good for fruit trees but I would use smoothing different for pot..jmp...ky

Ya dont use that stuff. Get some plant food that you can control the application or youll be sorry. Unless youve used them in the past and are very comfortable with them i would say dont set yourself up for disaster if thats all youre depending on.

Okay. From the same store I was also studying this one which is not a fertiliser spike. It's 6.12.12. I was thinking of using this all the way through veg and all of flower. Thanks to anyone who posts their suggestion or comments.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cil-tomato-food-6-12-12-1-7-kg-0592224p.html#.Vyb1uKtQ3ww

buckets said:

Okay. From the same store I was also studying this one which is not a fertiliser spike. It's 6.12.12. I was thinking of using this all the way through veg and all of flower. Thanks to anyone who posts their suggestion or comments.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cil-tomato-food-6-12-12-1-7-kg-0592224p.html#.Vyb1uKtQ3ww

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http://www.maxsea-plant-food.com/products_all_purpose.html

Order this stuff. Its dry so you mix it. Great for outdoor and its cheap if you buy the big tub.

The retailers are all in the US though which makes it hard to order into Canada. I'll attempt to contact them. Their packaging is quite appealing to the eye though. Have you used it outdoors?

I havent used them but as a big user of slow release fertilizes id look at giving them a go if they were a bit cheaper.

People normally dont use slow release fertilizes correctly so give them a bad rap.

I was only thinking of using those fertilizer spikes as a means of less visits to my outdoor grow site. The site is in a dried bog area during the summer where the plants can still get under the dried surface mud and drink from what's below. Also, the spikes are good for maximum 8 weeks.

I haven't used the spikes for dope but used Osmocote loads. Works well if you get some decent rainfall and don't go through drought seasons. Just dig a ring around your plant 1-2 inches deep and toss a TBS in there. Cover and walk away. Topdress around 75% through the food's estimated life span.If it says it feeds for 4 months. Topdress at the end of 3. It'll be in the downswing at that point in potency. This is from my personal exp anyways. I've had awesome results with the 10-10-10 formula (my favorite) as well as the 14-14-14.
Also grew some pretty ass monsters with the tomato plus formula. Don't remember the NPK ratio but the tomato plus had some micros added and was different from the normal tomato food. Main colas pretty much looked like baseball bats. Plants stayed healthy through the summer and into fall. Literally picked it up a Dollar General for like 5-6Usd.
Just wait til they're around 2-3 weeks old before you add it though.

None were grown in a bog through. It's a totally different soil profile from what I'm used to. If it were me doing it I'd go the traditional rout and feed them like @Alienwidow suggested. (And I've seen some MONSTERS grown on here with Maxsea) Then have a few side plants using the time release stuff so you'll know how it reacts in your spot. Once you know what to expect you'll know how to approach next season.

That's great advice monkey grinder. Thank you. I'm trying to study the first two paragraphs you wrote but I'm baked at the minute. I'll see if I can order that maxsea but I'm worried that animals will rip up the plants because there's sea stuff in there. Is it just seaweed or does it hve fish in it?

buckets said:

I was only thinking of using those fertilizer spikes as a means of less visits to my outdoor grow site. The site is in a dried bog area during the summer where the plants can still get under the dried surface mud and drink from what's below. Also, the spikes are good for maximum 8 weeks.

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Slow release pellets have been used successfully in remote guerilla locations. The advantage is they can be dispersed throughout the root area and also used in a top dressing just under the mulch surface for release each time it rains, rather than emanating from one fertilizer spike which can have hot spots and weak spots etc.

As you probably already know organic fertilizers like Espoma, bone meal and blood meal work good, but predators love to dig it up.

buckets said:

That's great advice monkey grinder. Thank you. I'm trying to study the first two paragraphs you wrote but I'm baked at the minute. I'll see if I can order that maxsea but I'm worried that animals will rip up the plants because there's sea stuff in there. Is it just seaweed or does it hve fish in it?

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No fish in maxsea.

Temperature also plays a part.

This is an interesting read (page two lists some by name and page three goes through some ways to use correctly). http://garden.org/subchannels/flowers/roses?q=show&id=698&page=1

my vote goes to osmacote been using for years out door 1/4 cup per 10 gals of soil get ya to bloom.

thumper60 said:

my vote goes to osmacote been using for years out door 1/4 cup per 10 gals of soil get ya to bloom.

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Can't seem to find that shit anywhere

Iwannagethigh780 said:

Can't seem to find that shit anywhere

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usa no ?

thumper60 said:

usa no ?

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Canada

In Canada osmocote is available in bulk at jons plant factory. They have a website.