understanding osmocote and ferts in inert substrate

[Diana]

In those little frozen food cubes, I would half fill them.

[pandamonium]

ok will do that then. thats like 10 or so pellets i think. i saw different osmocotes today at home depot. the strange thing is, no one has ever heard of osmocote plus. even the garden center by the zoo which is really knowledgeable. i am guessing it may be since it is so new? not sure about that haha. ill probably end up getting it online. i dont know when i will going across the bay next. so about 10 or so pellets at least 1 fertcicle under each set of stem/root plants and then spread them about 2 to 3 inches apart from each other throughout the tank? so i should be using quite a few for my 40 gallon breeder tank?

[saguaro48]

It appears that Osmocote PLUS is difficult to locate in many parts of the country. I ordered on line/mail order and spent an extra $9.00 for shipping. Afterwards, I discovered that the product is available from Ace Hardware. Your local store probably does not have it but you can get it shipped free to the store. To do this, go to acehardware.com and type in osmocote in the product search. DO NOT type in osmocote plus (you will incorrectly get a Product not Found message) When you get the page displaying the products, lo and behold Osmocote Plus will be the first one listed. You can then add it to your cart and select Free Shipping to my store. IF YOUR STORE is NOT listed, then just call the 800 number and they will ship it to your home free!
I've recently returned to the hobby and enjoyed reading the posts on this site. Thanks to those who go out of their way to help fellow hobbyists. I'm glad to be able to provide a bit of info for others.

Now, for providing this information, can someone tell me how long between putting doses of the product into the substrate (kitty litter in my case?) weeks/months?

Thanks

[pandamonium]

wow that is convenient. ill check now just in case i need more. i will be sharing this with my mom for her roses and peonies and other plants.

i have read that osmocote works on land for 6 months. in water i have seen 2-4. i am going to replace every 3 months ish or as needed depending on plant growth. i have sunset hygro which turns red when it has enough nutrients. in that case, when it turns green, its time to add more haha

[saguaro48]

Originally Posted by pandamonium

...
i have sunset hygro which turns red when it has enough nutrients. in that case, when it turns green, its time to add more haha

Didn't think of doing something like that. So simple yet sort of foolproof (just what I need )

[pandamonium]

fool proof for a person like me is a good thing. i have had so many issues with things going wrong. lets just hope this hygro doesnt decide to mess with me.

[audioaficionado]

I snagged mine a year ago in HD. Haven't seen any since. I think it's off the consumer market and only wholesaled to nursery growers and farms.

[jeremyTR]

Love Osmocote Plus, great stuff.

I found mine at Fred Myers.

Sent from my HTC Evo 4G

[zherico]

You can allways make your own root tabs by placing the root osmocote in potters clay (which has a nice CEC). Here is a link

http://aquaria.net/articles/DIY/plants/clay-balls/


Also as other forum members have stated, you are not going to have much in the way of any nutrient exchange between your inert substrate and water column, so you will need substrate fertilizer AND some dry/liquid ferts to add