For those of you that have used Acti-sol organic fertilizer; what did you use to spread it? I have the standard pellets so they’re bigger than a common non-organic fertilizer ball. More like a feed pellet or something.
I’m looking to spread it on certain crops so a tractor 3pth spreader seems over kill but dropping by hand seems too much work and imprecise!
Any suggestions or experience appreciated.
Hey Ben!
Were you thinking of broadcasting it? And what kind of crops are you applying it to? On beds or open field?
Hey Denis,
I was thinking about either broadcasting or metering it out somehow so that I know the approx application rate. I’m applying it to beds of crops that are growing like sweetcorn but possibly some others if they’re showing deficiencies
Broadcasting isn’t typically recommended for this kind of product due to the amount of nitrogen you’d be losing to volatilization into the air. Personally, I used to use my Jang seeder and fill the hopper with it paired with a seed wheel with massive holes in it so that I could “bury” the Actisol and put it right where the crop needs it without any losses. It worked remarkably well and was easier to meter how much the plants were getting. To calculate it, I would grab the nitrogen need for a particular crop (usually in lbs/acre), and I would convert my beds to an acre value (i.e. 1 bed = 0.003 acres) so I can figure out how much to apply per bed. I like this method better as I’m feeding the crops specifically, and not the crops and all the weeds that inevitably pop up and feed on it when you’re broadcasting.
If you’re still broadcasting anyway, check the application rate of the broadcaster and do a dry run with a known quantity (weight) of Actisol to calibrate it (since the rate differs based on the size/shape/weight of the fertilizer). Then apply as directed for the crop’s needs.
Hope this helps!
The seeder is a great idea, I’ll give that a try. Thanks!!