Ive read that the best thing to give cacti is worm castings once in a while, i cant really find it any stores where live so ive been using normal commercial cactus nutrition.

I dont really like using it since it probably contains a bunch of nasty chemicals, any idea on alternative methods of findind some good nutes for them?

SHroomtroll

I have been using wood ash on my plants and cacti and it does wonders for them...

Here is some information on using wood ash on your plants: Composition will vary depending on what was burned.

Wood ash contains 10-25% calcium, 1-4% magnesium, 5-15% potassium and 1-3% phosphorus.

A fertilizer for the yard and garden. Wood ash is a good (0-2-10) fertilizer for the garden. The types of wood you burn does play a role in the amount of nutrients it contains. Hardwoods generally produce 3 times more ash that contains 5 times more nutrients than softwoods. Ash will temporarily increase the pH (make more alkaline) of garden soil, so you should only use it sparingly and not at all if your soil pH is already over 7.0. Two pounds of wood ash equals about 1 pound of ground limestone. When used as a fertilizer, wood ash should be applied at least two months before high nitrogen fertilizers because it promotes the loss of nitrogen from ammonia-based fertilizers. Don't use wood ash on acidic-loving plants like rhododendron, blueberries or azaleas.


I hope this helps, best of luck.


Much Peace and Kindness

ash huh, how about ash from weed n hash? would be nice to just empty my ashtrays in the water pot for my cactis

I use plant food for veggies and leafy plants.
I recently used rabbit dung and some alfalfa too.

Heya Shroom,

I had this problem earlier this season. I've got about 100 cactus to take care of and needed a ton of soil and nutes. I think intuitively it feels better to me to get your nutrients from quality soil instead of adding stuff. Sort of builds up a natural microclimate that does more good then feeding them once in a while. If it does turn out that one of them is dire need of nutes, I can mix up a batch of compost tea and that really does the trick.

Anyway, if your interested in trying this. I gathered up tons of coffee grounds from local coffee shops and a ton of rabbit compost/bedding. The coffee gets things hot enough to kill off bad stuff and then mellows out in a couple weeks making a perfect environment for the good microbes your lookin for(depending on what you put in, it will take about a month of sitting in the sun for the compost to cool down to the point where you can use it safely). Then I just add dirt from the garden...the best you have around, but doesnt really matter, more of just a filler because there are so many nutes in the coffee and rabbit droppings, and you'll be creating a whole new microclimate anyway. Ideally, while this is "mellowing" in the sun, add kitchen scraps. Anything that breaks down quick and isn't meat, fat, bones, oil, or general nastiness. Stick with fruit and veggie scraps to be safe. I couldn't be happier with his regimen. I get about 2 feet of growth per year!

Good luck! I'll be interested in hearing how things go.

D

i'd skip the ash and coffee, and just use any basic all purpose feed
same stuff you'd feed to leafy vegetables, dont be stingy- during active growth they can eat alot.

osmocote 20-20-20 has been good, so has any left over feed from the herb garden:
bad/bird guano are great!!
liquids like foxfarm, botanicare, age old, etc are great, but expensive compared to bat n bird shit

the vendor i got my cacti from suggested to use hummus from the woods. in the letter he sent with the cacti he said that his cacti can eat a whole bucket of hummus in one growing season and love it and all you have to do is lay it on top and wait for it to decompose into the soil. ive yet to try it but i might give it a go next year.

I use "MaxSea" 16-16-16 all purpose, its made from seaweed and has "micro-nutrients". Works great IMO, just a bit pricey. A 1 gallon pail will last about 1.5 seasons and costs $50. I feed about 30 cactus, some over 7' tall. Also works on all my potted flowers and other succulants.

Good luck

I've gone through a 40lb bag of ammonium sulfate in a single growing season and that was not the only fert I used. These things can feed a lot and can grow 2-3 feet a year quite easily.