Aussie Finch Forum

Hi everyone, I've been growing seeding grasses for a couple of years now but only getting little amounts of Green seed from them. I was wondering what types of fertilizer are people using to get larger amounts of Green seed off each plant. I was considering using Charlie Karp or seafeed 3 in 1, is there anything that might he better that won't be toxic for birds to consume?

Lots of water. But you probably have that. No fertalizer. Seeds like crazy. Possibly the warm weather helps.
LML

I'm not sure on all the products available to you, but if you want to fertilize try stick to organic products.
At the beginning of the growing season use a balanced fertilizer higher in nitrogen and phosphorus (first two numbers in the ratio you see on fertilizer labels e.g. 3:2:1) to encourage leaf and root growth, the latter being very important for overall plant health. You can also compliment the fertilizer with a kelp product, but be careful not to overdo a foliar kelp/fish emulsion fertlizer as they are very high in nitrogen and usually just elongate plants making them too soft. Apply all in moderation .
A little later in the season you will need something that will stimulate the production of the seed and not leaf, i.e. medium levels of nitrogen to maintain leaf health and high levels of potassium (last digit in the ratio e.g. 3:1:5) to encourage seed development (similar to what you would use on vegetable crops).

Overall though I've never really had to fertilize. The trick is to make sure your growing media (soil) is very well prepared before attempting to grow a crop. It should be well composted, light (aerated) and retain moisture reasonably well. A good mulch always helps along with adequate water.

Hope you have success in the future.

Seasol
Seasol
and Seasol . Smells like the back end of of a Killer Whale ( only imagine ) but works a treat however I have used it too early and burnt the young grass to death .

My garden was primed with every kind of animal poop on the market all winter + compost so it didnt really need ferts so early in its growth .

Well the fertilizer which I've really been considering is sea feed 3 in 1 which contains seasol + fish + organic compound. This product is made to help enrich and condition soil as well as help protect plants from a number of fungal disease and pests as well as to help stimulate growth. But where I start getting concerned is with all the extra metals in this product.
Nitrogen 1.75%
Phosphorus 0.4%
Potassium 0.84%
But also contains calcium ,iron ,copper and zinc.
This product also states that its organic. As you can tell I don't really have a Green thumb and when I asked if this would be safe to use on products that will be given to birds was " its used for human crops so I guess it would safe". I know that humans require different amounts of heavy metals to animals and I wouldn't like to give them excess and lose them all.

Danny,

Could I suggest that this is not a fertiliser (If the % of NPK you give are correct) but a soil conditoner. It is the NPK which constitutes "fertiliser".

MadOzzie

I use blood and bone and dynamic lifter on my seeding grasses that are in pots , and liguid thrive in the aviary so the birds dont pick up to much of the fert of the floor.

Now if we are using normal fertilizer like npk which is made up of nitrogen gives quick growth, phosphate for root growth and pottasium which helps flower/ seeding heads , and all those other trace elements are fine, iron, copper, zinc. As they will be in small doses, it would be the mercury and lead in them that would cause trouble over time...

Phosaphates are only recommended on grass/ lawns that are being established to promote root growth, if the plant has been established for a while it doesnt need it. thats what they say causes algal blooms in rivers ect , from over use .

Nitrogen promotes greenery and will make it go nuts and not seed to much as you will be forever cutting the stuff back. but a mix of iron and manganses will also give it a dark look but its all about the seed head, so a well balanced fert will do the trick. To much nitrogen will cause the plant to require more water therefore suffer heat stress.

seasol is only a tonic , it helps destress a plant but it does help, but a real key to the issue what the soil type maybe, a good dose of sheep or cow poo once a year in spring . as it all adds up.
So after that ramble. a good mulch of sheep /animal manure, prefer not chicken, and your charlie carp or seasol would be good as there are a few on the market with added goodies. because if you look at most seeding grasses in the wild what kind of fert do they get if any and yet alot of birds feed from them....Have you ever noticed how much greener your lawn looks after a thunder storm.... I could go one forever but I better not.....pete

Whenever I grow millet for seed heads I water in the seed with seasol liquid solution then wait until its all about 10cm high and give a generous side-dressing of dynamic lifter and water it in with more seasol/fish emulsion solution over the plants and the fertiliser. I grow a double row of each seed type about 30cm apart and simply fertilise in a strip down the middle of the two rows. That way your extra nutrient goes to the intended crop rather than sharing it with weeds if put outside the rows. The liquid fertilisers (seaweed, fish, etc) may not have the same NPK ratios of some of the chemical fertilisers but as a foliar application they give an immediate and significant boost which no granular fertiliser can match. A foliar feed is a quick hit of nutrient and the solid organic fertiliser on the ground gives a more sustained feed and boosts soil microbe & worm life around the plants. With this one dynamic lifter/liquid feed at this early stage, no later fertilising is necessary - just keep well watered until harvest time. I am a bit reluctant to apply any liquid feeds or chook poo based fertiliser anywhere near the seed head stage where some of this stuff could possibly contaminate the edible seed heads. A good early feed is more than ample to produce the best possible plant and seedhead anyway and later applications of nitrogen may delay or inhibit seeding.