Since I always speak about or recommend Eden Solution nutrition, I often get questions about how to use them here in this forum.
First I am a beginner, on a journey of exploration, I am not a bonsai professional nor a plant expert in anyway shape or form. So please keep that in mind.
I stumbled onto Eden on the web about the same time Ryan started speaking about this approach, I was reading the labels on the consumer grade products and applying some products along with Bio Gold.
I do not test as extensively as Ryan does, he is the master, and the source of most of my knowledge that I based my experiments on. I am an intuition based human, I am overly simplistic in my approach to life.
What I have learned is the following.
#1 It starts with good quality water with an ideal PH at 6.4 -6.5. So you can use clean rain water or you can filter and PH adjust your water as needed. Rainwater collection in a closed system such as those recommended by Blue Barrel Systems allows you to collect water off your roof. There are ways to filter the water before it reaches your storage system.
For municipal water, In-line carbon and KDF filters like the Camco taste pure blue model can be used to reduce chlorine & a fertilizer injection system can be used to adjust the PH coming out of your hose.
Either way sorting out your water is number one, regardless of what fertilizer system you are using.
#2. Flushing and surface cleaning. Flushing is used at the beginning of the season and once a month during the growing season. Flushing is simply watering the pot 6-8 times in rapid succession to flush out fine, organics, decomposed particles and mostly to flush salts out of the system. It is easy to do and can give the soil system a much needed reset.
Surface cleaning, some moss grows at astonishing rates on the Eden system of nutrition. It is important to remove excess moss at the beginning of each season, flush and re- top dress. Excessive moss can impede a balance of water and O2. Watch your pots during the growing season for rapid moss development and remove as needed. Really seeing 2”-3” moss growth is possible and it can be an issue depending on your location and the type of moss you are using in your top dressing.
As a general rule surface cleaning, flush and re- top dress every spring on anything that was not repotted.
The actual Eden products safe to use without excessive testing in my opinion ( we all know the saying about opinions )
Fusion Veg = The NPK replacement
Alfalfa Blend = a carbon based fertilizer designed for alfalfa farmers and I use it as a supplement to Fusion veg. This is base blend on steroids, carbon and calcium.
These 2 products together are your main Bio Gold, Mircle Grow, Dr. Earth etc REPLACEMENT !!!
( I am not saying the above products are bad or need to be replaced, I am simply stating how I am using this system currently. In the past I mixed products but over fertilization is a real issue. Pick one NPK source to minimize salt buildup. Trying everything at once just adds excessive salts that get trapped in the system.)
Base Blend aka Hydro = a blend of plant based extracts designed to boost plant immunity. This product is the base of most of Eden’s products. It was once called Lazarus in its ability to restore life in a compromised crop.. I use a lot of Hydro, maybe 1.5 gallons per year in a home situation. I believe strongly in the products ability to maintain healthy plants and to help with insect management. It helps boost immunity, guard against frost damage and provides excellent root growth. I use it at most waterings and it is part of the foliar spray. Even during my overwintering all plants in a controlled environment of 30-40 F receive Hydro once per week.
Super carb= a molasses based product to feed soil biology and to increase the plants sugar content. Most insects do not like to eat sweets, the plants calls them in when they have excess salts to get rid of. By using this super carb with hydro and silica as a foliage spray, it makes the plant taste like sh** so the bugs fly away to eat something else. As stupid as this may sound, think about it, if it tastes bad to you, you won’t eat it either. It is not harmful to the bugs, bees love it, but aphids seem to disappear with a good dose of this foliage spray.
Silica= most trees like silica. Silica helps repair damage and is well documented. DE a natural insect repellent used in organic gardening has a high silica content. Silica can be used as a foliage spray or in a drench.
These are the basic, consumer grade products that I would recommend starting with. But please fix your water first, read Eden Solutions warnings and understand the system before asking for application rates. You must commit to organic, you can’t mix these products with chemicals fertilizer and using common fungicides and insecticides with these products can kill your plants. You don’t need to be 100% Eden but you do need to be 100% organic and you need to use organic pest management, and organic fungicides and insecticides.
Study the warnings here, research the products https://bluegold.garden
If you pull the trigger and decide to make the commitment then feel free to reach me at
Disclaimer
What Ryan is doing with Apical Ag is steps up from what my approach is.
I used Apical testing to get base line recommendations and I wing it from there. I received a lot of information from the folks at Eden themselves and I have listen to everything Ryan has mentioned about Apical. My goal is the find an organic based system that is safe for the kids, pets and environment and to apply it to my bonsai adventure.
Ryan is the master and I consider him a teacher, as such I don’t post applications rates publicly because he doesn’t do it.
If you are ready to begin this adventure and need help always feel free to shoot me a email and I will tell you what I am using. I have also use super phos, cal king, cal sil, HCF , etc etc but those are probably not where a person new to this approach would start. If anything I posted conflicts with what Ryan states then I am incorrect and you should listen to him. I do not have world class trees, I am a backyard bonsai hobbyist and there are many folks on this forum that take this far more seriously then I do.
Finally thanks to all of you who have helped me along the way. This forum is a great way to learn and many ideas have been sparked by conversations with you all.
Peace..
