Bonsaify | How to Use Organic Fertilizers with Bonsai Trees

Рет қаралды 15,805

Күн бұрын

One of the most common questions Eric receives is, "what kind of fertilizer do you use?" In this video, Eric introduces three different types of organic fertilizer and shares the Japanese practice of "Soji".
00:00:35 Eric clarifies the meaning of "organic" in the context of fertilizer.
00:01:55 What happens when you use organic fertilizer. When added to the surface of your bonsai pot it incorporates itself into the soil as it breaks down.
00:03:00 Using both mineral-based and organic fertilizers feed off each other (more to come on mineral-based fertilizers in a future video!)
00:03:22 Eric demonstrates "Soji", top scraping of the soil. This Japanese practice is usually performed in the fall, but really it can be done anytime its needed. Soji allows more air penetration and even water distribution.
00:05:36 Eric adds sifted bonsai soil to replace the soil he removed.
00:06:16 Organic Fertilizer #1 - E.B. Stone Organics All Purpose Plant Food, which is powder form.
00:06:40 Defining the 3 numbers used to identify the composition by weight, and explaining typical ingredients in organic fertilizer.
00:07:52 Close-up of powder form and how to simply apply to soil.
00:08:39 E.B. Stone is very inexpensive - a 4lb box costs approx. $10 USD. E.B. Stone (4lb box): amzn.to/3KN8YLT
00:09:19 Organic Fertilizer #2 - imported Japanese fertilizer, fermented prior to being turned into fertilizer. OBF has smaller pellets and costs about $12 USD for 10oz. OBF (10oz bag): amzn.to/3IeEdh6
00:10:27 Biogold is a rounded triangular pellet, popular and expensive - about $15 USD for 10oz. Biogold (10oz bag): amzn.to/3IeEdh6
00:11:26 Organic Fertilizer #3 - Fish Emulsion, which is relatively inexpensive (1 quart for approx. $9 USD) and easy to find. Downside? Smells bad! If you have problems with rodents, switching to a liquid fertilizer can help you! Fish Emulsion (1 quart): amzn.to/3JifPfQ
E.B. Stone (4lb box): amzn.to/3KN8YLT
OBF (10oz bag): amzn.to/3IeEdh6
Biogold (10oz bag): amzn.to/3IeEdh6
Fish Emulsion (1 quart): amzn.to/3JifPfQ
Do you have any other organic fertilizers you've used and recommend? Let us know in the comments below! Please like and share this video, especially with any of bonsai newbies. As always, subscribe to our channel!

Пікірлер: 82

@wreagin1 2 жыл бұрын

I love seeing new videos from you. You’re easily my favorite content creator for bonsai on this platform. Your content is informational without being haughty and austere while being professional and digestible. Keep up the good work man. I wish there were more creators like you on the east coast but until that happens I’ll happily watch everything you make and have made.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Mark!

@davidmorgan3508 2 жыл бұрын

Aussie Dave here Eric, once again a interesting and valuable video. I use worm juice from my worm farm 🤗🤭

@kenhunnicutt8536 2 жыл бұрын

That lucky tree is getting a full course meal between all samples.😄 Good video. 👍

@almac2598 2 жыл бұрын

I save the glass spice jars with the plastic sprinkler tops to be refilled with the organic feed. Makes it easy to treat the trees by just sprinkling around the roots as required.

@laughlife6787 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Eric great video. I use Biogold triangular pellets and have found it helps greatly with over all quality of my bonsai.

@nightcoder5k 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for making this video.

@ndavila80 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, I currently use micro life organic pellets (6-2-3) and/or superfly bonsai pellets (5-7-4). Work great for me in central Texas. Also occasionally use 5-1-1 fish emulsion as well as concentrated seaweed extract.

@thenaturecreater8906 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. Thanks

@robertobreglia9224 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this very interesting video!👍👍👍👍

@tamaneducationbermainTABER 2 жыл бұрын

Love beautiful cemara bonsai...sukses selalu sahabat ku

@vishallagoo 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video. Love from India 🇮🇳

@lovelylidiaa9738 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@waterlover Жыл бұрын

Makes total sense now time to watch the other link

@9daywonda 2 жыл бұрын

Nice one hey.

@buddytrent1351 Жыл бұрын

Thx

@joelhiggins6156 2 жыл бұрын

Superfly Bonsai Organic Fert seems to work well, its shape is also conducive to staying put 😁

@hyperionhelios190 2 ай бұрын

Bokashi Pro-Gro is fantastic stuff.

@jamesancilleri3694 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for a great video Eric, do you recommend putting the organic pellets in a different spots every time you reapply?

@baldyeti 2 жыл бұрын

Great knowledge drop, brother. I sure appreciate it. This helped fill in a lot if holes for me. Why keep it in a pile? This part confuses me. Seems like spreading it out would benefit the tree. But obviously there is more to it than I’m fathoming here.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Generally, concentrating the fertilizer in piles (you can put multiple piles on) allows for more consistent breakdown (larger mass of fertilizer stays moist longer) and fewer problems with air and water penetration.

@9daywonda 2 жыл бұрын

In the U.K. some gardeners say to use dried up banana skins.

@dragaumchineis5070 2 жыл бұрын

Bom dia, Flor Do Dia!

@claudiobernal9535 2 жыл бұрын

Encontré los videos por casualidad y me han parecido muy interesantes y didácticos, aunque aveces el traductor no funciona muy bien se entiende, gracias y un saludo desde Duitama Colombia, y muchas gracias, y que Dios le bendiga.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Bienvenido! Puedo usar Espanol, pero creo que Google se traducta mejor.

@nickaleshin7149 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! I thought with soji you also normally clean moss off the roots/trunk, any particular reason why you left it on this tree?

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

I'm neither an advocate of nor an opponent of moss on bonsai surfaces. In the case of a juniper it has little impact as the bark peels. On a pine or corkbark elm I would not allow it to creep up the trunk. In any case, I think you're right!

@BONSAIenCORTO 2 жыл бұрын

I use cannabis fertilyzers. Thanks for sharing.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Great stuff, but I generally find them to be too expensive. Although for specimen trees, maybe not!

@BONSAIenCORTO 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bonsaify Sure you have more trees than I. Thanks for your anwser. Greetings.

@thetruthchannel7073 2 жыл бұрын

How frequent do you fertilise bonsai trees thank you

@sabikmercuriobravo5976 2 жыл бұрын

Nice video!! Have you ever done your own fertilizer? Is there any advantage doing my own and how can i know how much NPK im putting to the plant doing this?

@sbragaglia 2 жыл бұрын

Indeed! Many people are suggesting coffee waste + banana peel + eggs shells (all dried and grounded) for gardening, but other are saying that they don’t provide enough nutrients to bonsais…

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Composted organic matter generally contains some nutrient, but maxes out at about 5% and availability can be affected by the breakdown process.

@sabikmercuriobravo5976 2 жыл бұрын

So, there is more like guessing. Maybe thats the problem when a discussion of fertilizing a bonsai with a DIY method is applied, we cannnot meassure the succes of the process!!

@brucedeacon28 9 ай бұрын

👍😬🙂

@t.regnerus301 2 жыл бұрын

Trees couldn't care less whether you use "organic" or "synthetic" fertilizer. What you should be looking at is a balanced fertilizer that contains all the micronutrients that a tree needs. Personally I use Jack's fertilizer. I've also used Miracle-Gro and Dyna-Gro.

@tennerfive7104 2 жыл бұрын

does putting the organic fertilizer in tea bags affect negatively the breakdown or maximum release effect of the fertilizer? I've been placing my powdered fert in tea bags as I've seen others do that as well, but curious if it matters. Here in houston we have one called micro life and it is pretty awesome.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Great question - and I believe the answer is yes, although this is observational and I don't have any firm evidence. What we see here is that when in a tea bag, the fertilizer and the bag do not decompose as readily because they remain too dry on the surface. I've tried adding sphagnum inside the bags, filling them fuller, pinning them to the surface with a toothpick and a few other things, but the dryness of our climate in summer I think makes this method problematic. I will be doing a video specifically on tea bags in the coming weeks also.

@tennerfive7104 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bonsaify awesome! Thank you. I don’t want to waste my fertilizer so would be nice to know and just skip tea bags if so, although here our climate is like 80% humidity almost all year long so idk if that would help it decomposes better in the tea bag. Looking forward to the video! Thanks again.

@judymagrath3771 2 жыл бұрын

Do you have any thoughts about fertilizer baskets?

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

I don't find them to be super useful, but if you do, use them!

@frankhalstead20 11 ай бұрын

Hi Eric, is there a reason for not spreading out the biogold around the pots surface instead of applying in one spot?

@Bonsaify 11 ай бұрын

Not really. In certain climates keeping the pellets wet is harder so it helps in those cases with the natural breakdown.

@jamesancilleri3694 2 жыл бұрын

What juniperus is this one Eric?

@edubb786 7 ай бұрын

Are these fertilizers more for mature trees? I am using MG for my young starters and cuttings but just acquired my first few mature bonsai . (Juniper, jade & ficus) just wondering if the MG would work fine or if it is better to switch to one of these organic fertilizers .?

@Bonsaify 7 ай бұрын

Generally MG works fine for mature trees - but organics can be equally good or better in some circumstances. If you're getting good results with MG then stick with it. You could add organics on top if you want more steady strong growth.

@briankavanagh7191 2 жыл бұрын

Don't shoot me but the long branch @0:31 looks out of place, I would cut it off and bring the other lower branches down to create a more aged looking tree, also could you not mix the powder fertiliser with the top soil you have replaced. Look forward to your thoughts?

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

No doubt, a largely unstyled tree that the owner has been growing. It could use a bit more than just one branch edited! You can mix powdered fertilizer into soil, but it will then immediately basically undo what you did by scraping the soil off. Air penetration is what you are trying to maintain, hence the piles on top. But see what works for you!

@cherylandrews3195 2 жыл бұрын

why is it better to put the fertilizer in one spot rather than all around? Did you put the same url for obf and biogold?

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

I've seen both done, and generally, concentrating the fertilizer in piles (you can put multiple piles on) allows for more consistent breakdown (larger mass of fertilizer stays moist longer) and fewer problems with air and water penetration.

@cherylandrews3195 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bonsaify Thank you so much! I love your videos!

@ConductorRyan 2 жыл бұрын

I've had problems with opossums digging in my pots looking for fish after using fish emulsion, and rodents eating my tea bags full of other organics. Theres a local company here called gro-power that makes an organic fertilizer that is supposed to not attract animals, I havent tried it yet though.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Let us know how it works!

@wriv819 Жыл бұрын

I’m practical. I use one kind of fertilizer for all my trees never had a problem! No need to complicate things all it does is confuse people more !

@Bonsaify Жыл бұрын

Nice!👍

@thomasdale-lh1iz Жыл бұрын

Sir Eric : If a pellet of Biogold is placed in a test tube of distilled H2O and added to a surface soil Bonsai , would this be efficacious ?

@Bonsaify Жыл бұрын

🤔 Not sure I understand the question - but generally yes I think it would work fine that way.

@apearson79 3 ай бұрын

This is an older video, and you might not even see this, but I just started using biogold and I noticed some mold on a piece that had been in the soil. Normal or abnormal?

@Bonsaify 3 ай бұрын

Normal, just a regular part of organic matter decomposing.

@jerryzito6840 Жыл бұрын

What are your views on liquid fertilizer?

@Bonsaify Жыл бұрын

Actually, we did a separate video around the same time on liquids - but in short, I think both types of fertilizer are useful, and I use both myself on bonsai (but minimal organic on nursery stock due to costs and residue problems.)

@raynorris135 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Eric, do the rodents go for bio gold?

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

It seems like they do not. Which is fantastic. I just wish it were a cheaper fertilizer that provided the solution.

@raynorris135 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bonsaify me too

@raynorris135 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bonsaify I’m going with neem meal added to the organic fertilizer. It’s supposed repel bugs and rodents. I’ll try it this spring and report on it by summer

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Pure neem does seem to not attract rodent activity. However I can't stand the smell of it. It seems to be a human repellant also.

@raynorris135 2 жыл бұрын

@@Bonsaify I haven’t opened the box yet. But like many organic stuff it could be smelly

@antonioraviolioto3886 Ай бұрын

If I use 50 grams of a 5-3-4, that will give me 2.5 grams N, 1.5 grams of P, and 2 grams of K. How do I know how many grams of each I need for my bonsai?

@Bonsaify Ай бұрын

Well - you dont. Just play with how much and see what happens. There are ways of finding out, but it's complicated and expensive.

@eddieo4978 Күн бұрын

Read the instructions on the package for recommended guide lines. I would try half of what's recommended and work up to full strength.

@koholohan3478 2 жыл бұрын

Why not evenly dispurse is over the soil. A pile on one side seems so bizarre.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

You can do it any way you want - piles make it more apparent that things are either breaking down normally or not. Mixing with the soil causes a bit more work later, which is why some people use tea bags. However, your local climate may or may not make tea bags a good option (dry climates prevent the fertilizer from decomposing sometimes.)

@SyriusStarMultimedia 2 жыл бұрын

I can verify that urban rats and urban gardening are partners.

@DarthMasiah 2 жыл бұрын

couldn't you just pre moisten the powder into a mud ball?

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Yes!

@reidrayfield6685 Жыл бұрын

Can I just pop some earthworm in my bonsai pots to keep the soil aerated??

@Bonsaify Жыл бұрын

Give it a try and let us know the results.

@apearson79 3 ай бұрын

Organic meaning contains carbon. That's the chemistry definition.

@Josef_R 2 жыл бұрын

Organic fertilizer has been used since the beginning of time. Maybe hipsters should have picked another name for their food.

@Bonsaify 2 жыл бұрын

Biodynamic was a term I heard re:wine production a few years ago but it doesn't seem to have caught on. Not only this, but "Organic Chemistry" is almost an oxymoron, even though all medical students take it in college. In fact almost all pesticides are the type of molecules studied in Organic Chemistry. 😂