pmdd

[fisheyes]

Has anyone used pmdd pre-mix by Greg Watson, http://www.gregwatson.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PMDDPre-Mix
Does it work and how much do you use?

 

[travis simonson]

I have used his PMDD recipe to make clay-based root tabs but have not used it to supplement my water column. Used as root tabs it works great and my heavy root-feeding plants react well to it. HTH

 

[fisheyes]

How exactly did you make the tabs? I'm not sure i fully understand

 

[travis simonson]

Mix the specified PMMD ingredients dry on a 1:1 ratio with art clay. Grind them together (I used a mortar and pestle) and then added a 'little' (and I do mean 'little'- drop by drop) water to the mix and kneaded it slowly with the pestle until it got clumpy. I've got a little press to form pellets with, but it should work just as well if you roll them into tight balls. Place them into the substrate about 2" below your heavy root-feeding plants and they will love you for it

 

[fisheyes]

What kind of art clay do you use? Is any kind okay?

 

[travis simonson]

I can't really say if there's a difference in 'art clay'. I just got some in a root tab kit and that's what I've been using. If anyone out there can comment on this I would appreciate it

 

[malkore]

http://www.plantguild.com/ sells the correct kind of red 'art clay' for making root tabs.

 

[frog girl]

I just used red clay from digging under the thin topsoil layer in my yard & it works fine.

I did it a bit differently in that I put the granules in the clay & made a ball around them which I let dry on an old cookie sheet. I just used up the last of the ones I made when I first got my aquarium 2 years ago. I did it that way because I was afraid of them dissolving nutrients into the water on the way down & into the soil (I think I read about it somewhere).

 

[travis simonson]

www.plantguild.com makes a great system for injecting clay tabs under your substrate. You could easily build something like it yourself. Find a plastic tube with an inner diameter slightly larger than your pellets that is about 1 1/2 feet long. Get a solid dowel that will fit down this tube smoothly. Place the fert pellet at the top of the tube, insert the lower tip of the tube 2" below the substrate where you would like the fert tab to go, and use the dowel/plunger to push the fert pellet down the tube and under the substrate to at least a 2" depth. Sort of like an injector but not too hard to rig up

 

[fisheyes]

How much of the trace did you put in your pellets before you wrapped them in clay? the clay i have is actually clay not powder so i'm not sure how to do it.

 

[travis simonson]

I used the PMDD recipe as specified by Greg Watson on his packaging (don't have it with me right now). It's a pretty basic mix including potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, Plantex CSM+B (traces), and maybe magnesium sulfate (can't remember the exact ingredients but if you have any ferts from Greg it should have the recipe on the package).

 

[malkore]

I happen to have the instructions handy. It's a 50/50 mix of clay powder and PMDD mix, per the plantguild.com kit. I don't know what Greg's recipe is. I know Travis has a special recipe too that's a bit different.

 

[czcz]

Sears Conlin PMDD Formula from my GregWatson.com order

1 tbl Plantex CSM
1 tbl MgSO4+7H2O (not included)
2 tbl K2SO4
1 tbl KNO3 (varies depending upon your nitrate)

Also http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/sears-conlin-feedback2.html

 

[travis simonson]

There it is

I add a little potassium sulfate to mine as well (and sometimes calcium carbonate - AKA dolomite), although I can't say whether it really makes a noticeable difference. Root feeders like Echinodorus, Cryptocorynes, Nuphar and Nymphaea lilies, Pogostemons, and even Lilaeopsis grass love PMDD tabs. I don't use them heavily since I also fertilize through the water column, but they give root feeding plants an extra leg up IMHO

 

[malkore]

Wow I completely mis-read this. I thought you needed to know PMDD to clay powder recipe, not PMDD recipe!

*smacks forehead*

 

[fisheyes]

I actually have clay, it's not the clay powder so i'm not real sure how to go about making the tabs. Should i just put in trace or all the other "ingredients" in too and how much?