Goldwater as fertilizer for cacti and other succulents?

[Mrs.Green]

I use goldwater as fertilizer for my plants and they seem to be pretty happy with this . I dilute it 1:10 and this seems to work well. But I am unsure if this is a good fertilizer for cacti and succulents?

[Steve Johnson]

Never heard of it. Are you talking about Dr. Earth Pure Gold 2-2-2?

[Mrs.Green]

Never heard of it. Are you talking about Dr. Earth Pure Gold 2-2-2?

Ah..I should have explained better I see.. Goldwater is urine mixed with water.

https://www.news24.com/news24/Green/New ... n-20180628

[Steve Johnson]

Ah..I should have explained better I see.. Goldwater is urine mixed with water.

https://www.news24.com/news24/Green/New ... n-20180628

Ewwwww!!!! And no, it's a lousy substitute for the nutrients cacti and succulents get only through a real fertilizer.

[greenknight]

Too high in nitrogen for cacti.

[Mrs.Green]

Ah..I should have explained better I see.. Goldwater is urine mixed with water.

https://www.news24.com/news24/Green/New ... n-20180628

Ewwwww!!!! And no, it's a lousy substitute for the nutrients cacti and succulents get only through a real fertilizer.

Nothing ewwww! about it it’s in fact a splendid fertilizer for the right plants. On top of that it’s free and ecofriendly A neighbour have a dog who pees in one spot on the lawn. You should have seen the grass growing in that spot, thick and lush green!

Too high in nitrogen for cacti.

Yes, I was afraid of that.

[DaveW]

See:-

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/i ... on-cactus/

Maybe if it is a Mexican cactus you should get a Chihuahua to pee on it?

Not tried urine, but the old lady's with an Echinopsis in their window often used to use the dregs from the teapot as the only fertiliser the plant ever got. Both the tea (without milk) and the tea leaves as an organic additive to to soil in the pot.

[One Windowsill]

I use it for cuttings.

Not only do they need a little boost of nitrogen, but human urine contains indolylacetic acid, from the metabolism of the amino acid tryptophan, if the human donor is eating a healthy diet with enough protein.

Indolylacetic acid is the same compound, often abbreviated IAA, found in many rooting gels, powders and potions. IAA is a naturally-occuring growth hormone found in flowering plants. The other usual commercial rooting compound is NAA, the cheaper naphthylacetic acid which mimics the natural compund IAA.

IAA was first found in human urine and the levels present were at first determined by a plant growth assay.

This was taught to me as an old Romany tip for rooting cuttings. Free, freshly manufactured, sterile, convenient to use and always to hand.

Not to be confused with Goldwasser, which only contains one plant nutrient.

[Mrs.Green]

See:-

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/i ... on-cactus/

Maybe if it is a Mexican cactus you should get a Chihuahua to pee on it?

Not tried urine, but the old lady's with an Echinopsis in their window often used to use the dregs from the teapot as the only fertiliser the plant ever got. Both the tea (without milk) and the tea leaves as an organic additive to to soil in the pot.

I am sure that can be arranged..the chihuahua peeing part..

There are a lot of articles on the net on this subject, here is just one; https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... ertilizer/

I use it for cuttings.

Not only do they need a little boost of nitrogen, but human urine contains indolylacetic acid, from the metabolism of the amino acid tryptophan, if the human donor is eating a healthy diet with enough protein.

Indolylacetic acid is the same compound, often abbreviated IAA, found in many rooting gels, powders and potions. IAA is a naturally-occuring growth hormone found in flowering plants. The other usual commercial rooting compound is NAA, the cheaper naphthylacetic acid which mimics the natural compund IAA.

IAA was first found in human urine and the levels present were at first determined by a plant growth assay.

This was taught to me as an old Romany tip for rooting cuttings. Free, freshly manufactured, sterile, convenient to use and always to hand.

Not to be confused with Goldwasser, which only contains one plant nutrient.

Great! Thank you One Windowsill I was just googling after an article on this I read about this in an old houseplant book I have. Haven’t had a chance to try it out myself yet.

[One Windowsill]

See:-

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/i ... on-cactus/

I would not have thought that the IAA would get through the waxy cuticle of a cactus. You don't hear much of "foliar" feeds for cacti, do you? However...

The promotion of branching like that is a typical effect of IAA applied to the place you want branching. The dominant growing tip at the top of the plant produces IAA and suppresses the lower nodes that might produce branches. The applied IAA makes the lower nodes ignore the fact that they are not at the top of the plant.

What cacti and succulents would you like to force into branching or pupping? There must be someone out there with a saguaro that is about to hit the greenhouse roof.

If you are squeamish about humanity you could try applying rooting gel or powder. However, around 40% of the IAA in human urine is in the form of conjugated compounds* with detergent-like properties. Like those compounds used as wetting agents in foliar feeds to help the absorption across the waxy barrier of the fertiliser and bioactives. Except the IAA conjugates are both the bioactive part and the wetting agent and would appear to enter the plant easily.

* The dominant one is probably indole-3-acetic-acid-O-glucuronide.

[mikethecactusguy]

When I lived in LA I used to use flick my cigar ashes into my cactus pots. II's then tear the butt apart and spread it around the They all seemed to like it. Sitting out on the deck amongst the plants.