Interview with Bob Peter, founder of Peter's

jzak

bob is actually a very spry 88 year old who looks and acts 25 years his junior, still tends his own garden/greenhouse and is otherwise looking for his next entry point in the fertilizer business. he has very few kind words about that industry except to say that they are more interested in marketing product for revenues than they are interested in the health of plants. he's a 50 year supporter of soil-less medium. his research over that time frame includes data from over 750,000 samples.


his starting point in the feeding cycle of any plant/tree is first and foremost to establish exactly what the water analysis is. thereafter, it's simply to try to get as much of a balanced nourishment source as possible for the tree ---which by his own admission sometimes is easier said than done, given current availability of resources. he is not too keen on time release because for the most part, the factors such as water type, soil type, temperature ranges, watering frequency etc. can change the makeup of release by a wide margin. most time release agents also do not contain trace element at all. absorption is systemic only, while research has shown that foliar update also is very beneficial.

in reading over much of the accepted bonsai literature, it seems that a twice a year application of trace element is enough for the health of a tree. totally wrong.

the balance between water type, npk and trace elements need to come together at every watering ---but in very small doses. bob's preference is water soluable medium, but at a rate of 50-100ppm or somewhere around 1 teaspoon/gal, both foliar and systemic. a small amount of charcoal in the soil-less mixture is helpful (Boon recommends it as part of his soil receipe) along with an occasional dose of Vitamin B1.


hormone research is on-going but is classified.

hope this helps in keeping your trees healthy. cheers john