[fish]

picked some off the road that a farmer spliied,little white balls it was,he puts it on his grass for the cows,anyhow i put some round my brassica's and theyve gone mad! huge growth and looking real healthy! ille post some pics later!

[lucywil]

i didn't lime my soil so was looking for a quick fix and found ammonia sulphate which is for brassica, i hoed some into the beds before planting so hopefully it will have the same effect as the stuff you found

[fish]

excuse my ignorance but ive never used lime,what is its purpose?

[lucywil]

its used to adjust the ph value of your soil as brassicas like it slightly alkaline (i think i'm no expert so don't quote me on that)

[Aunt Sally]

That's right Lucy.  

Raising the pH suits the brassicas and helps to prevent club root.

I'd have thought you'd know that fish (from your Avatar)  

[DD.]

What's ammonium nitrate? I know what copper nitrate is - time & a half - boom boom!

[Aunt Sally]

:roll:  

[lincspoacher]

This is a massive subject.......

Nitrates release free nitrogen into the soil, and brassicas and other leaf need nitrogen to develop. Nutrients which are not taken up by plants may be metabolised by micro-organisms in the soil to improve soil fertility. This is a slow process however, and the major risk is that nutrients, particularly nitrate which is very soluble, will run off into surface water or percolate into groundwater

Theres many ways to get nitrogen into the sol, the usual method farmers use is Sulphate of Ammonia. Using Ammonium Nitrate is very naughty, because it runs off into the water table if not taken up by the plants. A better way is use farm manure, because its more natural. Farmers are tempted to use Ammonium Nitrate because it also does the same job as lime at the same time as providing nitrogen.

I made another post in another thread, mentioning that mineral fertilisers have risen in price, especially nitrogen boosters. This is because the main source of such fertilisers, China, has decided it wants it all for itself and  would rather not sell it to us instead. 3 months ago 25kg of Sulphate of Ammonia would have cost the farmer about £4, the price has just hit £20. Thats prolly why hes using Nitrate instead of Sulphate, its cheaper atm.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle here in Lincolnshire about 20 years ago when everyone used Nitrates and the nitrate level of drinking water was about 200x anywhere else in the country. Legends was that some peoples water glowed in the dark...........

[gobs]

picked some off the road that a farmer spliied,little white balls it was

 :shock:  :shock: Both of you should see the doctor.  

[Bernard]

Ammonium nitrate is NH4NO3 - as you can see it has nitrogen at 'both ends' so provides a lot of readily available nitrogen. An interesting detail is that on decomposition it leaves no solid residue and like all nitrates is a good oxidising agent. Very useful for home-made explosives. Don't try taking any to Ireland.

My chemistry is getting sadly rusty but I am doubtful about it 'doing the same job as lime', i.e. to raise the pH because it is a salt of a strong acid and a weak base so hydrolysis will cause free NH3 (ammonia) to be released, leaving behind it a raised pH (i.e. more acidic) .
I think.

[fish]

Aunt sally the cabbages in the avtar were just luck i suppose! i used chicken manure for them.

Bernard ,as a kid we used to make bangers out of the stuff,just added sugar!

[Bernard]

as a kid we used to make bangers out of the stuff,just added sugar!

Copper sulphate for a blue/green flash, strontium nitrate for red, potassium nitrate for pink although difficult to isolate this from the stronger sodium yellow.
I am the lucky survivor of two accidental explosions (as distinct from the intentional ones). They don't do this any more - too much cotton wool. Sad times for individuality and innovation.
Sorry, off topic.