What are the heaviest nitrogen feeding plants?

steve

GF hit it on the head with a ph of 7.0 keeping the plants "half happy" and the bacteria "half happy"

From the "useful info section"............

Quote:

Biological Data

There are several species of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria and many strains among those species. Most of this information can be applied to species of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter in general., however, each strain may have specific tolerances to environmental factors and nutriment preferences not shared by other, very closely related, strains.

Temperature

The temperature for optimum growth of nitrifying bacteria is between 77-86° F (25-30° C).

Growth rate is decreased by 50% at 64° F (18° C).

Growth rate is decreased by 75% at 46-50° F.

No activity will occur at 39° F (4° C)

Nitrifying bacteria will die at 32° F (0° C).

Nitrifying bacteria will die at 120° F (49° C)

Nitrobacter is less tolerant of low temperatures than Nitrosomonas. In cold water systems, care must be taken to monitor the accumulation of nitrites.

pH

The optimum pH range for Nitrosomonas is between 7.8-8.0.

The optimum pH range for Nitrobacter is between 7.3-7.5

Nitrobacter will grow more slowly at the high pH levels typical of marine aquaria and preferred by African Rift Lake Cichlids. Initial high nitrite concentrations may exist. At pH levels below 7.0, Nitrosomonas will grow more slowly and increases in ammonia may become evident. Nitrosomonas growth is inhibited at a pH of 6.5. All nitrification is inhibited if the pH drops to 6.0 or less. Care must be taken to monitor ammonia if the pH begins to drop close to 6.5. At this pH almost all of the ammonia present in the water will be in the mildly toxic, ionized NH3+ state.

janethesselberth

OK. I knew the bacteria liked the higher pH, but I had forgotten about what plants like. When I saw the disparity, my brain had to stop a moment. I shall aim for 7.0.

johnnie7au

I have only just seen this thread, (Have not read it all) but .. tomatoes spring to mind ... and also watercress ... as heavy nitrogen feeders ... also any type of rush or reed perhaps. Please correct me if I am worng.

steve

Johnnie, whats with actually posting something relating to the topic..........LOL

One could have been forgiven for thinking this was a bacteria thread

LOL

I think you're right, the way i understand it, if the plant produces LOTS of green vegetation and quickly, then it is a heavy N feeder.

johnnie7au

I just found out that tomatoes are actually heavy phosphate feeders rather than heavy nitrogen feeders... But I guess if they grow big .. they are heavy nitrogen feeders!

After all .. nitrogen makes amino acids makes protein.

The best way to find out what a plant needs is to look up an assay of the plant... (Its chemical composition) in various growth stages ...

Its chemical composition depends on what elements it gets.

Information regards what the plant is actually made up of regards constituent elements at various stages of growth would allow a hydoponics person to make up specific formulations to grow them optimally at verious growth periods. (Been there - done that!)

(I used to do all that mixing chemicals stuff .. but found that some wood ash, mixed with various manures, diluted to an osmotically balanced concentration ie. checking correct electrical conductivity ...worked fine for tomatoes!) ... some of the best tasting tomatoes I had were grown hydroponically AND organically!

But "HEAVY" nitrogen feeder plants .. More info would be great!

savage_goldfish

"i can recommend a good wireless router for about $69

"

Steve, where can you get them for $69?:shock: I've been quoted $130 - $180 for them. :shock:

Would love one but I'm not paying THAT much!

I've got the reciver card in the computer 'cause they had wireless where I used to live.

Thanx in advance

PS. Could be 'cause I'm in the country! They seem to charge twice as much for LOTS of stuff here!

TimC

Check out www.freenet-antennas.com He does some very good UltraWAP wireless routers for $99. Postage may be the killer though, be his quite reasonable. We use them at work.

steve

Probably getting a fraction off topic even for the informal area. No matter, i'll split the posts whenni have a chance.

www.msy.com.au i get ALL my stuff there

savage_goldfish

Thanks guys, sorry it was of topic, but I just had to ask :oops:

johnnie7au

I think we need to spank savage goldfish for being naughty!

:lol:

Fish slapping dance anyone?

johnnie7au

Reeds ... they really like nitrogen?

If it is the case ... there fancy reeds , sort of highly prized versions of papyrus etc. etc...

What about unusual bamboo .. (Don't bamboozle me!)

Do they like nitrogen?

In Thailand I saw a highly prized ornamental bamboo that was sort of corkscrew in shape.

Expanding the scope of the thread... what about flowers? Are there certain species of sought after and showy cut flowers that are heavy feeders of nitrate?

savage_goldfish

Thanks Johnnie :lol:

LOL. I'll try to be good. :oops:

steve

I think that as a general rule the more green vegeative growth the more N used up.

rpondpa

I would like to be sure I am understanding all of this. Nitrates = Nitrogen (right?) If my plants show much leafy growth but no fruiting, I have too much nitrogen in my system. The solution would be to lessen feeding and/or add leafy vegetables to grow in the system. (Yes?)

I have two huge tomato plants in my system with no blossoms or fruit. My watercress is growing like crazy and has leaves of deep green. The watercress has taken over 1 of the 3 growbeds in my system. I had grown string beans which were much better at putting out leaves than beans. I had some broccoli plants that also grew large but did not form heads. Wheat grass grows easily and well in my system.

My question is; why, if the leafy vegetables use a lot of nitrogen, would the watercress not draw down the nitrogen level enough to allow my tomatoes to fruit or the beans to grow more abundantly? Watercress became most of what was growing in my system.

Also, what should I do to rectify this situation?

Thanks, as always.

TCLynx

Lots of big green leafy plants but lack of flowering or fruiting can often be explained by either an over abundance of Nitrate and/or a lack of phosphorus and/or potassium.

In some cases the quality/quantity or light or the day length or temperatures will also affect some plants flowering cycles.

It is likely that the lack of flowering/fruiting is nutrient related. What are your nitrate levels running around? How old is the system? Have you looked into adding potassium?

We generally don't add phosphorus since fish food usually contains enough but oddly we don't usually measure phosphorus either. I do believe there are aquarium test kits for phosphorus though.

Potassium Chloride could be used to partially "salt" a system while providing some of the needed potassium. Some people have added banana pieces to their grow beds to provide potassium.

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What are the heaviest nitrogen feeding plants?

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