what is 20-20-20 for?

[adanac58]

i seen a couple recipies that use 20-20-20 plant fertilizer , i am a bit un comfortable about ingesting plant fertilizer , please elaborate on this and explain to me weather its safe or not ... i googled it and could not find anything so i came to ask on here

[rad14701]

It is up to each individual to insure that any ingredients used will result in safe product... The 20-20-20 fertilizer I use is non-toxic, but should not be directly ingested as it can cause diarrhea... It is used for both soil based and hydroponic food production, meaning that it is safe for humans... None of the actual fertilizer comes across in the final spirits but the fermented wash should not be ingested for the reason described above...

If in doubt, leave it out...

[Bushman]

Thanks for the update Rad, I have a retired physics teacher that really likes my liqueur but when I told him some people use plant food and fertilizer in their fermentation he really gave me the look and said don't change what you are doing if you have a great product! This forum is the best!!!

[Moorea]

20-20-20 stands for the amount of N - P - K on the composition of the fertilizer, 20 parts of Nitrogen, 20 parts of Phosforum and 20 parts of Potassium, there´s a lot os mixed, 4-14-8 - is ideal for soil preparation and for fruits and legumes, 10-10-10 are very usefull for leafs and plants that do not produce fruits like samambaias and others, another comum mix is 15-15-20 that is rich in potassium and widely used in hydroponics.

best regards

Moorea, from Ilhabela - Brazil

[rad14701]

Well, Bushman, we'd never get anyone to try our spirits if word got out that it gave you the urge to shit through the eye of a needle...

I only use fertilizer in about half of my washes... It's not that I'm trying to go green, I just like keeping things simple unless I'm experimenting...