To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Ammonium vs. Nitrate
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:24:08 -0600
I remember hearing Hugh Lovell say that when he was a kid growing up in the
south that all greens tasted the same to him. When he got into organic
gardening he discovered that mustard and kale and collards all tasted
different. Then one day he got behind a truck carrying nitrate fertilizer.
It was dripping some and he realised that's what all the commmerical greens
had tasted like.
In general, excessive nitrogen creates sappy green growth with lower
sugars and poor storability. My husband grew up in Ireland where farming
was done the old way till the 60's and 70's. After artificial fertilizers
came in, potatoes had far less flavor, and a truckload of freshly dug
potatoes would actually drip water. Apples get redder and store better with
slightly deficient N. Donna