Re: Potassium alternative?

[Paul Sears <psears at nrn1_NRCan.gc.ca>]

> From: "Bobby Joseph" <koonkoon327 at hotmail_com>
> Subject: Potassium alternative?
> 
> Alright, my first post.  I've been looking for k2so4 in the houston area and 
> can't find it.  Have a pharmacy friend, and he says they have no k2so4.  
> Looked in several garden and fertilizer shops, no one has heard of sulfate 
> of potash, or of all green or green all, whatever it is.

	Hydroponics stores are the best bet.

>  Went to this one 
> store they had this fertilizer called k-meg made by the american plant food 
> corporation.  it's npk is 0-0-22.  it says for contents: 22% soluable 
> potash(k2o)
>               22% sulfur
>               11% magnesium
> does it sound good enough as a substitute?

	It sounds like a mixture of potassium and magnesium sulphates.
The amount of sulphur there is exactly right.  In fact, it would be very close
to a 1:1 mix of K2SO4 and MgSO4 on a molar basis.  That would account
for 95% of the total mass of the mixture.  The rest could well be water of
crystallysation.  MgSO4 usually comes with a lot of that, so if it is
a mixture and not a double salt, you may find it becomes a hard lump
if it gets wet.  It should work just fine.

	I'll add the usual comment - one thing it does _not_ contain
is "K2O".


-- 
Paul Sears        Ottawa, Canada