Steve Bartylla Foliar Jolt

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This is another test run of what may become a regular feature. I think it could be a solid feature, but you all will ultimately decide, based on your interest/interactions or lack thereof.

Today I’m covering how I use Antler King Trophy Products Inc.’s foliar fertilizer, Jolt. Foliar fertilizers are designed to be sprayed on living plants. In fact, only the portion sprayed directly onto living plant tissue helps. The spray that hits the dirt doesn’t, as it’s absorbed into the plant through direct contact.

In my opinion, foliar fertilizers are not great substitutes for healthy soils and more traditional fertilizers. Foliar fertilizers are good short term fixes and a big help in specific situations. Unlike healthy soils and/or correctly applied granular fertilizers, foliar fertilizers must be reapplied at regular intervals over growing season, to substitute for poor soil fertility. In Jolt’s case, I reapply every other week, if I’m trying to compensate for low soil fertility. That’s an obvious downside, when compared to one annual application.

I use Jolt most often when spraying herbicides on already growing food plots. I merely mix in 16 ounces of Jolt per acre, as well. The reason is that when I’m spraying clover to kill grass or growing soybeans and corn to kill weeds I’m doing so to get my desired planting to thrive. Though chemicals help by killing off the competing grass &/or weeds, many temporarily ding the desired crops a smidge, as well. That’s far from the kiss of death to the plantings, but adding fertilizer more than makes up for the chemical ding, plus some, providing a nice growth spurt.

At the same time, foliar herbicides, such as Round Up, Select and so on, function in the same way. They must make contact with living tissue of the plants to be absorbed and do their damage. Within reason, the more the grass and weeds absorb the more effective foliar herbicides are. Adding Jolt kicks that process in the tail, resulting in generally faster and more effective kill rates.

Add it up and mixing Jolt in with foliar herbicides, when spraying to kill grass &/or weeds in existing/growing food plots increases the kill rate while giving the planting an extra growth spurt.

Another situation I find it very valuable in is when my planting is just a smidge smaller than one would like for the level of deer browse it’s enduring. In that case, if one does nothing, the deer destroy the plot from over browsing. Spraying it every other week to once a month can be enough to limp the plot through, within reason. In cases like this, I’ll spray Jolt on the plot 2 to 4 times late summer/early fall. It can help plots limp through droughts, as well. It won’t perform miracles in either case, but it can often make just enough of a difference to salvage a plot.

Finally, if I’m in a jam and can’t adjust the soil, I’ll rely on Jolt to provide the nutrition through repeated sprayings. Obviously, that’s not my first choice, but doing so has bailed me out of more than one or two jams over the years.

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