For the NPK, you'll need to convert tsps into a weight measurement and determine what % of the ammonia is N and what % of the potassium nitrate is K. Your P% is '0', so you'll need a source of P (phosphoric acid would be reasonable). Also, your Na (sodium) content will be extremely high, as will the pH of the concoction. If you go forward with it as an experiment, you might wish to investigate using CaNO3 (calcium nitrate) instead of ammonia as the N source, thus covering the fact that it also lacks calcium at the same time.

Since you're using all chemicals, it would be a whole lot easier to acquire a bottle of MG 12-4-8 or the granular 24-8-16. There are other manufactures of the 24-8-16 as well, but the 3:1:2 ratio is about as close to what plants actually use as possible. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is another excellent fertilizer in the 3:1:2 ratio. It supplies all the usually listed as essential nutrients plants get from the soil in a very favorable ratio to each other.

While there is probably some satisfaction in mixing up and using a 'roll your own' batch of fertilizer; w/o some understanding of plant physiology and some chemistry, it would probably not be in your (or your plant's) best interest to go that route.

What I just offered is best applied to containers. If you're looking to build a fertilizer for your gardens/beds, going about it willy nilly is not the best approach. You can't go wrong (or it's very difficult to) by adding organic matter like compost and mulch to your program to improve the soil and reduce/eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers. If that's not a possibility, or on the program, a soil test should be - so you're applying only what is essential, and not creating toxicities by over-applying elements that are unnecessary.

Al

Al
I went back and read the article and discovered the lady, Kate Clapp the originator, was the garden writer for the Akron Beacon Journal for 42 years retiring in 1976.
I'll bet she's spinning in her grave knowing you think her recipe is a "will nilly approach". I wonder if Ohio is now a toxic dump?
Thanks for all the advice but I just wanted to know what the N-K-P was.

You'll have to do some converting and math to get the N and K, as Al pointed out. And a quick eyeballing gives me the same take as Al that the pH will be high.

Jerry Baker makes homemade fert out of the bottom of the kitchen sink that won't be so problematic if you must.

Dan

Sorry for trying to help, Lynn, but it just doesn't make good chemical sense, regardless of the N and K content. P is absent entirely. Lots of things have changed since 1934 - or even 1976.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: About things changing

OK, I did a quick calculation for you.

N = 0.17% (assuming 30% strength ammonia)
P = 0
K = 0.28%
Mg = 0.06% (assuming anhydrous epsom salts)

Agree with the others that you are better off using a regular fertilizer than just randomly mixing up stuff, some of which is not needed and even can be harmful. The initial pH will be quite alkaline, mainly due to the ammonia. Baking powder + water results in the formation of sodium tartrate, also a slightly alkaline salt, not particularly harmful. However, over time, bacteria degrade tartrates (and other organic salts like acetates, citrates, etc) into carbon dioxide and water, which means the residual sodium combines with water to form sodium hydroxide. Just for your info :) If you just want to have fun and experiment with it, go for it, but keep in mind that a commercial fertilizer will always produce better results.

Thanks to all, it's amazing what you can find in news print today. Maybe that's why they are in decline
lynn

And you think that the internet is a source for factual advice? HAHAHA

Seriously now...bad, out-of-date, dangerous, ineffectual suggestions appear on the internet, in newspapers, on TV, and in magazines each and every day. It's important to cross check with a wide variety of resources before you take something you read as fact.

Shame on the editors of your local newspaper for dragging out a 'recipe' so ancient, unpractical, unbalanced, and unhelpful. I can't imagine their purpose in doing so?

Circulation is down to a trickle and whipping out any old thing from the archives makes a much cheaper space filler than paying a writer, I suppose.