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I stumbled upon a brick of ancient NH4Cl. I dissolved a teaspoon of it in water and fed it at the base of a young pelargonium. Despite sufficient sunlight it's leaves were yellowing so I assumed nitrogen deficiency.

Two days later the pelargonium, as well as the lettuce in the same pot, have only been worsening by losing any leaf tonus.

When searching for dosage mostly scientific articles pop up. However none lists simple recommendation mg/m^3. Furthermore the amounts they used in the experiment are not necessarily the best recommended when the end result is vegetables instead of science.

What is the recommended dosing of NH4Cl for potted plants?

If it is indeed killing the plants in the current dosage(almost certain), can I reuse the soil later? Should I rinse it before doing that?

@ the comments:

Thanks for the input, guys. I will approach this as an experiment: if/when all plants die I'll plant new seeds; if none germinates I'll throw the soil away. I'll keep you posted.

However I still find the question in the title a legitimate one, despite being unrelated to my unfolding situation.

Vorac
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    The link you provided does not mention using it as a fertilizer. If this is an experiment you would need to use more samples plants – kevinskio Feb 18 '22 at 14:13
  • The link contains "It is mainly used as fertilizer". Other search results indicate the same [1](https://www.ehow.com/info_10018064_ammonium-chloride-used-fertilizer.html) [2](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1626/pps.18.137) [3](https://www.bellchem.com/news/uses-of-ammonium-chloride). On the other point: indeed N=1 is "a bit" low. I actually applied it to a total of 8 plants in 2 pots - all are dying - but I was too ashamed to confess. – Vorac Feb 18 '22 at 15:03
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    It will acidify/lower pH of soil; the ammonia will be absorbed leaving the chloride. In an alkaline soil with much calcium carbonate , it won't make much difference . But a soil that is mostly sand/silica will become more acidic, enough to discourage plant growth. Rather than trying to determine soil type, just measure soil pH – blacksmith37 Feb 18 '22 at 15:20
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    If the product is 'ancient' as you describe it, it may not be safe to use with any plants anyway- chemicals can degrade over time and may either become inert or possibly toxic. Its why medicinal drugs have use by dates on them... – Bamboo Feb 19 '22 at 00:34

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