Now that you have your baby plants up and growing, you are probably wondering how to feed them and how much! Many gardeners are very familiar with the green measuring spoon seen here found in every box of M****** Gro. Do you even know what the amounts are in each side and which to use? Chances are, no. So, let's take a moment and review. The big side holds 1.5 Tbls of product and is meant for your outside garden area. The correct dilution is 1 tablespoon per gallon of water, so this measurement is meant for 1.5 gallons of solution. I know, you are tempted to add more, but please don't! You could easily burn the tender roots and kill your plants. Not a good thing!
Now, the other side (smaller measure is 0.5 tsp) is for potted plants such as indoor plants or any plant that is in a container. Why so much smaller? Because fertilizer salts will build up in a container since they can't be washed away and diluted like your garden plot soil. So, you want a much "weaker" solution for your potted plants. Recommendations is at most half strength solution, or in the case of this product, 0.5 teaspoon per gallon of water.
Treat organic fertilizers the same. Full strength solution per manufacturers directions for your outdoor garden, and half strength or less for your potted plants including your newly sprouted baby plants. Introduce feeding fertilizers gradually so has not to put the plant into shock or worse! As for how often to fertilize, I feed my plants weekly and use plain water the rest of week. Remember, garden plot plants will be getting nutrients from the soil but potted plants are pretty much dependent on you.
Happy gardening!
Joyce
M*** Grow is horrible stuff. The salts in it aren't chelated, so one minute, you could have a deficiency and when it breaks down and is made available to the plant, can cause a toxicity of the same nutrient.
ReplyDeleteThey also sued Terracycle, the only other large plant fertilizer company for using the color green in their products. Yeah, dumb.
In the mean time, I would stick to Jack's classic (formerly Peter's) if you get your fertilizer at Home Depot, or Flora Nova Bloom if you have access to a hydro store.
It's not that I disagree with you, as I use more organic products and also in hydroponics, but the article is geared towards the general public which tend to use the more popular products such as Miracle Gro. So, I am attempting to show them how to use these products appropriately. Thanks for your insight and comment.
ReplyDelete