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I'd like to learn and pick up some tips.
I know next to nothing about plant food/fertilizer, other than what's on the label.
I have house plants and potted garden plants -- and I never have really fertilized other than maybe once a year (or season).
((You don't have to answer every thing...these are just my general questions.))

- Do you fertilize? If so, how often?
- Do you swear by it?...or sort just do it once in a while?
- Do you really have to stick to label instructions? Or is it forgiving in terms of application?

Also, I bought to jars of granules of (Miracle Grow and Osmocote) planning to use in on my potted plants...only to now notice the label says use the water soluble plant food on potted plants.

Can I ignore that, and use granules on house plants and potted perennials (maybe at a lighter strength)...or not?

My plants have always thrived fairly well and grown big enough -- without plant food...so is it really needed?
Will it help the plant itself fight off pests at all, or does it not really have any effect on that?

Thanks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: clbselah,

I use Algoflash -- you mix it with water -- once monthly during the winter and weekly during the growing season on my house plants and pot plants. I use Osmacote on things I plant in the ground.

Martha

I toss out Triple 13 (granular general fertilizer) on the beds in the spring....if I have Osmocote, then I will put that in the hole when planting something new...or around the roses...otherwise I will do a little trench around them and spread a small amt of the Triple 13.

For potted & houseplants I use liquid Miracle Grow. I'm not consistent with it....and certainly don't use it as much during the winter months because I think the plants need to "rest" a bit.

I think you could use Osmocote on your already potted plants if you kinda buried it up into the soil around them....just use a small amount though so that you don't burn the roots.

ve

When I had indoor plants I used Schultz liquid fertilizer once a week in a *very* dilute strength year round. My plants were very healthy. The reason I did this is because I knew I'd forget if I only used it seasonally or occasionally and because it was so dilute there never was a problem - didn't even have fertilizer salts build up. I had a lot of plants, sometimes as many as 70-some.

For outdoor containers I use a very dilute flowering plant fertilizer, can't remember which one but there are probably pretty much all the same. I dissolve it in water every time I water which may be once a day. The professional potting soil I use does not contain fertilizer and flowering plants need phosphorus so the one I use has a higher middle number.

Also for my containers and for my garden I use alfalfa tea, again very diluted. I don't always ferment it either but just allow the pellets to dissolve. I always have a bucket, or 10, on the go and dilute as I use it. The reason I think alfalfa tea is so valuable is that it contains micronutrients and minerals that plants need. Alfalfa is a very deep rooted plant so brings those elements from deep in the earth. Some people add epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to alfalfa tea but since my soil is likely not deficient in magnesium I seldom add it and only occasionally for my roses which need magnesium. If your plants show they are deficient in something you can add it but it's not possible to take it away and one can have additional problems from adding too much of any nutrient/mineral. I try to avoid increasing problems in gardening.

My fertilizing techniques are not very scientific, I guess, but work for me. Over-fertilizing is much worse for plants and especially for the environment than being judicious with it.

IMO if you use compost, then less fertilizer or none is OK in the garden. I do everything I can to encourage earthworms (no synthetic chemicals) who repay me with lots of castings which are excellent fertilizer. If you feed the worms they will feed your plants.

Some info about NPK here.

quote:

Originally posted by clbselah:
Will it (fertilizer) help the plant itself fight off pests at all, or does it not really have any effect on that?

A healthy plant should have the ability to fight off pests, however some modern plants have difficulty with this because of their breeding I believe. In my rose bed the one which is a very old hardy type never has aphids. It's very near some newer types which always have aphids so you'd think it would. These roses are treated the same way, fertilized and watered the same so the only difference is their breeding. I guess the aphids think some roses are tastier than others! I didn't 'winterize' my roses this year and knew the hardy ones would survive but even the aphid-prone ones did so I'll be spraying with soap solution again this year.

Generally speaking though one will have fewer pest problems with a healthy plant.