for long term gardeners only : what is the best plant food in your experience?
Answers:
I've had about thirty five years on a farm and in my own gardens, so I guess that qualifies for the long haul? Epsom salt works great on my azaleas, hydrangeas and other plants requiring an alkaline rich soil. I use generic tree spikes that come in bulk for my large bushes, spirea, hollies and junipers, etc. For any newly planted trees, (I know it sounds really gross) I use my husband's leftover scraps from cleaning fish. Once a year I mix about 80# organic manure with topsoil and till into the dirt around perinneals. I use generic blood meal in the rose garden and that's pretty much it. I do keep miracle grow on hand and if pottted plants or window boxes (anything for that matter) needs a little boost, I connect it to my spray adapter right before we get a little rain. I work full time in a city nearby and the vegetable garden and canning keeps me pretty busy during the spring and summer, so low maintainance (LOL) is important to me. All of the things I mentioned are seasonal chores done in the early spring when pruning back trees, etc. so I just do it as I go.
Other answers:
miracle grow has always worked for me, the soil is great.
miracle grow has always worked for me, the soil is great.
Miracle Gro
Nitrogen based fertilisers are great for growth, however for flowering you will need a fertiliser with potassium and phosphorus
I've used bloodmeal and bone meal. Blood meal in light doses or it will burn your plants. Bone meal as much as you like. I use it on indoor plants to. When I use the bonemeal it forces my plants into bloom right away.
Happy gardening!
Matured Horse manure and sawdust
buy miracle grow and alot of sunlight for house plants or outside plants the same thing, can buy potting soil with all the chemicals allready in it at wal-mart, just have to keep watering them. they will grow and talk to your plants,that sounds silly but it works, i sat mine by the tv and it grew like crazy.
Pelleted chicken manure. It stinks like hell for a couple of days but it feeds everything.
Make your own compost with fruit & veg waste. Thats organic. If you can, get some cow or sheep manure and convert it also into compost. It takes a couple of months, but the manure is good.
Espoma makes an organic 4-3-3 food with additional minerals in it. I like it a lot. Being organic, it is pretty safe to use.
Well rotted manure is very good, but not horse manure if it has cedar chips/sawdust in it, as cedar oil is toxic to some vegetables. I learned that the hard way.
I used to like Rapid Gro but it disappeared, only to resurface as a Miracle Gro clone.
A manure tea, tho messy to deal with, I suppose, gets the job done well. Same for fish emulsion, except for the odor.
Composted goat manure ran thru the worm bed...wonderful
Any form of tomato plant food seems to work well. My Grandfather always uses it on all of his plants.
Epsom salt only provides magnesium. Manure and compost are the best in my experience.
Peters brand plant food works well. It can be used on indoor and outdoor plants.