Fertilizer Choice for Potted plants

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  BargainCowboy on 26/09/2016 - 08:21

  Following, I'm interested in growing tomatoes/chilly.

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  airzone on 26/09/2016 - 08:39

  +2

  I'm not exactly a green thumb, but I have about 1kg of blueberries this year with more to come. It's potted in a mix of 50/50 azalea mix and pine bark chips, with pine bark as the mulch. I use a general slow release fertiliser, quarterly blood and bone, and weekly general plant food (seaweed based). The pine keeps it slightly acidic. Chilli is more or less the same, just without the pine and using standard potting mix.

  The citrus (washington navel and imperial mandarin) are too young to produce (although we might get a few this year). They are in a 50/50 citrus potting mix and general potting mix with sugarcane mulch. Quarterly citrus slow release mix, blood & bone, and composted chicken shit. Weekly citrus plant food.

  Veggie garden and potted herbs get B&B, slow release, composted chicken poop, and a bit of fresh potting mix between harvests and weekly plant food. I've had cucumber plants 10 feet high (lol) but generally it produces quite well. We tend to grow asian veggies as they are difficult to come by locally (and you can lop the top off and have it grow again 5 or 6 times). Haven't tried tomato yet though.

  • 

    Unictu on 26/09/2016 - 10:18

    Thanks for the information, you kept it brief but with plenty of helpful details.

    Which slow release fertilizer & citrus plant food are you using, airzone?

    • 

      airzone on 26/09/2016 - 12:44

      +1

      Slow release is osmocote, but any brand will generally be fine.
      Liquid is Powerfeed (and not Yates). I prefer the ones based from fish/seaweed rather than the clear "chemical" ones. It might be ignorance, but I think the brown liquid is better for the soil ecosystem rather than just the chemical requirements for the tree.

      It's important to keep iron and magnesium up to them otherwise the leaves start turning yellow (hence using citrus fertiliser rather than standard ones).

      Also, in case you don't already know, white oil is good for citrus leaf miner - but only if you get in there first.

      • 

        Unictu on 26/09/2016 - 15:07

        Thanks for that.

        I do not have citrus leaf miner but gall wasp now on the Dwarf Lemon Meyer. Heavily infested for the first time. Wonder if the general insect/ant spray might help besides heavy pruning.

      • 

        iand on 27/09/2016 - 20:25

        @Unictu:
        Gall wasp infected branches need to be cut off wrapped in paper and put in garbage not in green waste there is no insecticide for this pest

      • 

        Unictu on 27/09/2016 - 21:19

        @iand:
        Thanks for the information. I will have to cut off almost everything. Yeah, just the main trunk and short length branches left. Finger crossed it survives thanks to Spring.

      • 

        EyesWideOpen on 29/09/2016 - 14:42

        +1

        @Unictu: give half strength seaweed every two weeks to help strengthen them now. Seaweed works like tonic, spray the leaves/branches for absorption as well will makes them strong to fight the bugs; loads of sun and they'll bounce back. I have two dwarfs meyer, very tough little things they are, love them.

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  c64 on 26/09/2016 - 10:03

  +1

  start a compost heap?

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  robbyjones on 26/09/2016 - 11:33

  +3

  Don't use cheap potting mix this is false economy.

  • 

    airzone on 26/09/2016 - 12:45

    Very true.

  • 

    EyesWideOpen on 29/09/2016 - 02:06

    agree, sometimes there's cut up junk in them. best to buy mid range mix it up.

  • 

    Unictu on 29/09/2016 - 08:41

    Yeah. I think this was by far my biggest mistake. Cheap potting mix plus little fertilizer to feed the mix (to help break down the barks, compost etc) and the plant itself, just read somewhere. I started to see result by using slow release early this winter.

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  EyesWideOpen on 29/09/2016 - 01:41

  +2

  OP, if the edibles giving flowers but no fruits, it either needs cross pollination (bees can help) or you can help. Use a soft paint brush to spread the pollen between them flowers. Also while flowering, cut back nitogen rich fertilizers to let plant concentrate on fruiting rather than growing.

  For the flower plants, if its growing too many leaves, cut back on fertilizers then diagnose. You can trim off some leaves and just gives seaweed solution.

  At home I use seaweed solution, blood and bone, cow manure, slow release and dynamic lifter. Also trace elements, epsom salts, chelated iron. I mix perlite to pot plants that hates sitting in water.

  If you get blood and bone, read the label. Try to get the pure stuff, not 50/60/70%. They cost a lot more but goes a long way. And potted plants tends to retain salts from fertilizers so apply half recommended dose then adjust, less is more. :) (pls pardon any spellos.)

  • 

    Unictu on 29/09/2016 - 08:42

    very helpful hints, thanks EyesWideOpen

    • 

      EyesWideOpen on 29/09/2016 - 14:31

      +1

      You are welcome. If cost is an issue then do this for the edibles. Give them bits of banana peels when they are flowering. You can chop them up finely or use a blender make into pulp mix into the soil for fast absorption.

      My local veggie store have over-ripen bananas for sale by the bag, check if you can get those? You can also give loads of coffee grounds(puck) to the roses together with banana, they LOVE them. Coffee puck (ask from cafes) are like instant compost, good for soil but they do adjust PH value if added too much, say 25% of soil I think but they are really gentle stuff.

      Plants can basically survive pretty well on seaweed, slow release, bananas and coffee puck alone. Add home made compose and everything needed is there, very low cost.

      • 

        Unictu on 30/09/2016 - 12:15

        over-ripen bananas is very cheap in Asian groceries. Good one!

        Do you have a budget way to lower pH? Unfiltered ground coffee would do but it is not very ozbargain.

      • 

        EyesWideOpen on 30/09/2016 - 23:35

        +1

        @Unictu: I know elemental sulphur and pine needles works fairly quickly but have to be careful with potted as they may burn roots. Peat moss is best but expensive. If you want ozbargainer way, coffee puck really is your best bet. You can get it FREE, just ask the cafes at the end of day if you can have those grounds they gonna throw out, say its for gardening as fertilizers. I got bags of them when I ask, and I thank them with garden herbs and lemons in return, useful for their sandwich/salads. Tip, ask those little italian corner cafes with old baristas, not the chain stores. ;)

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  LKJ899 on 05/10/2016 - 15:58

  +1

  I have read somewhere that people go to the beach to collect seaweed, wash them and put them on the soil. I haven't tried that before but that's the true Ozbargain way lol

  For coffee ground, I think they are acidic (if I'm not mistaken). I just cut open used coffee capsules and sprinkle them on the soil.

  I also put crushed egg shells and banana peels in the soil

  "rice water" is also good for plants. (that's the milky colour water when washing the rice). "meat water" and "vege water" are good for plants as well.

  Urine is high in nitrogen. I read somewhere peeing at the lemon tree is useful.

  Grass cuttings is high in nitrogen as well. just place them on top of the soil