Container fertilizers
- Thread starter Brian1985
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2014
- Messages
- 11,562
- Reaction score
- 5,647
- Location
- La Porte Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- 8b
- Country
Fox Farm is a great product. In 5 gallon buckets I would mix in about 2 cups of their dry fertilizer and everytime you water, water with their diluted liquid product at about 1/2 the rate.
I have hard clay soil, so anything I plant must either go in my raised bed, or in pots. I use Miracle-Gro products: Garden Soil, Potting Soil, and their mix-up-in-the-wateringcan plant foods. I also use Scotts Humus and Manure in my raised garden. But you can put a teeny dab of the Humus in a pot for a tomato. That works for me. Just one little spade-full should do it.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2014
- Messages
- 11,562
- Reaction score
- 5,647
- Location
- La Porte Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- 8b
- Country
I wouldn't use any Scotts product or Miracle Gro on anything. Not only are their synthetic fertilizers bad for the environment they are also bad for the soil. Who knows what they put in everything else. Maybe I would try some if it were OMRI listed but as far as I know none of them are.
Sorry to say store-bought dirt is my only option thanks to my horrible clay dirt. And the Scotts Humus and Manure is not synthetic. Miracle-Gro is really pushed around here, so I haven't got a choice for a high-nutrition store-bought soil. NEVER buy Sta-Green stuff, that's for sure. It may be cheap, but it is low nutrition, and dries out something terrible. I would grow happier things if I only I had natural sandy soil.
If I could buy bags of natural sand, believe me, I would. The only buyable sand here is either landscaping sand, or play sand which has been sterilized for children's safety.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2014
- Messages
- 11,562
- Reaction score
- 5,647
- Location
- La Porte Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- 8b
- Country
DON'T EVER mix sand with clay soils. Sand+clay=brick.
Chuck are you talking about their marine cusine dry fertilizer or something else? Thanks for all your help.
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2014
- Messages
- 11,562
- Reaction score
- 5,647
- Location
- La Porte Texas
- Hardiness Zone
- 8b
- Country
The Happy Frog fertilizer. There are different formulations for different things. I like the 6-4-5 All Purpose but there is a formulation just for containers.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2013
- Messages
- 3,476
- Reaction score
- 1,531
- Location
- Port William
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Country
Why do you think your "clay dirt" is "horrible"?
It holds nutrients, water and is slower to heat up; a blessing in Texas, I'd have thought.
If you had sandy soil in Texas heat, then you'd not only spend your life watering, but your growing season would be far shorter.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2013
- Messages
- 3,476
- Reaction score
- 1,531
- Location
- Port William
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Country
Calcium sulphate dihydrate (gypsum) is what you want to break clay.
- Joined
- May 29, 2019
- Messages
- 55
- Reaction score
- 39
- Hardiness Zone
- 10a
- Country
Yes it does. Been there, done that.
Thanks I'll try that.
Root vegetables are almost impossible in my hard clay soil - carrots fork, and all stay small. Needs aeration for water to penetrate. Harder to dig and till. My gardens are Getting better over time with compost and I will try gypsum too. Maybe not horrible, just takes work. I wouldn't trade it.
I love my clay soil for the trains mentioned by headfullofbees.
The best amendment for heavy clay is organic matter.
As far as fertilizer for pots I have just been using compost and 10-10-10 sparingly.
I'll be using the same this year and using tomato tone 3-4-6 after bloom.
I may also pick up some Master Blend 4-18-38 and try that.
I really don't like using fertilizer, for the reasons Chuck mentioned, but since I added quite a few pots and some have fruit trees planted in them, I started using Fert's.
The best amendment for heavy clay is organic matter.
As far as fertilizer for pots I have just been using compost and 10-10-10 sparingly.
I'll be using the same this year and using tomato tone 3-4-6 after bloom.
I may also pick up some Master Blend 4-18-38 and try that.
I really don't like using fertilizer, for the reasons Chuck mentioned, but since I added quite a few pots and some have fruit trees planted in them, I started using Fert's.
To control water better I have gone to all container gardening. I use Miracle-Gro all purpose at 1/4 to 1/2 of what they recommend.