Regarding those potting soils that are ready fertilized and mixed with Miracle Gro and the like- They bag says that their fertilizing effectiveness is good for up to 3 months and sometimes longer. My question is, would it be damaging to the plants to add more Miracle Gro fertilizer mixed as a water solution to the soil every two weeks or so, or would I be overfertilizing and burning the plants?
I find it hard to believe that watering everyday for the last month or so hasn’t leeched out the prefertilized soil, or do they have some special time release formulation of Miracle Gro mixed in?
Miracle-Gro is the work of the devil. It’s chemically based and not balanced nutriton – that white crusty shit on the surface of the dirt? Salts that won’t go away.
You’re better off with a natural product – I use this, and my houseplants are lush and happy.
You would be overfertilizing. The amount of fertilizer in the MG potting soil is relatively low, but it should last the amount of time stated on the package. I personally do not find Miracle-Gro, or any other synthetic fertilizer, to be the work of the devil, but if you are talking indoor container plants, they really don’t need all that much fertilizer to do well. They also don’t need their growth stimulated this time of year (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere) when the tendency is to slow their growth due to reduced light levels. In the brighter, warmer months, a weak (1/4 the recommended dose) solution weekly is good.
And watering indoor plants every day is way too much.
If I am assuming too much, and you are in a warm climate, referring to outdoor container plants, which do indeed need watering every day, then a monthly dose of the Miracle-Gro at full strength would not be excessive.
Since this is GQ, I should note that my advice is based on personal, not professional, experience.
Yes, they are outdoor, potted, fruit plants (chiles and tomatoes) that I am growing during the winter in Florida. They are fairly immature plants, with a few small tomatoes growing and a habanero that is medium sized with no hints of flowering yet. I’ve never grown anything in these latitudes, but it seems like you could grow pretty much anything here and have success during any season. The plants are thriving, and I used a special prefertilized moisture control potting soil that is supposed to protect angainst overwatering and underwatering. So, I just water them everyday, and the strength of the sun pretty much dries them out by night.
I appreciate your advice KLC, sounds sage and sound and based in experience.
