hey

you are way overthinking this ...

and forget about time release ..

stupid simple ==>>> .. mix whichever water sol you want/have ... one quarter strength .. and use it every time you water..

just save a couple one gal milk containers.. and have them ready to use ... every time you go out there ...

the difference in those numbers.. is nearly irrelevant.. in your usage ..

now.. were your growing two million containers.. for retail.. in a million sq foot greenhouse.. yes.. there is all kinds of science you need to learn and know ...

but for your little balcony party ... just dilute and use with your water ...

and frankly.. the extreme cost of the time release isnt needed... what.. you wont be there for the rest of the year ... they tend to dump all the nutrients.. and that can be harmful.. for a novice ...

and dont buy media with fert in it... you be in control of such ....

and you can near avoid any need for fert.. if you simple repot with fresh media every year ...

try not to kill them with too much love.. and dont overthink it all ... experiment.. learn.. etc.. but dont jump head first into any given craze ....

ken

Good Luck,
Bob

This post was edited by bugbite on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 9:18

Jilly, those are some pretty interesting methods cited by ken and bug. You'll be fine if you ignore them, lol. I will suggest that you are overly concerned with fertilizer, however, which makes me think that you might be overdoing it.

Slow release products are perfectly fine to use but not in conjunction with other products. If you are using a good, soilless medium, you need to fertilize frequently.....but conservatively! An excess of N will encourage vegetative growth at the sacrifice of flower production. Do you think that that might be what's happening to yours?

I don't fertilize every time I water; I've never seen any benefit from it. But I do use a soluble product frequently. I have used Dyna Gro foliage pro for a very long time. It has an analysis of 9-3-6 with the essential trace elements added. Using a 'stronger ' product is a waste of resources....the plants don't need it nor do they use it. That a higher percentage of Phosphorus (middle number) promotes flowering is a myth encouraged by the fertilizer industry.

Speaking of which.....plants grown in a soilless medium DO require nutritional reinforcement no matter how frequently you repot. The addition of garden soil is not recommended for the typical container culture. Soilless potting mixes do not require or benefit from the living biota found in healthy garden soil.

Back to your slow release concern.......if you can find one with minor elements there's nothing wrong with using them. But you will not have the control over nutrient availability that you will with a soluble product.

You do NOT need different kinds of fertilizer for different plants. If the soluble products you are using do not have all of the trace minerals, you can supplement with fish emulsion upon occasion.

listen to me Jilly ... where are you ... and what are you growing in the pots ... annuals or perennials???

if you are in FL like the bug.. feel free to follow its advice

if you are in an area like MI.. you have great odds of killing your potted plants ... if you try to winter them over .. in pots of fertilizer ....

rhiz.. i appreciate you telling her to ignore me.. especially when my premise was:

you are way overthinking this ...

and your premise is:

I will suggest that you are overly concerned with fertilizer,

==>> what the heck is to be ignored when you totally freaking agree????

jilll .. you can make a science out of it.. and all the power to you if thats what you want ... and kill a lot of things on your learning curve.. like we all did ...

of you can go silly simple.. which is as i noted above.. using what you have at a fraction dilution..all the time...

you have a great day ...

argue with me.. debate with me.. but crikey.. NEVER IGNORE ME ... lol [poor choice of words rhiz ]

ken

Your post tells the story. The plants preferring more shade are doing fine, those that like full sun to bloom best are not blooming so good. It is not the fertilizer causing the problem, and will not cure the problem. If you don't have a lot of sun, plant those plants that like it that way. Al

I saw a show where Bill Gate's wife was poking fun at Bill Gates because he just finished reading a book on Fertilizer.

This post was edited by bugbite on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 9:19

Thanks or all the info guys. I am in ND. Ok so there is a possibility I have been over doing it for some plants (btw...what is "active soil" or "soilless medium"??). I was reading about marigolds and apparently they prefer poor soil, so that could be what's going on with them? They do have plentiful green foilage, those blooms just dont want to come out although I the buds but they dont want to open. I have two varieties and one variety I havent got a single bloom. Could it be sun? I took the pot and flushed it under the tap for a good 10 min to try to get the fertilizer out (please don't laugh if that sounds silly I'm learning here!).

Now since my calibrachoa and pentunias are "heavy feeders" and my marigolds prefer weak soil, I would like to find some kind of resource that lets me know what plants prefer what as far as fertilization? Does anyone have a good resource?

Thanks again for everyone's advice!

Below is a picture of my marigolds planted in improved soil, fertilized soil with a specific repeat fertilizer method while growing. In my next post is the same variety in poorer soil. I did this as a test. I tested three locations with each method. The results are the same. For scale, see the stepping stone which is 12" x 12". You are looking at basically 2 plants with others partially shown. In preparation for these, since I have grown them before, they are planted in tomato cages to keep them from leaning with their massive blooms. Full plants, huge and plentiful blooms.
These are of course grown in the ground.

This post was edited by bugbite on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 8:42

Jilly, "soilless medium " is commercially packaged potting mix. These are usually peat based and include such amendments as perlite and vermiculite. My soilless medium of choice is bark based, with peat and perlite added.

It's called "soilless " because this type of mix does not contain the sand, silt or clay which are components of (outdoor) soil.

Soilless media, as a rule, maintain their porous structure for a long period of time. Porosity is the most important characteristic of a successful potting mix. 'Dead' refers, I presume, to the fact that these mixes are not teeming with the microorganisms found in an outdoor soil.....essential for a healthy soil system IN THE GROUND but wholly unnecessary in a potting medium.

We don't need microorganisms in a potting mix to convert nitrogen. Period! Your soluble fertilizer of choice is ready to go. Stick with a fertilizer that you are comfortable with or already have. It should be one formulated for container plants....and does not matter what kind (usually) .

The link provided by bugbite is for field grown marigolds. That has nothing to do with container culture.....nothing. You can use an 'all purpose ' fertilizer....same kind as for your other plants. The comparison between in-ground and container growing just does not work, for many reasons.

For your ease of mind....the need for a high Potassium (middle number) number is largely a figment of the fertilizer companies. Just avoid too much nitrogen, which will promote an excess of vegetative growth at the sacrifice of flower production.

Ken...I apologize to you for my earlier comment. I was wrong. For some reason, I focused in on the slow release comments (I like SRFs) and not the rest of your excellent advice. Conservative but regular applications of a soluble product is my usual routine, too. I hope you'll forgive me.

This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Mon, Jun 24, 13 at 6:18

As I mentioned above here is a typical example of one of several test marigolds where the marigolds were planted in a lesser soil. Not poor, but just no pre-fertilizing during soil prep and not on the specific post-planting fertilizer method I used above.
The variety is Narai from Geoseed.
I have seen comments about marigolds growing in poor soil; that's why I did this test. Yes, they will grow in poor soil. But the performance is as in this comparison.
I will not revisit this post. And to be fair, I haven't read any followup posts since my post to Rhizo.

This post was edited by bugbite on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 8:57

Gardeners must be CONSTANTLY reminded that growing in containers is not the same, or even close to being the same, as growing in the ground. No one should take offense when this is pointed out. Al

Bugbite, I may have posted behind you before, but I have no memory of it. Sorry but I just don't keep track....lol. But I feel that your comments in this thread had the potential of confusing jilly and maybe even leading her in a problematic direction.

Yes, you absolutely have the right to post about your experiences. Please continue to do so; we all learn this way. But don't get your hackles up if someone disagrees with you and points out why.

Are you pinching off the dead blooms from the annuals (pansies and marigolds)? Once the plants have produced seeds, they will die. Keep picking off flowers as they fade and the plant will keep blooming. I water with miracle gro for blooms once a week. I don't like pelleted fertilizers. My potted annuals bloom till frost with these methods.
They get about 4 hours of sun a day. I put pansies in shade when it's hot out.
I use regular miracle gro for leafy plants, once a week.

Are you pinching off the dead blooms from the annuals (pansies and marigolds)? Once the plants have produced seeds, they will die. Keep picking off flowers as they fade and the plant will keep blooming. I water with miracle gro for blooms once a week. I don't like pelleted fertilizers. My potted annuals bloom till frost with these methods.
They get about 4 hours of sun a day. I put pansies in shade when it's hot out.
I use regular miracle gro for leafy plants, once a week.

I briefly looked over that link bugbite thanks but yeah its a bit confusing. Well idk perhaps it is the sun that is the problem. It is in the closest area of my patio that gets most sun, the petunias and calibrachoa are doing great and those are sun lovers so idk. I did deadhead them when I first plants them, soon there were no more to pinch. I also have geraniums out there and they're also doing great. I did just prune back the marigolds down a bit as the foilage was getting so big, which of course the buds (that weren't opening) were on the foilage I cut off, I just wanted to see if this would help so I guess I'll see.

Thanks for all your input guys!

Oh yeah and I forgot to say i took out the pansies, you couldnt even see them anymore from the marigold leaves (I initially thought they would make a great contrasting combination). They are currently rehabilitating in my sunny window ;P

See posts above.