I'm new to gardening... so don't laugh please :-)
I am growing flowers and bushes via my containers. What happens if I blend my fresh fruit and veggie scraps via my Vitamix and pour over my plants? It seems like a healthy fertilizer/compost but perhaps it can hurt my plants?
Hi Heidi - it is the difference between ingredients that have actually composted (developed a neutral pH and now contain active beneficial soil bacteria) vs. fresh ingredients that have an acidic pH and little to no beneficial bacteria.
So any benefits for the plants (except perhaps for a bit of Vitamin C) would be minimal. Plus those ingredients would then compost/ferment in the container and that can have some harmful side-effects - heat production, odor, pest attraction, etc.
So while all the things you list make excellent compost ingredients they also need some carbons (aka browns) to balance them out and some time composting before they can actually be of benefit to your plants. Solution - start a compost pile. :)
Also keep in mind that even good compost and other organics are of limited nutritional benefit to plants when grown in containers as there is a minimal soil food web of microbes and bacteria in a container unlike in the ground. That active web is needed to convert the organic matter to nutrients usable by the plants.
Hope this helps.
Dave
If you're looking for the easiest way to take and maintain control over your plants' nutritional needs, an all-in-one soluble synthetic in an appropriate ratio (like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6) will stand head and shoulders above what you are considering, even if we don't consider the several drawbacks (some mentioned above) that have little or nothing to do with nutrition.
If you maintain your focus on soil structure, that is to say its ability to provide a mix of air and water that isn't limiting (usually due to too much water) for the expected life of the planting, the odds that you'll not end up frustrated with the return you get for your efforts goes up considerably. IOW - container soils are about structure, not their ability to provide nutrients. Plant nutrition is monkey easy and a responsibility that more appropriately belongs to the grower, rather than the soil.
Keep in mind that nutrients aren't food. They're the building blocks plants use to grow and chemicals used to keep plant systems orderly. Plant food is the sugar/carbohydrate plants make during photosynthesis.
Al
Al
Thank you both so much for your advice and warnings.
I do wish I had land to compost but I live in an apartment. I absolutely love to play in the dirt and do it now via containers of flowers and bushes.
I will research container gardening advice on this site now that I have become a member.
Thanks again!
Happy Gardening :-)
A good starting point that, if heeded, will help you avoid all the most common pitfalls - especially the numerous issues associated with soil choice. Learning how soils impact your ability to provide conditions that allow your plant to realize as much of their genetic potential as possible is probably the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1226030/
Al
