Hey everyone:
Sure hope some of you experts can give me some advise on the best fertilizer to use on my AV's. I only have about 8 or so, and some leaves rooting, with new babies. I've grown AV's sporadically over the years, but since joining Dave's, y'all have gotten me really interested in them again .... so many really different and beautiful types .... I never knew!
Anyhow, I have MANY houseplants and have always been real lax about feeding them. Since being a member of DG, I am getting a lot better at being a good "plant mommy"! I have been in the process of ID'ing and labeling all my plants, and still need to do that with my AV's also. I will never throw away a label again! It's a time consuming process, researching and ID'ing, but well worth it. I've had a couple of my plants ID here on Daves and I'm so thankful for all the intelligent and wonderful folks here in DG land!
Any suggestions on a good fertilizer for my AV's would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Lin
The best fertilizer for AV's?
I have had great success with Eleanor’s VF-11. Keeps my AV's happy and blooming.
Don Ü
Thanks Don: Where can I buy it?
I order mine from Charley's.
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/
I think it is available in many places in the U.S. Maybe others can give you an idea of a closer location.
Don Ü
Hi Don,
Are you watering with it? If so, what strength? I have some but have only ever used it as a foliar on other houseplants. I was afraid to use it as a foliar on AV's for fear of leaf damage. Thanks,
GH
Edited for Lin- Charley's is where I bought mine from as well.
This message was edited Nov 29, 2006 4:09 PM
Hi GH,
Yes I water with it, most of the time. I use a capful for a quart of water, or an ounce per gallon. I have never had leaf damage over the past 6 months of using it.
Don Ü
VF-11 is excellent and gentle. No worry use it all the time BUT it must be used alone with no other fertilizers. Watch soils that come with food , or leach plants for a month before using VF-11 as it likes to be used alone.
In out first sticky is link direct to Eleanor and she will send you a free sample 8 oz good for 8 gallons of food if you email her !
Also do a search then this forum only and there are many postings and threads about Eleanor's VF-11
I use Eleanor's too! It is a wonderful miracle worker! It perked my plants up!
I have been doing an experiment with Beer fertilizer. I stumbled across the recipe over in the Hoya forum while looking for info on how to perk up my hoyas.Well believe it or not I 1st fertilized my hoyas only 3 weeks ago and already have new growth on them.For November that is unheard of around here!! Anyway I thought I would try it on one of my Blue AV noids last week and below is the result.The foliage and blooms are outstanding! I also used it on a few episcias and they are getting loads of new growth. I might get brave enough to try it on some duplicate named av's I have and see how it does.I guess if it kills them at least I can say they died happy : )
Nancy
I am going to suck it up and try this beer fert. on some of my plants! I've heard from Kim and now you, Nancy, that your plants are really loving it.:)))
GH,Yep you better suck it up girl and try it.LOL I couldn't believe it either.When I first read it I thought it was a joke.I used it on the Hoya Bella I got from Kim and it is beginning to look really great now!Oh I even used it on that Varigated Peace Lily you sent me and she looks Maaavelous Darling.I will have to send you a pic.:)
Cedarnest ..where is this hoya forum with the beer recipe for plants ..sounds great..could you tell us the recipe here?I bet theres lots of others that would like to know...Gingerose
LOL, Nancy- "Maaevelous Dahling"! That is SUCH a good thing!!! Now, I will be going to Wal-mart tomorrow to buy all this stuff. Think I have some molasses on hand, but definitely not any amonia. Isn't it thrilling to try new things on your plants? Even more so when they respond well to it.
BTW- how's mom's white CC coming along? Well, I hope! Let me know if not.
Gingerose,Certainly..Here is the link to the Beer Formula Thread hope it works.The only thing I don't add is the B vitamins. I love experimenting with new things. So far its really working well for me:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/665824/
GH The White CC you sent for mom is looking great! She said No blooms this year but next year it should be full : )
There is a gardner and writer , Jerry Baker, who wrote "Jerrys Baker's Lawn Book". He used beer and amonia on lawns. I have tried epsom salts on plants outside with good results. I wonder though if the molasses might attract insects. It will be interesting to see how those trying this on african violets make out. I tend to like using natural things, so this will be interesting to follow.
This message was edited Nov 30, 2006 4:57 PM
Yes I was just going to say Jerry Baker I use to have a couple of his books if I recall he had one food for AV's with beer.
I sent for the 8oz Eleanor's VF-11 to try it. I am seriously thinking of trying the Beer Fertilzer Mix on some things too!
Since my DH and I don't drink beer, can anyone tell me what brand/kind to buy? I am going to go light on the Molasses too .... I sure don't want to attract any ants or other insects!
Thanks,
Lin
we don't drink either. And here in Florida if we used that type of plant food we'd have ant city of every type trails coming from every which way. lol
Has anyone else had ant problems ??
We don't drink much either. I read not to use light beer for some reason so I went out and bought one of those big brown single bottles of Miller I think it was.I felt like a boozer standing at the checkout with that big ole bottle of beer.I have never noticed any bugs at all with using the mixture.I don't know if anyone else has had any problems with it attracting them?Maybe the combination of beer and ammonia kills them? I don't really know.Just a guess. I do use VF-11 for my special av's but thought it might be fun to experiment a little with my duplicates, noids and a few other houseplants..So far they all look wonderful so time will tell I guess.
Thank you Cedarnest!! got the beer recipe ..Gingerose
LOL Cedarnest! My husband and I don't drink, I didn't even realize you could buy just 1 bottle of beer and I didn't know it came in big bottles .... that's what I will look for .... or maybe I'll just ask the store clerk to point me in the direction of the Big Brown Bottles of Miller! Tee Hee!
I guess some of us were wondering about the Molasses in the mix possibly attracting bugs! You are right, the ammonia would probably keep any bugs away! I sure hope so anyway!
We have problems down here in the South with ants! And some folks have Palmetto Bugs ....( for you Northerner's that's HUGE Cockroaches!!) .... ICK! ..... UGH! .... I detest bugs! Except nice Lady beetles!
I remember back in the late 60's in South Florida my dad burning out a stump from a palm tree that had been cut down .... literally thousands of Palmetto Bugs came running out of the stump of that tree, from way down inside the rotted out trunk! Ooooh .... gives me the creeps just remembering it! A man I worked with years ago told me when he bought his house in the 60's that he had EVERY Palm Tree close to the house removed and I asked him why and he said that Rats nest in them! And if the Palms are close to the house, they could get from the Palms to the roof and into the attic!
Ain't Florida grand??!!
I tell you, if I ever see a Rat or those huge Palmetto Bugs come in my house .... I'll be heading North to live! LOL. I don't like creepy, crawlies! Bugs, Rats, Mice or Snakes!
Uh Oh, got sidetracked for a minute there .... forgot what the discussion was! LOL.
Oh Yeah, I plan on trying the Beer Fertilizer on some of my plants to see how they handle it. Will keep y'all posted!
Lin
p.s. The older I get, the more I am becoming a Ditzy Blonde (and my blonde comes from a bottle!!) Can you imagine how I'd be if I did drink?! LOL.
Lin
Oh My gosh Lin,No wonder we get along so well...I'm a ditzy blonde too.My mind is always flying every which way!Hee Hee We have ants up here too but have never had problems with them. I am soo glad we don't have Palmetto Bugs up here,It creeps me out just hearing you describe them. EWWW Ick is right !! If you do decide to try the beer fertilizer( on your plants I mean) keep us posted on how they like it.If you have any Hoyas I highly recommend using it on them.They will love you for it : )
Nancy
Yea, I'm gonna try it on my Hoya's and everything else too! I have one Hoya ID'd here on DG as a Krimson Queen, but since have been told it's Krimson Princess. I got the "Mom" plant from a friend I worked with back in the mid to late 70's, which I've rooted many cuttings from. I have the original and another rooted plant from it in hanging baskets and It hasn't been the "prettiest" of plants the past few years because I think I've had it in too much sun .... hanging in my pool enclosure where it gets a lot of hot afternoon sun! Even though it's filtered by the screen, it's on the west side of the house where it's hotter then heck all afternoon during summer with that sun beating down! I finally moved them into more shade and the colors are looking a bit better! I have a Hoya lacunosa and another that I believe is brievialata ... and I have some cuttings of other's that were made in trades from nice folks here on DG. I will have to try that fertilizer on them.
Sorry .... see .... I got off topic again .... this is the AV forum! Well ... they are plants too!
Lin
Here is Jerry Bakers "Get Your Potted Plants Plastered" from his book: (quote)
Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker, especially for your potted plants. Add a can of beer or a shot of bourbon, scotch, vodka or gin to a gallon of room temperature water. Add one ounce of liquid dish soap, and let it sit half a day or so. Then add your favorite plant food and water your potted plants with this boozy treat. The yeast in the alcohol seems to rejuvenate the old soil in the pot. Your plant will....hiccup....thank you! (end quote)
Now here is the list of what certain makes certain ingredients effective:
Ammonia: a mild immediately available source of nitrogen, that helps to encourage leaf growth.
Beer: an enzyme activator that helps to release hutrients that are locked in the soil, plus it starts organic activity.
Molasses - a source of sugar that stimulates chlorophyll formation in plants.
Seaweed: contains a natural hormone that stimulates and increases plant growth.
Soap: softens soil and, when used on foilage, removes dust, dirt, pollution, so that osmosis and photosynthesis can more easily occur.
Tea: contains tannic acid which helps plants digest their food faster.
Hope this bit of information helps with some of the question about the how and why of these formulas...;)
Why thank you Janet! That definitely sheds a better light how and why it works.Thanks for the article.Now I think I will "Get A Few More Of Potted Plants Plastered"hiccup LOL
Me too, I have some that could use a little "jolt"...LOL
Okay guys, time to resurrect this thread (tis the season, after all...ho ho ho)
Okay, that was really bad...anyways...
I was reading a book called The Truth About Garden Remedies: What Works, What Doesn't, & Why by Jeff Gillman and he did a little experiment with beer fertilizer. He had several groups- a light beer, a stout (guinness), alcohol-free, a control with just water and a small amount of fertilizer, and another water/fertilizer group but with alcohol added (as much as in the light beer). There were 6 plants in each group. He used a hydroponics system so there wouldn't be any interference with the soil. He says, "The results of this experiment are clear cut: alcohol is bad for plant growth..." and that "...beer without alcohol is bad for plant growth, although small amounts of alcohol-free beer didn't do any major harm. In short, the best plants were those that didn't have anything besides a small amount of fertilizer added" (p. 33). He goes into what the beneficial properties of beer would have been, but that his experiment using beer as a fertilizer failed.
Just thought the beer fertilizer enthusiasts may want to hear that, since it seems this is just in its infancy. I read the beer fertilizer thread in the hoya forum and on the epi website that the hoya thread keeps referring to. But it seems everyone's testing of beer fertilizer has just begun and I didn't see any long-time beer fertilizer supporters. So I thought you guys might appreciate this.
very interesting thank you.
lol glad you appreciated it. ; ) The book was really neat- he experimented with several other things, too, that he'd heard helped plants, including buttermilk (whoa...never heard of using THAT), epsom salts, etc. He discusses the ever popular hydrogels and I even saw a section on if music helps plants or not. He tests everything. Really a neat book to read if anyone's interested. I just started it but it's really caught my interest so far just because he's so non-biased about everything. And it was published in 2006 so it doesn't get more up-to-date than that.
I think plants like misuc ! What do they say ?
Haven't gotten there just yet but I'll skip directly to it next time I have a good long chance to do some reading and share it with you. ; )
Thanks !
Well, I was a little disappointed in this one, and I'm sure you will be, too.
The author had heard of two other tests done first. In the first, a woman studied plants who listened to rock 'n roll vs. classical and found that the rock 'n roll plants needed to be watered more often. But then they found that if you just place two beakers of water next to the two types of music (without plants), then the rock 'n roll water evaporated sooner. They explained that being caused from ripples formed to the beat, causing a larger surface, thus evaporating sooner. Okay, so nothing there. The author had also heard of giving plants high frequency sounds while applying a foliar fertilizer, the idea being that the pores would open as a reaction to the sound and would be the ideal time to be fertilized. So the author studied THIS a little further, since the original tester didn't have much support for his claim. I was rather thinking he would just let the plants listen to music over a period of time and see which was bigger and healthier.
I'll tell you about the experiment anyways, though, in case anyone is curious. He used radish plants and tested them (with a porometer) to see if the music caused their pores to open. Some days they "listened" to Rush (rock) and sometimes nothing. He found that on the days the plants "listened" to Rush, the pores were actually more closed than on the days they listened to nothing. HOWEVER, he did not use a sound proof room. So there were outside sounds in the vicinity he was unable to control...he used wind as an example, but I'm thinking along the lines of car horns and the like. He admits it was a poor test, and I think he ought to have redone it before publishing it...what a waste of paper. I think he also ought to also have tested different types of music...perhaps his plants don't like Rush?? hahaha The test he referred to that was done earlier to open pores didn't say it used music, but rather a SOUND. So I would think that if he was trying to duplicate that test, he should've used high-frequency SOUNDS. While the author admits it was a bad test and he didn't have a for sure conclusion, at least he says it's the only one out of the book that ended that way. Otherwise, I don't think I would be interested in checking out the rest of the book. Ugh...why even mention the music experiment and get people's interest if you're just going to admit you didn't do it right and don't try it again??? lol
This would perhaps be a fun experiment to try at home- not about the pores, but just to have several groups of plants that listened to different types of music (and one group that didn't) and see if any of them grew healthier than the other. Anyone have a sound proof room?? hahaha
I think plants love music :)) Why nit plants need everything we need to grow and be healthy . So if you enjoy music most likly maybe your plants will. :))
Thanks for the book review !
PS no sound proof room here either !! HEHE My plants are lucky they have not scooted of their windowsill shelf with all the hammer banging and saws, drills and more. Hubby took the extra door in our large new living room out and put a nice big new window !! It gets very nice light .
More window shelves soon ! It has one long window with 10 ft windowshelf now. But the sliding glass doors and dinning room window look out to screen porch so not much light come in so this new window is awesome ! Were use to lots of windows !
So that's your secret!! Plants must love hammering sounds, then! Isn't that why you have such pretty blooms? haha Your husband must get a good rhythm when he hammers in those shelves! ; ) just teasing
Yeah I told him he better check them on and off lol by the end of the day they've almost jumped off the shelf.
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