Several weeks back, I posted a query regarding container soils. Many of you pointed me to Tapla's tome on the subject, and I decided to follow his recipe. I will say that the results have been very good so far, although chipmunks stole a number of the early immature tomatoes and eggplants in my containers (Deer Off didn't work so now trying Messina's peppermint oil based Rabbit repellent) . The only thing I didn't do was add a controlled release fertilizer or a micronutrient powder. Instead, I opted to fertilize with Miracle Gro 15-30-15, a product I've used many times previously in a traditional backyard garden. Plant growth is fine, but it seems to take a while for my vegetables to get bigger. Are there any products out there which are simple to add to my container soil that will aid in the development of young veggies? I know they make bone meal, blood meal and other types of granular additives. Just throwing it out there to you experienced container folks. I am looking for convenience, reasonable cost in addition to effectiveness in aiding veggie growth.
An aside, I went to a local garden center last week and someone tried to sell me a tub of stuff for $25, and it looked a lot like Miracle Gro (had higher concentrations of N-P-K). I was tempted to buy it, but I already have four or five packets of Miracle Gro. Instead, I held off to see what everyone here recommends.
Best regards,
-- joiseyfresh
Container soil additives for bigger veggies
Your plants need a full compliment of ALL the essential nutrients to grow. If they don't get them, they rob them from other plant parts and/or exhibit deficiency symptoms, among which is slowed growth. The 15-30-15 is also supplying about 12 times more P than your plants can ever use/want. This extra P makes it unnecessarily difficult for the plant to absorb water and nutrients by raising the level of total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity of the soil nutrient solution and can interfere with uptake of other nutrients - mainly Fe and Mn. From a nutritional perspective, I would suggest that you make sure the plants are getting all the individual nutrients (you did add dolomitic [garden] lime - right?) and use a fertilizer formula that is closer to what the plants are actually using. Fertilizers (usually labeled All-Purpose) in the 3:1:2 RATIO (examples are 24-8-16, 12-4-8, 9-3-6) are labeled as all-purpose for good reason. They are an excellent choice for a very high % of plants.
Al
And to some extent you also have to let nature take its course too, nothing you can do is going to make your veggies go from tiny to huge overnight, these things do take time. All you can do is make sure they're getting the nutrients they need, throwing extra stuff on them will do more harm than good in the long run.
Al --
Thanks for your response. I did indeed add garden lime (made under the brand name Soil Doctor) to my soil mix. I was careful to add just a small amount, since my containers range in size from 2-3 gallons for smaller plants like peppers and eggplant and 5-10 gallons in size for the tomato plants. I pretty much followed your small batch recipe, since I had small green one gallon containers that allowed me to precisely measure the ingredients as I poured them into a larger container for mixing. Perhaps I should go to the extent of buying a PH testing kit to make sure all of my soil elements are proper?
I will check some local garden centers for fertilizers of the N-P-K proportions you have recommended. If anyone knows of specific brand names that mirror those ratios, feel free to chime in.
-- joiseyfresh
Easiest to find are the Miracle-Gro products. The 24-8-16 granular soluble comes in several size boxes and the 12-4-8 liquid is usually sold by the quart. Both are labeled "All-Purpose Fertilizer". Dyna-Gro makes a fertilizer that is a 3:1:2 ratio that has all the secondary major elements and all the minors (micronutrients), too. It's labeled 'Foliage-Pro' 9-3-6, but it's unlikely you'll find it anywhere but on the net.
No need to get a pH meter and start chasing your tail - and it will not indicate which elements are available or missing. It's pretty near impossible to maintain a stable pH in containers because soo MANY things affect pH. It literally changes by the hour, and TRYING to maintain pH stability in container media is an abject exercise in futility. ;o) If you added a little lime to the soil, your soil pH should be favorable. If you had reason to suspect that irrigation water or natural soil aging is causing an upward creep in pH, simply incorporating an ounce or two of white vinegar per gallon of irrigation water will help correct it.
Good luck.
Al