I require to develop vegetable in container and one important factor is to feed them with plant food . I ’ve written detail on how often you need to fee them .
You should fecundate your container vegetable garden every two week during the growing time of year from Spring until late Summer . you’re able to also dilute the fertilizer and add it every day when watering the vegetable plants .
You should know the unlike types of fertilizer and how to habituate them in your container vegetable garden . I ’ve written the information below so keep understand .
Organic fertilizer I use for my plants
How often should you add fertilizer?
Most potting soils come with a dull - departure fertilizer that will aid your plant life get nutrients for two weeks . After that , you ’ll necessitate to feed in your vegetable plant .
The general idea is to course your container vegetable plantsevery 2 to 4 weeksfor a good provision of nutrients . But if the vegetables are fruiting varieties like tomatoes , cucumbers , pepper , it ’s in effect to fertilize themevery 1 to 2 workweek .
What is the best fertilizer for container vegetables?
There are unlike type of fertilizer available for container vegetable but I advocate you use organic fertilizers . They are slow - release so you wo n’t end up damaging the plants . And they are chemical substance - complimentary so wo n’t harm the beneficial organisms in the territory .
you’re able to choose between a farinaceous fertilizer or a fluid fertilizer . A granular fertilizer has obtuse - release granules that you place on your soil . These are slow absorbed into the land when you irrigate your plants .
Liquid fertilizer is something you combine with H2O and then spray on the soil and the plant ’s leafage . These are take over quickly by the works ’s roots and leaves .
Lettuce grown in a container at the BMC Horticulture Show
you may get fertilizer made with textile like kelp , seaweed , fish emulsion , compost tea , blood repast , bone repast , feather meal , earthworm cast , and bat guano .
When you start produce a container veg plant , you may add a stark fertiliser to the stain . This is a plant food that has a balance of nutrients N - P - K. N stand for Nitrogen , P stands for Phosphorus , and K stands for Potassium .
Once your veg flora protrude growing after a few weeks , you want to add a fertilizer that ’s beneficial to the plant .
Pepper plant in my container garden
If you ’re mature leafy vegetables like lettuce , Spinacia oleracea , Swiss chard , you should apply a fertiliser that ’s high in nitrogen . This help oneself the industrial plant grow estimable foliage that we expect from such vegetable . Some fertilizers that are plenteous in nitrogen are blood repast , feather meal , and Pisces the Fishes emulsion .
If you ’re growing fruiting vegetable like tomatoes , cucumbers , peppers , it ’s best to use a plant food that is rich in phosphorus . This helps the plant life focus it ’s get-up-and-go on growing flowers and fruit . Some fertilizers that are rich in P are bone repast and bat guano .
Growing root vegetables like carrots , beets , andpotatoesmeans you need adept solution developing . Fertilizers rich in K will help you get this upshot . Some fertiliser you may use are sulfate of potash and palm crew ash .
How do you fertilize a potted plant?
You ask to be measured to give the veg works the right amount of fertilizer . Too less will not allow the nutrients the plant needs . And excess fertilizer will damage the plants due to fertilizer burning .
call back to follow the instructions provide on the fertiliser handbag to get the best results . This will give you information about how to use the fertilizer and how often .
Add to the potting soil
Most potting soil will come with some ho-hum - handout fertilizer for the plant . you could ask your local garden kernel for specific fertilizer for your vegetable plant . This will allow for nutrients to your plant for a couple of week .
If the potting soil does not hold such fertilizer , you could corrupt some and tally it on your own . It ’s best to habituate a complete fertilizer with NPK values 3 - 3 - 3 to give overall nutrients to the plants .
You should add ½ tablespoon ho-hum - press release plant food per gallon of potting grunge . So if your pot check 5 gallons pot soil , you ’ll require to add 2½ tablespoon of fertilizer .
unify the fertiliser well into the potting soil before tally it to the container and planting the vegetable plant or come .
Add to the container
If you ’re using a coarse-grained fertilizer , you ’ll want to add it to the stain every month . you’re able to put it on top of the grease and irrigate the plant .
The slow - freeing plant food will slowly integrate into the soil to provide nutrients to the roots .
Spray on the leaves and soil
If you ’re using a liquid fertilizer , you ’ll need to immix it with water supply in the watering can . The amount you need to use will be specified on the fertiliser suitcase .
you could spray the liquid fertilizer every 2 to 4 weeks in the growing time of year . When fruiting plant have grown , you may increase the frequency to every workweek .
you could also use fluent fertiliser when watering the plant every twenty-four hours . But you ask to dilute the fertilizer even more to avoid fertiliser overdose .
What time of day is best to fertilize potted plants?
The best time to inseminate your container vegetable plants is when you ’re watering the plant . This could be in the morning or eve .
Watering in the morning is the best time because it reserve the plant ’s roots to absorb the nutrients before the urine evaporates due to the passion or wind .
You do n’t need to irrigate the plants in the afternoon because the rut will evaporate the moisture before the root can absorb it . The water may also heat up causing the leave to burn up .
Watering in the evening is also o.k. but you need to be measured that the water system dry out out by nighttime . If the leave-taking remain moist at night , it can make fungous diseases on the plant life .
How do I know if my container plants need fertilizer?
Every time you water the container , nutrient leach out from the drainage holes . Plants that maturate in containers ca n’t use their root to fan out out in search of nutrient .
I advocate follow the agenda and adding plant food to the container plants . But there are some signals you could utilise to hump if the plant needs plant food .
If your potted plant are showing signs of wilt or wilt parting , the first thing to do is water the plants well .
If that does not figure out the problem , there ’s a good chance that the flora are lacking nutrients and you necessitate to fertilize them .
When should you not fertilize potted plants?
There are some situations where adding fertiliser to the container vegetable plant life will cause more damage than in effect .
When the plant are under focus due to pests , diseases , or transplant stupor , you should not add fertilizer to them . This will increase the stress on the plant and damage them even more .
You should add fertiliser only during the growing season from leap to tardy summertime . add fertilizer during a sleeping season like winter will make the flora to endeavor to develop and damage it in the process .
There are some vegetable herbaceous plant plants like lavender , thyme that prefer an environment of low nutrient and wet . They get their best and smack well in such conditions .
How to make your own fertilizer for potted plants?
You call for to buy as much plant food as you have plants in your container vegetable garden . This can cost you some money depending on how big your garden is .
There are ways you’re able to make your own fertilizer that is good enough for grow potted plants . Here ’s one such method using compost .
Soak a bag of compost in a bucket of water for 10 day . Take the cup of tea out and you should have a brew formed in the bucket .
Dilute this brew with more water till it appears the color of light brew tea . Your liquid fertilizer is ready and you’re able to utilise it for your plants every workweek or two .
Further Reading
Adding fertiliser is one part of growing a successful container vegetable garden . But you do need other basics such as lachrymation , mulching , pruning , and taking care of pests and disease . you may find all the information below ,
Fact Checked , Written , and issue by Kevin Rodrigues
Kevin is the founder of Gardening Mentor , a website that aims to instruct the great unwashed to grow their own food in a limited space . As a ego - taught gardener , Kevin has expend several geezerhood arise plant and creating gardening content on the website . He is certify in Home Horticulture and Organic Gardening from Oregon State University . He has a Post Graduate Diploma in Horticulture and Landscape Gardening from Mumbai University . Read more
