Every Friday I go through my fertilizer routine. This does not mean that everything gets fertilizer. It means that this is the day when I check myself. I make sure that anything that is newly planted, or setting fruit gets either granular or liquid fertilizer. I make sure everything gets attention at least every two weeks.
I use a variety of fertilizers. The vegetable garden gets either a Espoma granular or Neptune's Harvest Fish and Seaweed liquid. The Garden-Tone is a good all round and I refresh each bed before planting in the spring, but I end up using the Tomato-Tone more often. The heavy blooming annuals get Proven Winners Slow Release pellets once a month, and if they can stand watering, then they get the Proven Winners liquid. Sometimes I have to skip it just because the containers are already too wet which is the case today. The Dahlias get Alaska Morbloom when they first start putting on growth and then again when the buds begin to form.
One thing I do when I get a new container of fertilizer is write the mixing directions on the bottle with marker. I also write the dates I am fertilizing so I don't lose track of when I did it last. I empty any bagged product into another container. The Tomato-Tone is in an old pretzel jar which holds up to 8#. Larger bags go into kitty litter pails or square buckets that nails and screws come in. I cut the label out of the bag and tape it to the container with packing tape. I always save any good square container because they fit more efficiently on a shelf than round ones do.
I, too, try to store feeds and fertilizer in recycled plastic. Easier to handle/store, less likely for critter to chew into bags. (Once something came into the garage, tore open a box of Sluggo and ate most of it. .???)
ReplyDeleteI love Espoma products. Take care, Kris in Ohio