So here we are at the end of summer gardening, but here is the 2nd most common mistake we make with gardening according to this author from gardening about.com.
Can you fertilizer too much? The old adage that if a little is good a lot must be better is rarely the case and fertilizing plants is no exception. There are some plants known as heavy feeders, but no plant needs to be feed every time you water. Excessive fertilizer effects plants in a couple of ways. If you are using a synthetic fertilizer, the salts can build up in the soil and burn the roots. This is especially true of potted plants. Make sure you water all your plants well enough to disperse the water and food and allow water to drain out of the drainage holes in your containers, to avoid salt built up. Too much fertilizer, especially food high in nitrogen (the first number on the package), can promote a lot of tender, leafy growth. That may sound like a good idea, but being forced into unnatural growth can stress a plant. Stressed plants, like stressed people, are more susceptible to disease. In addition, stressed plants are very attractive to insect pests. They love tender succulent growth. Don’t forget, most plants need a period of dormancy. Winter takes care of that for us outdoors, but indoor plants need to rest during the off season, too. Don’t feed them until you start to see signs of new growth in the spring and cut back a little on watering, too.
Taken from http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenproblems/fl/How-to-Kill-Your-Plants.htm?utm_content=7337008&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cn_nl&utm_campaign=gardening&utm_term= Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty, Iowa
Can you fertilizer too much? The old adage that if a little is good a lot must be better is rarely the case and fertilizing plants is no exception. There are some plants known as heavy feeders, but no plant needs to be feed every time you water. Excessive fertilizer effects plants in a couple of ways. If you are using a synthetic fertilizer, the salts can build up in the soil and burn the roots. This is especially true of potted plants. Make sure you water all your plants well enough to disperse the water and food and allow water to drain out of the drainage holes in your containers, to avoid salt built up. Too much fertilizer, especially food high in nitrogen (the first number on the package), can promote a lot of tender, leafy growth. That may sound like a good idea, but being forced into unnatural growth can stress a plant. Stressed plants, like stressed people, are more susceptible to disease. In addition, stressed plants are very attractive to insect pests. They love tender succulent growth. Don’t forget, most plants need a period of dormancy. Winter takes care of that for us outdoors, but indoor plants need to rest during the off season, too. Don’t feed them until you start to see signs of new growth in the spring and cut back a little on watering, too.
Taken from http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenproblems/fl/How-to-Kill-Your-Plants.htm?utm_content=7337008&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cn_nl&utm_campaign=gardening&utm_term= Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse Dougherty, Iowa
