Answers To Your Questions About Organic Gardening Catalogue
Thomas asks…
Miracle Gro Fertilizer HELP?
I have purchased some Miracle Gro Organic Choice Garden Soil which I mixed into the native soil with the new Four O’ clocks I planted. It says it’s a natural fertilizer, both quick and slow release. The fertilizer analysis on it says 0.10 – 0.05 – 0.10
It’s located here http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod70308&itemId=cat80014&tabs=general
I want to fertilze some older ones I already have had in the ground for three years. They’ve never been fertilized, and are growing slowly this year.
My only confusion is that what I have already purchased states to mix with native soil, plant your plants and then water. Well, since these that I am wanting to fertilize, the older ones are already planted, could I just sprinkle some of this Miracle Gro Organic Choice Garden Soil around those, shake any off of the foliage and water? If not someone mentioned I should get the 6-6-6. How do I use this that I already have to fertilze my older plants?
Green Thumb answers:
What you have is not meant to be used as fertilizer. It is a soil amendment that has fertilizer properties in it, because it is basically compost. The NPK amounts listed are minuscule. You would be better off getting Miracle Gro fertilizer that comes in a bottle and attaches to your hose.
Sandra asks…
did i do the right thing for my garden? advice?
i never planted plants before but did some research and planning before doing some gardening in our front yard and now i’m worried that i may have had put too much steer manure blend in our garden. well, you see, this is what i did:
- tilled the soil about 6-8 inches.
- put 2-4 inch layer of Steer manure blend.
Label:
http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?tabs=general&proId=prod70587&itemId=cat60014&id=cat140002
basically not pure manure- it was mixed with compost and a whole lot of other organic stuff
- added some potting mix, can’t remember how much
- mixed them all together.
- wet the soil
- wait about 30 mins
- planted some plants, dug deeper holes for replanting the big-rooted ones
retained the soil from the pot though, which was originally from the nursery.
watered the plants lightly
mulched, about 1-2 inches
i live in southern california and the soil here is not ideal for gardening and ours is like the dirt you see in a typical southern california freeway- very dry, dusty, pale, hard, compact, and rocky; so amending the soil is a definite must. the steer manure blend bag says ‘put 1 inch or less’ but our soil was never fertilized and amended before so i opted to put more to attain that dark rich-looking soil; so now i’m a bit worried coz i’m not sure if i over did it.
btw, its in zone 8b, partial shade/sun. early morning and late afternoon sun. maybe that would minimize the burning effect of over-fertilizing.
Green Thumb answers:
The manuer is a good thing and contains alot of nitrogen..For flowering plants or vegetables that fruit out and not just leafy(such as lettuce,spinach etcetera..) you do not want alot of nittrogen but more phospherous and pottasium..the manuer is tilled in and all so it is not so much that it will burn the plants, but the first year your flowers may not be real thick on them but will have tons of nice leaves/foilage..nitrogen promotes the growth of leaves and such and does not benefit the buds and flowers..phospherous and potassium work on flowering/budding plants..You have doen no harm and you will get some flowers and blooms, but not as much as expected..DO NOT ADD ANY MORE NITROGEN BASED PRODUCTS..The slow release nitrogen in the potting soil will not do much harm…Just remember next season do not add any more manuer or nitrogen fertilizer for these type of plants..simply retill the existing soil to aerate and plant..This years planting is not a loss at all so dont worry..you will just get less blooms due to the increase in nitrogen..I also am in zone 8b northweest Florida..Yes Florida gets cold in parts..we were down to 24 farenheit last night..here is a link to my garden veggies pictures, which I also amend with fertilizer..it’s just getting to know what and when to add with what type plants…These pictures are my source and experience..I was raised on a farm and presently start plants indoors and grow outside for resell..I sell veggies,plants,and seeds…The pictures on the album below is my proof..
William asks…
Can I plant seeds from fruits and veggies purchased at the grocery store?
Okay, so I’ve been looking at seed catalogs and planning my garden for next year. Potatos are pretty expensive, about $18 a set for the fingerlings I want. However, the same fingerlings sold for eating are only about $8 a sack at Costco. So here’s what I’m wondering … couldn’t I buy the fingerlings from Costco, let them start growing eyes, and then plant those? Is there any reason why I can’t plant any seeds obtained from organic fruits and veggies? Okay, I know that if I grow an apple tree or pear tree from seed, I’m going to get a surprise tree with fruit unlike the fruit I got the seed from, but in general, can I plant potatoes from the store? What about taking the seeds out of peppers, tomatoes, squash, etc? Anyone know?
I’m not even super concerned with it coming from an organic fruit or veggie, as long as I grow it organic on my end. Part of the reason why I garden is to save money on food, and I know I’ll get a lot more in harvest than what I spend on seed, but if I can cut my costs on seed it sure would help.
Green Thumb answers:
Theoretically, you could grow potatoes from store-bought. If you’re 100% certain that it is organic, there shouldn’t be any issues. However, conventional potatoes are sprayed with a growth retardant so they don’t sprout as quickly. So you want to be absolutely sure that you’re using only organic potatoes.
As for growing anything else, most store-bought fruits and veggies are hybrids. Hybrids do not come true from seed. You would still get a pepper or a tomato or a squash, but it would most likely not taste anything like the original item and most likely would taste terrible (my experience).
A better thing to do would be to either to find a local grower who saves their own seed or plants heirloom or open-pollinated vegetables and ask for some seed. They would more than likely be happy to give you their leftovers as most gardeners I know end up with occasional varieties that they didn’t care for personally or that didn’t grow well for them or freebies from their seed suppliers. I always have plenty extra. They might even be willing to grow a few plants for you if you ask nicely, or to give you any of their extra plants (if they’re like me and grow extras).
Seriously, just ask! Most gardeners are friendly people always willing to help new gardeners out. Find one of the online forums and see if anybody has extra seed they’d be willing to send you if you’ll pay for postage. For a couple of bucks, you could soon have a whole garden. 
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