Okay, so I finally got around to picking up some fertilizer for my plants - they've been growing for maybe 3 weeks, and my tallest is at about 4" but the others are maybe 3" or so. They've been looking like they needed a little extra kick, so I went to the store. I got some 24-8-16 "all purpose plant food" that sounded like it would be good for vegetative growth, along with some super thrive to add to the regular watering water. So, on the box under "for use with watering cans" it says to use 1 tbsp per plant in a watering can for tomatoes. I was assuming this was for larger tomato plants since it says planted in ground in parentheses under tomatoes, so I just went with the one tbsp measurement, and divided by three since I've read that you should start with a lower concentration. So, I measured out 1 tsp and mixed it into a gallon of water, and poured some of that into a spray bottle. Basically, I just misted the plants and misted the top of the soil until it was moderately wet, then I took my water w/ superthrive and watered with that until it started draining out of the bottom. That was yesterday, and they already look darker green and healthier. My question is, how often should I apply this fertilizer mix? It's a pretty low concentration, so would it be safe to mist them a little everyday with it? Every couple days?
Great question! I hope we can get someone to give us a good answer for this one. I too bought the same fertilizer. Miracle Grow all purpose with great Nitrogen. Looks like great stuff. In another two weeks, I want to start mine as well. They make a Bloom fertilizer as well that seems like it might be good for flowering plants.
Well, mine was actually a "pro gardener" formula, which had the same content as the miracle grow, but it was cheaper. I'm thinking since I mixed it pretty low, I could just mist a little over the leaves everyday to help boost growth, since it says that it absorbs through the leaves as well as the roots.
I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't spray much onto the leaves (yes it absorbs), but because it is an indoor plant, you should only spray on the leaves with a small amount. Maybe we can get an expert to ring in on this.