Hello everyone, this is my first post as a new member of this forum. I have been gardening for only a few months so am still very much in the learning process. All my plants have been grown from seed and many of them are now at stage where they might need fertilizer. I am wondering if anyone has any tips or advice as to selecting fertilizer for container plants. I am growing swiss chard, squash, basil, thyme and snow peas. any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated. thanks
Welcome to gardening. There is always something to learn about. I have been gardening most of my life and am still learning. For a start, there are a couple of things that you can use safely without much worry about overuse and that is good compost or composted manure and miracle gro. Compost or composted manure can be both used as fertilizer and growing medium if you wish. Miracle Gro is as safe a commercial variety as any available. Just use as directed. With the compost types you can use them as top dressing and just mix them in the top few inches of soil and water in. You can use both without much worry. I am sure some of our organic gardeners have things you can use as well.
I like using compose myself because it's organic. I stay away from chemical fertilizers as much as possible. Simon Adams moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
As an organic gardener, I avoid chemical fertilizers. I use compost mostly but if it appears that a boost might be needed, I use fish emulsion or liquid seaweed. I like them for my large planter boxes because when used as directed your can't burn things up. Before I went organic, I used Miracle Grow with good results. Anyway, if you are gardening in containers you aren't putting tons of fertilizer into the soil anyway. Use the Miracle Grow as directed. More is not better. Guess how I learned that.
