I spent the day cleaning out the shed. The previous owner left if full of junk and I've finally reached the farthest back corner. And there I found a box of dry vegetable food. It's the kind that gets sprinkled around the plants. I have no idea how old it is. Is it something I can still use? The box is almost full. I'd hate to get rid of it if I don't have to.
I have not had any problems using old fertilizer, but you might want to use it sparingly on something unimportant first, just to make sure.
Good question Libby. A friend gave me a bag of plant food last year that was unopened (I believe it was called Bloom Start or something like that). But he couldn't remember how long ago he had bought it. I've been scared to use it... but didn't want to toss it out... just in case. So it sits in a plastic tub in the garage. There's nothing really "un-important" for me to test it on. Is there another way to tell if it's good or not?
Trying it on something "unimportant" is a good idea. Like Cheryl mentioned, finding something unimportant isn't as easy. However, I do have a cucumber plant that is really lagging behind. I think it will be a perfect subject for the test. If it works I get more cucumbers. If it fails, I'm not really out of anything since it's not doing good already. I'll keep everyone informed of how it works.
My option would be to toss the fertilizer. One, you didn't choose it; two, you didn't buy it; and finally, if something has gone off you could do some temporary damage to the soil. And this is from a woman who reuses twist ties until they are bald and has never thrown away a bread wrapper in her life!
If its been opened and you didn`t buy it, I wouldn`t use it. Might not be plant food. If you purchased it,, use it. Worst case is it may have lost a bit of strength. I have never heard of these things changing to a compound that would hurt your veggies. I am still using three year old rose food. Only have three roses so I am not going to toss it and buy new each year.
Thursday I took some of the old plant food (it was in a box labeled "Plant Food") and sprinkled some around a cucumber that was seriously lagging and around a pumpkin in the same shape. Both were planted in old beds that my husband believes were in some pretty depleted soil. I went and checked them this morning. The pumpkin doesn't look much better or worse, but the cucumber seems to have caught up with the rest of the plants. I think I'm going to try the same thing on a couple of transplanted summer squash plants. I have more than enough of them (I think I got a little carried away) and it won't hurt anything but my feelings if it fails. Stay tuned.
If this is pelleted veggie food, has been kept dry, it should still be viable due to way it's made. If a high nitrogen content food, the nitrogen may have degraded a bit over time thru loss of ammonia in it (a gaseous nitrogen compound): other ingredients will still do their job however. Check the box to see if there's an experation date anywhere on it and, if not, don't hesitate to use what you have, repeat applications as directed by manufacturer. That was an EXCELLANT question!
