Fertilizing container plants is different than those growing in the
ground (usually the container dosage is much less). Follow the
manufacturer's directions carefully. Don't forget about organic
fertilizers too--compost/manure teas, fish emulsion, etc.

On 27 Feb 2004 10:39:30 -0800, (Frank) wrote:

Dear all,

Maybe because I just start my gardening life, I try to make sure the
care I give to my plants is correctly done, sometimes maybe care too
much about the details.

My question is about the feeding. I water my plants once a week on
Saturdays and plan to feed every other weekend. I do not have land so
all the plants are in the containers. Should I feed after watering or
just count feeding watering as one watering? During the normal
watering, I can see a lot of water coming out from the bottom, I just
keep on adding water. Sometimes the plants will suck the water back
from bottom saucer. The suggestion I got from this board is that I
should discard the excess water after say half an hour. But if I do
this for the feeding watering (the every other week one), that means I
have to make a large volume of plant food solution to afford the same
level of water consumption as the normal watering and discard the
excess volume (or save for next time?). Is this what you normally do
for pot plants? How much nutritional solution do you let pass the
roots?

I also try to keep the habit of soaking + draining Azalea and orchid
every Saturday. That means if I want to feed Azalea and orchid, it
will be after soaking. Or, do you actually soak them in plant food
solution? That means I have to make a large volume of food solution
every weekend!

My question may sound silly. But as you can see, I'm quite
enthusiastic about my new gardening adventure. :-) Could you please
share how you do the feeding/soaking/watering etc.?

Thanks a lot,
Tiff