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| What is the best rule of thumb to fertilize seedlings? Mine are 1 1/2 " to 3" tall. All have true leaves or more. I was considering a 1/4 strength mixture of MG Bloom Booster. I used MG last year with good results. I simply forgot when I stated the process. I did check FAQ and Suggestion and did find what I needed. Also is there a benefit to eliminating the original two leaves once the plant has multiple sets of leaves? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Correction...I should have said I did not find the info I was looking for in FAQ check. |
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- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 20:39
| 1/4 strength dose is fine, although I question the "bloom booster" - seedlings are growing vegetatively, and could use a Nitrogen rich formula. Josh |
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- Posted by LeafEricson 6 (My Page) on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 20:59
| Very good question. The original two leaves will usually drop by themselves sometime after the first two sets of true leaves grow. If they don't I have found that removing them is beneficial because the plant will then put its energy towards more of the other new growth. I would not be using bloom booster at this point. A safe amount of general purpose MG like a few granules or 2 drops liquid added to a cup of water is more than enough fertilizer at this time. Get yourself an inexpensive total dissolved solids (TDS) meter or an EC meter and test your nutrient mix before feeding the little ones. 200-300 max parts per million (PPM) TDS is plenty. I fertilize like this every 3 weeks until they can tolerate a higher PPM. I use this method only using a soilless mix. If you are using soil with any kind of nutritional value then you need to use your own judgment. 1/4 strength is way too strong at this point the roots will burn and the seedling will wilt over and die from nutrient toxicity. Eric |
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- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 21:36
| Eric, my seedlings haven't wilted or died from a 1/4 strength dose of Foliage Pro 9-3-6. Obviously not "way too strong," I'd guess. But if in doubt, cut the dose further - 1/8 strength, and work up from there. Josh |
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| I'm using MG seed starting mix. I know that it has some plant nutrients in it. Perhaps I need to wait on additional fertilization. The TDS meter sounds interesting. I'll look for one and use caution. Thanks all. |
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- Posted by LeafEricson 6 (My Page) on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 22:23
| MG seed staring mix contains no nutrients; just lime as a PH buffer to neutralize the mix. greenman28, I don't use MG or Foliage Pro sorry I'm not familiar. I use hydroponic nutes; they are very strong. Could you give PPM in TDS or EC of 1/4 strength Foliage Pro as a reference so we could have a comparison? Thanks Eric |
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- Posted by smokemaster_2007 (My Page) on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 0:19
| In general,I find using a low dose of ferts every time I water is best as long as you water until the last dose doesn't collect in the soil. Water until you get run off then toss the runoff outside in the garden,lawn or whatever. I think a constant low dose of (organic)ferts is better than a stronger dose less often. I like organic nutes because they HAVE to break down to be plant usable for the most part. I tried the mycrohyzine(?) stuff years ago ans think that it didn't out perform a well mixed organic soil in my pots. I see too many people rototilling a LOT of great stuff into their gardens or used as potting mixes,especially for their first garden. Didn't mean to hijack this.
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- Posted by TheMasterGardener1 5B (My Page) on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 11:07
| For miracle gro-Use the dose for inside plants, not outside plants. So 1 tsp per gal I think? And cut that down even more so 1/4 tsp per gal for peppers. They are very light feeders, trust me... |
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| Thanks again. |
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| TheMasterGardener1, Yeah miracle gro has a inside/outside dosage. If I'm not mistaken the outside is 1.5 tablespoons, and the inside is .5 teaspoon. (Or that's the dosage on the all purpose container I had open from last year.) I'm not sure if it's different for the tomato type. |
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- Posted by greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a (My Page) on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 23:27
| Eric, Foliage Pro is 114 ppm N per teaspoon. Josh |
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