Preparing Fertilizer

by Kelsey
(Charlotte,Tx)

IF you are trying to fertilize your house plants with 1000 ppm N:P:K using a 20-20-20 soluble fertilizer and only need 1 gall. To prepare the solution, how much fertilizer should you add?

Dissolve __________oz of 20-20-20 fertilizer in 1 gallon of water.

Would you dissolve 6.4 oz???

Thank you.


Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Kelsey - this requires mathematics ability!

Does it tell you on the package how much to add? Does it say on there that you should use 6.4oz? This just seems to me to be an odd amount.

I seldom use any kind of chemical fertilizer, as it's so easy to burn sensitive plants with it, but here's what I do if I am using it on plants that I know are not going to be injured.

I use a similar product on some things especially in the spring, but the saying 'weakly, weekly' should always be topmost in your mind.

This means that you can use a very weak solution, pretty much every time you water.

I use about one small teaspoon of the 20-20-20 fertilizer per gallon, and this is the blue coloured crystals that you can get.

I've never actually weighed it, so I don't know what this would translate to. The blue coloring is to give you an indication of the fact that the water has fertilizer in it, and at what strength.

Be careful watering ferns with any kind of fertilizer, they're extremely sensitive to salt, which is what chemical fertilizer is.

For a really safe (and fool proof) type of fertilizer I recommend worm castings - these are dry dark colored worm manure, with no odor, and no way of ever releasing too much fertilizer. You can sprinkle them right on the surface of your houseplant soil, and the plant gets a slow release of nutrients for a long time to come. Natures slow release fertilizer!

Hopefully this will help,
Jacki