Hey, Paul!

Good question. I pre-water my containers first, then I slowly add the fertilizer solution
until I see water exiting the bottom. The fertilizer solution will displace/replace some
of that pre-water in the mix, so I'm not actually wasting as much as might seem. But I also
lightly post-water my containers to rinse the lower leaves and to push the fertilizer solution
out of the very top layer of mix (where there are no roots).

Many folks collect the effluent and then use that on other plants, such as trees in containers.

Josh

I do what Josh does. I also fertilize right after a good rain storm. I tend to waste, so a water everything heavily with my fertilizer solution.

Mike

Thank you, Josh and Mike.

What do you do to make the mixing process more efficient? I am going one gallon at a time and this requires frequent stops and starts. I am considering using a siphon mixer... the Gilmour 362 Professional No Pre-Mix Sprayer to be exact.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gilmour 362 Professional No Pre-Mix Sprayer

Correction to original post: My eggplant is 2.5' -- feet not inches.

It also depends on how often I have to water. My containers are outside in the summer and dry out almost every day, so I am watering constantly.......therefore, I am more comfortable using the FP at 1/4 strength at every watering. But if I only needed to water once per week, the 1 teaspoon per gallon would be better. And yes, per-watering is probably better, but most of the time I just use the fertilized solution.

I use a 2-gallon container, which helps a bit.
On fertilizing day, I make a batch for my peppers; then I make a second batch for my Citrus;
then I make a third batch for my conifers, maples, et cetera. If there's a little left at the end,
I add more water to dilute it and then I splash some on my succulents.

My sister fills a 5-gallon waterjug, and draws from that.

Josh

I do almost exactly what greenman does.. pre-water everything, then go back and give each one enough fertilized water such that I see a little come out of the bottom. Using 5-gallon buckets to premix is really convenient. I use a little bulb-primed siphon to move the mix from the bucket to my 1.5 gallon watering can. The bucket never really moves.

There have been some threads by people on this board who use the Gilmour mixer, as well as more expensive devices. I use a Dramm siphon-mixer occasionally to acidify my irrigation water and add molasses, fish emulsion, or liquid seaweed to my in ground plants. I think you'll find that the accuracy isn't all that great, which is okay for some applications. It also greatly throttles down your water pressure, which really annoys me for some reason. It would make me uncomfortable to use it for water soluble salt fertilizers on containerized plants though.. there's not as much room for error.

Sorry if I'm being a bit dense about this, but getting it wrong could kill plants and cost $, right? Per the above, I understand using "1 tsp (of FP straight out of the bottle) per gallon of water once per week." However, due to our dry, hot conditions, I water daily. I see the comment about "using the FP at 1/4 strength at every watering." Does that mean 1/4 tsp (of FP straight out of the bottle) per gal when watering daily?

Additionally, I'd like to continue to use drip irrigation for my containers (consider it insurance). Could I simply continue that as a "pre-soak" prior to hand watering with the correct FP dose?

Thanks for all the great info on this forum.

"Does that mean 1/4 tsp (of FP straight out of the bottle) per gal when watering daily?"

That's too much fert for any potted plant in any potting mix. It will end up being either overkill or just wasteful.

If in vanilla 5-1-1, you do not need to water daily no matter where you live. I live in Las Vegas and only water every 3-4 days tops for 'thirsty non-desert' plants (camellias, azaleas, citrus, etc) outdoors in 5-1-1. If you are watering daily, you need to move your pots out of the sun in the afternoon or stagger the waterings so some oxygen can get into the root zone. 5-1-1 holds more water than people think. Hell, gritty holds more too, although gritty will likely be more forgiving with the overwatering.

If potted in peat pudding, you may be watering daily (still not recommended for established plants), but you would add your liquid fert even less frequently than in 5-1-1. Every 2-4 weeks depending on the plant type.

This post was edited by Oxboy555 on Wed, Jul 16, 14 at 20:03

I have to disagree about 5-1-1 holding up to watering only every 3-4 days "no matter where you live". I gave up on 5-1-1 in part because I did not have the time to water at least every other day. I'm in Atlanta (zip code 30068 to be more precise) and 3 days of solid Hot-lanta summer days and no watering really hurt my tomatoes and cukes with the 5-1-1 mix in use. I now do a mix of peat moss, perlite, and soil that I revitalize seasonally with compost from my compost tumbler and worm castings from my worm farm. I'm getting consistently good results, spending less on soil, and resting easy that I can take off for a weekend and not come back to a sad scene in my container garden.

How large were your containers, Paul?
That's the other element, and the gardener is responsible for choosing the appropriate container volume. I have peppers in half-gallon pots, for example, which do require watering every other day - but I also have peppers in #5 nursery containers that can go 2 days in 100F+ California weather. I also have a tomato in a #15 nursery container that easily goes 3 - 4 days.

Josh

Plenty big - 2' x 3' x 18" totes in pairs along the 3' side and on raised tables built with 4'x4', 2'x4', and 2'x2' treated lumber. Having full sun all day long and lots of airflow on all sides and underneath each container contributes to the need for extra water. There are veggies that I grow that are OK going a few days between watering (arugula, kale, eggplant, etc.) but I find my tomatoes and cucumbers are thirsty and do best with no more than 2 days maximum between watering in Atlanta July and August. This keeps the tomatoes and cukes rolling in on a daily basis. When I take a long weekend I water heavy right before I depart as best possible and hit it when I return. If it's going to be more than 3 days then I trade rain water for city water on timers, and sometimes I get someone to look in on the garden and harvest.

I gave 5-1-1 side by side experimentation with what I use now, and I got better and less expensive results and kept gardening a joy and not a chore by sticking with a more traditional mix that I fluff up and boost seasonally. I only grow veggies and herbs. I don't have any experience or interest in anything else for my container garden.

All gardening is local, as they say....
A lot of folks use those totes, even down in Stockton (a very hot zone 9), California, and they're not watering that often. Plus, our humidity is between 10 and 20 percent a fair amount of the Summer, and you'd think that would dry container mixes even faster.

Do you shade the containers?

Josh

I think it depends how tightly rooted the plants are.

My tree seedlings in 1 Gal pots in 5-1-1 are good for several days, but they've only begun rooting out into the larger pots (they were in air-pruning cells before).

I'd imagine as the roots get more dense they'll need more water - my Basil needed water daily (they've since bolted and been tossed) once the roots filled the pot in the same exact mix.

You said it, gardening is local. A lifelong experiment, too!

I do not shade the containers. One could argue that my garden gets too much sun. I could add some shading but I am quite happy with my results without it, and I have HOA complaints to consider if my shading is not attractive since I am currently the HOA president and my container garden is in a front yard patio area. As it stands everything looks like a nice green garden, and I get compliments for how it looks.

One thing I did not mention is that I start my tomatoes in December under lights indoors to set out after last frost, April or May. They often have green tomato fruits at that time. They are pretty large and produce a nice yield.

Paul... That could be a problem if you are the HOA president!!! ;-). Sounds like you have it under control...

I water like josh. ;-)

My containers are large and small and I water the same. When I fertilize , I water once to moisten or like mike ..after it rains. Then I use 1/2 dosage. If I haven't been able to fertigate as well as I like. I will moisten again. Then go full strength knowing it will be a few weeks before I can do it again.

I can't fertilize all of the time due to work issues, but it doesn't take much time to add a little to the water.. So when I'm ready to really feed.. I water, then feed well...

I also don't like to fertilize when the temps get over 85 degrees..

Hope this helps.

Laura

@greenman28 "I pre-water my containers first, then I slowly add the fertilizer solution until I see water exiting the bottom"

I am assuming that you wait until the soil is more or less dry all throughout (checking with a wooden dowel)? For large pots, this method seems to takes a long while. I feel like I'm wasting wasting good fertilizer in the process. I pre-water until I start seeing water coming out of the drain hole (the pot is a few inches raised above a drain plate), then I immediately add the fertilizer... but I never know how much, especially in very large pots where I hold my citrus. 0.5 gal? 0.25 gal? I can't seem to find anything about this. It often seems I'm wasting a lot and making a 4-5 1-gallon batches just to fertilize a couple plants. I do collect the effluent in the drain plates I have my containers in, if the pot isn't way too heavy to pick up.

Will be back with an answer...

Thanks, appreciated! Please note all plants are in traditional 5-1-1.

Hi Josh, you around?

Hey, yes, sorry! Forgot about this thread.

During the Summer, I try to keep my containers moist. I don't wait for them to dry out completely because I don't want to compromise the roots and lose growth potential.

When I fertilize my citrus, I do a light prewatering, then I apply a liter / quart of fertilizer solution to my 2 - 3 gallon containers. Smaller containers get about half that dose.

Josh

Thanks! I'm wondering, do you ever pot your container citrus (dwarf, I'm assuming) into anything larger than 3 gallon containers as they mature? or do you feel that isn't necessary because you root prune every season or? My dwarf citrus is currently in a 15-gallon clay pot...

I figure that since it's a tree, it probably needs lots and lots of room. I often see people with citrus dwarf trees on their patios in large containers... but I have seen some fruitbearing trees do fine in smaller containers, too.