Since no plants use N, P, and K in THE 1:1:1 RATIO supplied by 20-20-20, you can do better. Supplying fertilizer in the ratio at which your plants actually USE the nutrients offers some significant advantages, not the least of which is the ability to keep the level of dissolved solids (fertilizer/mineral salts) at their lowest w/o having to suffer the effects of deficiencies. After the calculations are done for how P and K are reported on fertilizer packages, you'll find that 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers like 24-8-16, 12-4-8 (Miracle Grow makes All Purpose fertilizers in these NPK %s) or 9-3-6 supply NPK at almost exactly the ratio at which the average plant uses the nutrients. I use Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 by Dyna-Grow almost exclusively for that reason and others, which include the fact that FP 9-3-6 includes ALL essential nutrients plants normally take from the soil (including Ca & Mg which most soluble fertilizers lack (MG 20-20-20 lacks these elements/nutrients) and FP 9-3-6 gets most of it's N from nitrate sources and no N from urea. The later fact helps keep plants compact and full. Also, your nutrient supplementation program is usually dictated by your soil choice and watering habits. Soils that retain too much water (like most off the shelf brands) require much more attention to detail than soils that you can water freely w/o concern that the soil will remain soggy so long it impacts root health/function. Root health is a key factor that determines whether or not a healthy organism is even possible - to the degree that good root health is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Never apply Epsom salts willy nilly, that is to say w/o good reason. Unless it has been determined your plant is suffering a Mg deficiency OR there is an excess of Ca in the soil causing an antagonistic deficiency of Mg, you're probably 10X more likely to create limitations than resolve them by adding Epsom salts. You might find this Basic overview helpful. It will help you avoid all of the most common issues all container gardeners encounter early in their journey toward greater proficiency. Al

Manderin 1, Most people do not check the Ph of their container soils..I do not, and my plants are fine. It is the Ph of the water that most concern themselves with. I have pasted a nice article for you to understand more from my quest to know more... It (water pH) affects the solubility of fertilizers; and generally speaking, the higher the water pH, the lower the degree of nutrient solubility. I would add vinegar.... GG..It should be about 1 tablespoon per gallon..Sorry.. I would not add any lime to your soil if the soil Ph is that high. As for the water PH, mine too is that high and that is why I use vinegar at every watering when using my hose or faucet water. iT is a life saver. I would add vinegar to the water and lower it, which would help your soil become more acidic..How did your soil have a Ph that high if you made it from scratch? It is always very low when it is made fresh, unless you bought it pre made...I mean fresh pine bark and peat. How much did you spend for your Ph meter? Are you sure that your soil has such a high PH? That is container right? You might like the article I linked here also...Enjoy.. Also, if you really would like to know the science behind Ph, how it works, and how soil works, I would suggest you visit the "container" forums..I am still learning from there, through very expwerienced growers, and from reading books, and sharing all I can and what I have learned, but I too am still learning and hopefully many here can add to these very informative discussions.. I'll bet that plant54 knows the workings of soil and water work and how peat, coconut,bark, and many other ingredients realate to Ph values, PWT, and gas excahnge in the soil in the root zone...I am dying to learn from many more here while I help to the best that I can.. I take NO credit for all the help I give you, but owe it all to the very helpful members on the container side..If it is outside my realm, I will always direct you to a good source..;-) Hope this helps... Mike..:-) Here is a link that might be useful: A wealth of understanding

Hey MileHigh I got a cocktail lime/meyer about the same time you got your tree last year too. The lemon side has gone through two flushes already but this past week is the first that the lime side has started new growth with two new shoots of leaves. Still no blossoms, but they can't be too far behind. I keep mine outside on my back lanai, so it gets the max amt of sunlight. Hopefully you are seeing new growth by now too? Right now I'm worried about the life of my plant since when I first purchased it it had strange looking bugs I thought were aphids. Now that I'm reading up on HLB and ACP, I'm worried that might be what I saw. They were similar but honestly my memory isn't strong enough to rely on. I guess I have to just wait to see if it develops any symptoms. There is a bit of yellowing on a couple leaves but soon to tell. Blissfully ignorant before of the blight those who grow citrus have been facing, it is rather daunting.

In regards to using Epsom Salts, which is magnesium sulfate, I can advise regarding outdoor use in the garden or field but hesitate to do so for greenhouse propigation. My containers of Miracle Grow/Peters are out at the lake but as I recall both contain a quantity of magnesium. So if you are using it to feed seedlings in the greenhouse you likely have enough. Now lets talk about the garden or field crops. Certain areas of the country are rich in mag, others are not. Typically, so called agricultural limestone contains a small percentage of magnesium carbonate along with the calcium carbonate, so if you use this, for example to adjust your soil ph, you are likely to get a good shot of mag as you apply it. I live in far western Pennsylvania, about centered north and south on the state. THERE IS A TERRIBLE SHORTAGE OF MAG IN THE SOIL HERE! So we need to suppliment during fertilization to make up for this. When I was operating my orchard I would add a pound of epsom salts to each 80 gallon spray tank of chemicals. Trees and plants readily absorb nutriants through the foliage--this is referred to as folliar feeding--so by adding it to my insect/anti fungal sprays I got double the bang for my time. (There were some other suppliments added on occasion). It does not take a lot of mag to satisfy a plants needs and once they have enough adding more is just a waste. Fortunately, epsom salts is pretty benign, i.e. does not seem to root or foliage burn, and since it is so readily soluable, rain and or watering pretty well dilutes it and washes it out of the root zone. When I spray my tomato plants to deal with the blight/et al I add Miracle Grow or Peters to the tank mix per direction and also 1 tablespoon of epsom salts, 1 tablespoon of potassium carbonate, and 1/2 teaspoon spreader sticker to each gallon of spray. Once the tomatoes are about an inch in diameter I stop the spreader sticker and just have to spray in the gaps between rains as the sticker is difficult to wash off the fruits. And it works!