I use it regularly on outdoor stuff - have for years. I like it, though I really couldn't say I find it to be head & shoulders above stuff like Osmocote or MG. Though it makes no difference to plants where they get their nutrients from, in the back of my mind I have this feeling that the lower the concentration of fertilizer salts in a container, the less the likelihood of problems with water/nutrient uptake. Frequency of applications vary by plant. Because I am a bonsai grower, I often fertilize at and above recommended doses, but there are plants whose development I want to slow, too. In actuality, the best fertilizer program for best plant health doesn't usually include the inducing of the most robust growth. Heavily fertilized plants will usually be found to have less energy in reserve to fight off insects & infection with various pathogens. In addition, the highly succulent growth produced by heavy applications of nitrogen is favored by insects, making them a more likely target for infestations. Though some might argue the point, it is near impossible to keep containerized plants happy without supplemental nutrients (except for the small percentage that prefer a very spare soil). For most container growers (and I'm talking about the average Joe/Jill) a good policy would be to watch leaf color carefully. If you see signs of chlorosis, or venation, give the plant a half dose of your favorite balanced fertilizer. If, in a week or so, color doesn't improve, another dose is in order. Though the minors (micro-nutrients) are beyond the scope of your question, scarcity of certain elements, particularly in containers, can be a problem. I use a micro-nutrient frit in all my container soils, but as of yet, I have only found it in 50 lb bags & it is expensive (but dosage is small & a little really goes a long way). There is a major producer of fertilizer that has a liquid product on the market that advertises it contains the minor elements. Though I haven't tried it, I would really recommend you try it for containers & houseplants. I'm not sure, but I think Schultz makes it. Perhaps some one can help me here? Good luck. Al

How long would a dustbin sized fermentaion take in cold weather? Possibly forever. The idea of these gardening teas is to wash the microbes off of the compost and feed them in a warm environment to multiply them by 1000x. I have put in fresh seaweed, rotton tomatoes, some grass clippings, few handfulls of chicken manure pellets, a bucketful of worm casts, urine, a couple of whole oily fish cubed, and about 300g of molasses raw sugar and a small air pump and sir stone, and filled the whole thing up with water until about 3 inches from the top. A 30-gallon tank could use as much air as you can get. When the bacteria and fungi start to multiply, all their offspring need air too. It is not very hard to run out of oxygen. It's quite a thick mixture, and fairly difficult to stir, if this makes any difference to fermentation, i don't know? Something's wrong. It should not be thick. The thing is, it's quite cold here in Britain (Kent, England) at the moment, only around 10C or so. I'm guessing this would slow down the microorganisms and make the whole process last a long time? That is a problem. 10C is a bare minimum where the microbes start to come alive. Even warming it up by 5 degrees would really help. I've had this going for about 5 days now, and it doesn't look as though any of the solid matter is breaking down at all. If you get it just a little warmer, 24 hours should be the maximum time to leave it. Longer and you will lose oxygen and kill the beneficial microbes. Is the idea to wait until all or most of the solids are turned to a liquid mush? You know, rotted out more or less completely? I've never seen this before. Again, the idea is to wash off the microbes. Once that's done, you can remove the compost solids and put them back into your compost bin. New to all this organic growing, but very keen to learn. I put up a website for a guy who didn't have time (at the time) to put it up. Click here to see how he made his compost tea maker.

My first tip would be don't fall into the trap of thinking you need all these miracle products, the only thing that will do is put you in debt. All you really need is good, healthy, nutrient rich soil with a complete soil foodweb. Me and a lot of people achieve this by merely topdressing a couples inches of compost annualy, while keeping your gardens mulch(mulch breaks down into compost and fertilizer). You dont need any expensive product in a bottle, what you need is good homeade compost and mulch. A soil test will tell you if you need to add anything, but i would just an inch or two compost and mulch until you get the results of the soil test. The test will tell you to add synthetic fertilizers(non organic) for whatever you are deficienct in(if even anything), you dont have to add those synthetic fertilzers though, you could go with organic alternatives. For example, instead of usong STEM(Soluble trace element mix) you could use azomite(crushed rock, or kelp seaweed). Your question about fertilizing seedlings.. Seedlings dont need fertilizer until they are around a month old. If the seedling is in your gardens mineral soil(sand,silt, clay), then your seedlings definetely dont need fertilizer, they can obtain it from the soil. How do you think nature grows plants, she arent spoon feeding it chemicals, she is merely dropping leaves, and other organic matter on a continuis basis. I try and imitate that for my garden. Neem oil is an organic alternative to other harmful insecticides, etc. i never used it, never needed it. But, some people really like it.. I would always go with a less toxic, safer alternative than glyphosate and stuff like that.. Dont get fooled into buying all these products, all you might need is a little compost, leaves, and hard work! Get a soil test to rest assured, and look for organic alternatives to the products the soil tests tells you. It's really that simple! Don't get overwhelmed! Best of luck!

====>I guess I don't fertilize nearly enough. I NEVER fertilize trees...they are on their own. well adam perhaps you are wiser than i! between the 10-10-10 and the nh 2 times I AM FERTILIZING TOO MUCH!. so says the nursery where i bought those tress 6 years ago. he was stunned they went from 6-7' in oct 99 to 20' now. he told me STOP! he thinks this is why i'm having problems with pine shoot moths and another 20 spruce 25' to the east that get nothing (same age but smaller) are not being attacked. ====>So you basically have two sprayers. With the 2 gallon hand pump sprayer, is that on wheels that you wheel around as you go? I have seen the backpack. Would you mind if I asked where you bought them and if they were expensive? i have two 2 gallon hand pump sprayers i carry they are not on wheels (1 organic the other not organic), a 4 gallon back pack sprayer and i use the 1 qt spray bottle a lot as i don't fertilize in the garden all that much. the 2 gallon sprayers are available anywhere, blue seal, agway (both argricultrual/feed stores), tractor supply company, on the internet from any gardening and many seed companies. the 2 gallon sprayers were bought many years ago i'd guess $15-20, today i'd say they are about $20-30 roughly. the 4 gallon back pack was just bought at tractor supply. they have 2, 1 is $49 the other is $79. i bought both, tested them with water and chose the more expensive. sorry it took so long to reply, i don't come to this forum too often. tom rich manure nh will wash out of the soil or off the leaves if you spray and it rains say in 12 hours so don't use it if rain is predicted. after 2 or 3 days i wouldn't worry, the plants have gotten the benefit from it. tom