Gjshawk, apology accepted, no harm done. Anyhow, I guess I cannot argue against this rain gutter system, as it appears to be working for people. I think though that the original poster was referring to just regular old pots, dipping them in water, and allowing capillary action to do the watering, rather than a gutter type system. But, as noted, I don't grow annual veggies in pots, as I am blessed with plenty of space, with good soil, which I've built up over the years with compost and such. My container growing consists of quite a few jades and some tropicals, plants that don't take well to excess salts or excess moisture. I've thought of doing some indoor hydroponic veggies though, but that's a topic for another time. Joe

Generally follow label directions, or use less than that (instructions are generous), and don't double up on different fertilizers within the time frame. Most fertilizers contain the same basic nutrients, and a double dose of nitrogen can poison plants. How often to fertilize depends on the soil and whether the fertilizer contains fast or slow-release (organic) nitrogen, so follow directions. Using fast nitrogen, I fertilize until early October, which is about six weeks before hard freezes usually stop the roses here. Other people stop earlier. I would guess the guy you talked to was using 1/2 or 1/4 doses of Miracle Gro. This is an unnecessarily expensive and troublesome way to fertilize. Fast nitrogen will last about 4 weeks in warm, sandy soil or 6 weeks in average conditions.

Thanks Karyn, I knew someone would come through for me. I'm just using the milk jugs on my brug plants. That way I can make sure they get the fertilizer on them and it slowly soak into the ground. This way I have no run off. I water everything else except the dogwoods with a waterhose. Let me restate that, with several 100 ft water hoses hooked together. THey are extremely hard to pull when they are full of water. LOL I know this sounds awful but the last time I used the Epson Salt I just threw some on the ground around the plants and watered it in slowly. I guess that's the lazy way of doing things huh? I'm really thrilled with how big my plants are getting. I can't wait until this fall to see just how big they will get. Well I've got to run out and water a few things. I was holding off because it was suppose to rain but it looks like it's already south of us so...I'll go drag the hose around and water some of the stuff that looks dry. P.S. Those squash we're eatting are out of this world. George grilled some of them on the grill and they were to die for. ummmm ummmm Good! Happy Gardening, and thanks for the advice. Marian

Momma: About using Epsom salt. It is magnesium sulfate with water crystalyzed in (no calcium). It is often necessary to use on citrus if the water contains excess calcium (lime) which will show up as hardness in the kitchen and bath. Our city lies about the water. If you know anyone with a pool get them to test your water if you think you have hard water. Or get test kit yourself. Alkaline is pH above 7 (aka basic). Acid is below 7 pH. Most citrus are comfortable on the slightly acid side, about 6-7. Do not go treating with acid blindly and meters can be unreliable When I say comfortable I mean the actual roots of the tree perform well in absorbing nutrients. A grafted tree, is usually adapting the fruiting top to a local soil and water type by using a rootstock determined best by trial and error. However big box stores today dont care about that and sell you whatever they can. Try to find out if your tree is a cutting or grafted. Cuttings can handle a wider range pH than many rootstocks. They may need staking though. If you keep your tree in a outside in in z9b I reccommend an outer container with an air gap to avoid overheating the roots. Or some other shade on the roots can be helpful. Sun on the roots will cause huge problems. Roots like to be in the mid 80s max but that is impossible. Only after strictly controlling water pH and root temps can we discuss your original question. My pots are all outside in z9a/b and I try to keep modified organic program. My mix is based on pine bark and sand and is an attraction to earthworms. I tried perlite but our humidity is just too high. So I have to use a lot of water with a fast draining mix. I use 1 tbs Microlife 6,2,4 every 3 months in a 7 gal std nursery container. And 1/4 tsp/ gal potassium nitrate in the water twice a month along with 1/2 tsp / gal Epsom salt. I adjust the pH to ~6.5 with vinegar every time I water. I do not have the problems Mike has because the earthworms take care of the mix. It is O.K. to use a fertilizer or soil ammendment with urea if it says for citrus. That means they have taken out the impurity toxic to citrus which commercial urea contains. You can also use very small quantities of regular urea if it is in an ammendment because the impurity is small, the microbes will handle it if you use microbe promoting techniques. In hot dry periods when I have to water extra, I add nitrate and Mg more often. I stop fertilizing after mid Sept. to induce cold hardiness. In the spring my trees are looking starved but they can take 25 deg prolonged and never blink. One more thing, your lemon will be more likely to bear if you dont over pot it. That is, 5 gal -> 7 gal or 10 gal max. When these container plants feel constricted they respond with fruit, when you over pot they respond with vegatative growth. This is reason to go slow on the the fert. You cant be certain of how the thing will react to repotting. If I went over your head, pls ask on any point. I tried to not get too deep on any so you can catch up. Welcome to the wonderful world of citrus. Mike: Ppm / gal is incorrect. Use ppm. Or use Quantity / unit vol or unit weight. Larry