I copied this from a post (Searched for "fertilize": Posted by jodik 5 Central IL (My Page) on Sat, Feb 14, 09 at 16:10 Yes, Ryan... I use a liquid fertilizer at half strength or less every other time I water. I should probably use it every time I water, but I don't want to risk burn or too much buildup of excess salts and minerals. I do try to leach every once in a while, allowing plain water to exit the drainage holes, and dumping the saucers. Right now, I'm using MiracleGro liquid for houseplants, but I'm looking into different fertilizers. I'm thinking that the middle number in the NPK should be a tad higher than the first number. I have a lot of research to do into proper feeding for my bulbs, but now that I've found a medium that works for me, I can concentrate my efforts on that. I do like that I have control over the feeding, though. The key is not adding the fertilizer when the medium is completely dry, as that can burn the roots and show up in the leaf tips... I moisten with a little plain water, then go head and use the fertilizer water to finish.

My goodness what a cute Dog!!! Oh, getting back to trees.. Is there a way you can take a close up of the soil in the pots and maybe a handful in your hand? Most plants usually respond very well to a fresh transplanting after about a month or two....I would be patient and let the sun and a weak feeding of fertilizer do the job...It seems like your soil mix is ok for now, but after a short period of time, watch to see if it collapses and holds more water than it does now..Always think ahead...If it compacts and decomposes into even finer particles than you already have now by winter, you will be asking for problems... I would of made the mix one part of that soil, and 5 parts bark, and one part perlite...This would hold its structure well beyond the winter and not invite "fungus gnats" which can be a pain all winter... Your Ph should be around 6.5 to get the best out of your fertilizer...7.0 may be too high...Use a capful of vinegar in a gallon of water when you water.. I would use Foliage pro or any fertilizer that provides the right ratio and all the minors in it, especially Ma and Ca... Don't be disappointed if some of your leaves reverse to green, since it looks like some are beyond that, but the new growth should be very rewarding too you... Welcome newbie... Mike

SouthernStitcher said:Â I heard there are some that will work with your existing GD for food disposal, and was interested maybe in that. External garbage disposers have nothing to do with dishwashers in regards to food scrap disposal. Any handling of food scraps must be done inside the dishwasher. There are, of course, dishwashers that have food macerators/choppers, but regardless of popular opinion and demonstrations of running a full-size baked cake through the machine, they are NOT intended to handle a large volume of food scrap as if they are a disposer. They *can* get clogged. Dishwashers nowadays use minimal amounts of water, 1.25 gals or less per fill ... so flushing food scrap out of them isn't on par with running a faucet for several minutes through a garbage disposer. As has been said, *any* dishwasher on the market, except perhaps the very lowest-end models, should not require extensive prerinsing. I scrape, but don't rinse (not even a Rinse/Hold cycle), and routinely leave dishes for several days before running the load.

This may not apply to you, but I just thought I would mention it because I learned my lesson the hard way just yesterday. I have 2 new citrus in pots and 6 new ones in open bottom raised beds, along with several new roses. I'm a pretty experienced gardener and I usually don't feed (like you), have always just provided good soil, water, mulch and TLC. My plants are usually very happy, but since I have a mass entrance of new plants I thought I would try feeding (also I should mention I have known to be a little impatient). :) I'm into organics and didn't want to risk burning the new roots on my newest plants, so I thought I would try alfalfa instead of chemical fertilizer. I got the right kind, put a little top dressing on, watered it in and covered it with mulch. My dogs were sniffing all around me, but I figured they were just interested in what I was doing. Boy was I was WRONG! Turned my back for 1 second and they jumped into my pots and raised beds, lapped up all the alfalfa around 1 rose and 1 lemon tree and were digging for more before I could shoo them away! They almost knocked the pots over by mauling them! My weirdo dogs love alfalfa! The rest of the night they continued to lurk and sniff the air all around it. I am going to have to keep hawk eyes on them! Alfalfa is feed for all sorts of animals after all... so I should have thought of this. LOL. My impatience just made it so I didn't think it through! I can only imagine what would have happened if I used bone meal or fish emulsion or something else they found irresistible! So... if you end up deciding to do anything organic keep in mind that pets will most likely love the smell and taste of it (and that will go for rodents, birds, and other outdoor creatures too if you keep your trees outdoors). Shouldn't apply to nonorganic chemical fertilizers, but maybe just test it first and keep an eye on pets anyways. Even if liquid, if they like the smell and taste they may eat the dirt and mulch that has the liquid on it. If it's organic it probably won't hurt them, but they will wreak havoc on pots and beds. Here's one of mine right after he burped alfalfa at me: Here's two of them lurking and sniffing the air, waiting for the chance to dig up my plants and eat more alfalfa: My other one listened a little better and felt shame, refusing to look at me: