When we talk about fertilizers and plant foods,
we're really talking about the same thing. Plant foods provide the same
nutrients to the soil as do manure and other fertilizers, but in
concentrated form.
Like any other living thing your house plants must absorb foods in
order to live and grow. The foods they take in come in two forms and
from two sources, 1) from the air in the form of gasses which are
"breathed" in by the foliage, the most important gas to plants being
carbon dioxide. 2) from the earth in the form of soluble minerals which
are absorbed with water by the roots.
There is not much we can do about
the constituents of the air, but we can control to some extent, the
chemical and mineral make-up of the soil.
No matter how good the soil is you use in your pots, it is inevitable
that sooner or later it is going to need some supplements to do a
proper job of feeding your plants. Soil out in the open is replenished
year after year with decaying vegetable matter, shifting topsoil, and
natural fertilizers; but your potting soil, isolated as it is indoors,
has no chance for natural replenishment. This is where fertilizers and
plant foods come into the picture.
The function of the fertilizer and the plant food is to put back into
the soil those mineral nutrients which have been depleted by constant
use. Although all soils are made up of hundreds of ingredients, the
ones most necessary for growth are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and
potash. These ingredients are to be found in varying degrees in all
organic animal manure - and, of course, to a much more important degree
in commercial plant foods.
Plant Foods
Plant foods - which as we have said are commercially prepared additives
designed to replenish soil depleted by constant use, are made in tablet
and powder form. One brand that has withstand the quality test for
years is
Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food
They are soluble in water and are fed to the plants in
liquid form. These plant foods offer the householder many advantages
over the use of manure or manure distillations. In the first place,
they are odorless, and take up a minimum of space.
Then they are
scientifically prepared, and come with specific instructions on how and
when to use them. Here again, as with soils, we feel there is no
advantage in attempting to concoct what will unfortunately always be
inferior to a good commercial product which is readily available.
