I usually feed my plants this mix in early November before the plants go to sleep.
I don’t use any chemical fertilizer after September; only the organics listed below. The plants don’t need help growing or blooming this close to winter, and new, young growth is susceptible to cold damage.
First, I water the plants well. Then mix all the items below in a 5-gallon bucket with water and pour some at the base of each plant on the soil.
Quantities: Follow label directions for how much to put in the bucket. For Epsom Salt, it’s one tablespoon per gallon of water.
Cocktail:
- Seaweed Extract
- SuperThrive
- Fish Emulsion
- Physan-20
- Epsom Salt
Notes about each:
Seaweed Extract: This is a great food to strengthen the infrastructure of the plant. But because it is cold-process with kelp from Norway, many believe it helps improve a plant’s cold tolerance.
SuperThrive: A great dose of vitamins for our plants.
Fish Emulsion: Smells awful but it’s super healthy for the plants.
Physan-20: This is used as a fungicide/bactericide in gardening. So many believe that it helps protect the plant from black tip/rot.
Epsom Salt: Again, one tablespoon per gallon. Great source of magnesium, which is helpful over winter. (Worry not, it is NOT salt.) Hint: The kind you get at nurseries is WAY overpriced. Just get the big bags at any drug store or dollar store. Much cheaper. (I’m a big fan of Sul-Po-Mag as well for getting magnesium to the plants, but it is typically time-released. I want that magnesium in the plant now. I use Sul-Po-Mag in March when they’re waking up.)
And don’t worry if you can’t get all the products. Some is better than none!
Happy dormancy!
