cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21151049

TL;DR

You can buy shot dispensers, that dose a certain amount of liquid (usually 20 ml) with each pour, and then make your own stock solution for your fertilizer.

With that, you can create your nutrient solutions WAY quicker and don't have to measure anything.

I have made it that one shot per watering can equals the exact dosing recommendations for the final nutrient solution, with the extra benefit that the fertilizer doesn't spoil.

Why?

Measuring and dosing fertilizer can be a tedious task.

I for example use Masterblend for my hydroponic setups, including all of my houseplants, which is a 3-part fertilizer that comes in form of a highly concentrated powder and includes everything the plant needs.

You can still use liquid nutrients if you prefer, especially if you need smaller amounts. I personally like to mix it myself, because it's way cheaper than having someone else dissolving salt for you and then slapping a premium price tag on it ;)

Most of my dosing is done for very small volumes, e.g. one liter. Having to weight the exact amounts (usually in the range of less than 1 g) every single time I refill my small watering can would be very impractical to say it at least.

But even when using an one-part liquid fertilizer that's meant for soil or house plants, it can be annoying to use the dosing cap every time.

I highly recommend to add fertilizer every time you water your plants.
You don't want to eat your day's worth of calories in one sitting, and your plants feel the same, even though dosing recommendations tell you otherwise.
Adding those huge amounts of minerals can be a big stress factor for many sensitive plants, and spacing the nutrients gives the plants more time to absorb them properly.

How?

Here's how I made it. Take it as an inspiration for your workflow if you want.

1. Mix the Masterblend with the Magnesium sulphate in a ratio of 2:1.
2. If you need big amounts at once, e.g. for refilling your reservoir with 20 liters, you still have to weight the amounts individually. For the final nutrient solution, you'll need 0,8 g/l of your Masterblend and epson salt mix, which I will from now on call part A, aswell as 0,53 g/l of Calcium nitrate.
3. I now dissolve 30 g of part A and 20 g of part B individually in water and add it do a 750 ml bottle.
4. When everything is dissolved, I can now add one shot each from solution A and B into my 1 l watering can and then fill it up with rainwater, which gives me the exact amount most of my plants need.

Hello everybody, I’ve just moved and the new home’s garden has onions, mint, salvia and other edible plants growing near a Rhododendron (between 50cm and 2mt away, growing in the same piece of land).

Is it safe to eat any of it? Or is it possible to “save” the salvia and rosemary by moving them to a separate pot and waiting for sometime?

The plant itself looks very healthy imo.

This leaf has already been breaking off slowly over the last week(s) or so. It's one of, if not the lowest one, and I belive the stem is just growing so fast and thick that it might have been just ripped apart, so I don't worry about it.

Today, I noticed some powder residue sitting on the upper area, mainly the stem.
I highly suspect a fungal infection, most probably powdery mealdew.

And I mostly believe that it is just a stress symptom of the plant. I trimmed off quite a few roots and also forgot to water it a few times over the last weeks, because it's just SO thirsty due to all the sun it's getting now in the spring.

It sits in a hydroponic medium (semi hydro with LECA) and has been extremely healthy over the last few months. Still, this, and the high humidity fluctuations (one week 20%, the other one 80%!) were super stressful for it, so I don't wonder myself about this.

It also looks quite a bit dehydrated and nutrient burnt right now, but that will look better tomorrow.

Question is: Will there follow any leaves that will break off?
I think the mealdew problem is fixed quickly, maybe by itself if the plant recovers from the shock.
Should I worry?

About two years ago I read up on chitin as a possible pest control/deterrent as I was always struggling with mealybugs and thrips, especially in spring, and buying IPMs was getting quite expensive.

I had the most problems with my banana tree (thrips) and my kumquats (mealy bugs). But since I added insect frass (in my case sheddings and droppings from zophobas) in the fall two years ago, this problem disappeared almost miraculously. Since then I have added a small handful every spring and haven't seen a single thrip or mite on any of my plants.

Sooo… idk, it definitely gets a "worked for me".

But since this is still an area of active research (albeit with growing evidence), I think it's important to describe my setup as it may affect any results:

All my plants live in unglazed terracotta with varying mixtures of mostly pine bark, perlite, some organic material such as worm castings and a pinch of diatomaceous earth. You may recognize this as a common "diy aroid mix". I also feed organically and keep the pots slightly moist at all times to keep everything biologically active (as evidenced by the substrate eating my wooden skewers every few weeks).

The plants are: a cherimoya, kumquats, figs, a banana, two monsteras, and a bunch of pitahayas (although the cuttings are only 1 year old and haven't found a permanent home yet), hoyas and a small pineapple.

Looking forward to hear everyones experiences with this!

Germinated these from seed, this is the first leaf to emerge. They’re generally slow but fun to watch!

Hi there!

I need some help with this individual. It's a snake plant (i don't know the exact species). I've had it for a few years, and it's been doing quite well.

However, it grows really sporadically and it started taking up quite a bit of space. It has some strange growth, due to a bulb leaning to one side at some point. I also can't sustain the weight of some of its own leaves so they hang laterally.

I don't know how it can be helped / remodelled. Maybe a bigger pot could help, idk? I've also though of removing some leaves, but i'm afraid of damaging it.

Suggestions are very welcome.

That's...pretty much it. They must be kept in non-porous pots and trays (glass or plastic), water TDS must be below 50 ppm and keep water in the tray constantly. They will even bloom with gorgeous little flowers. No fertilizer ever, just bugs.

I can't emphasize enough a sunny spot. This window faces southwest and so it gets 8 hours of direct sun. This helps with growth and also makes the mucus shine which seems to attract the bugs.

My Maranta leuconora is shooting out air roots like crazy.

I already looked if others use moss poles for them, but I couldn't find anyone using moss poles for this plant.

My experience tells me, that it might benefit from one. Would you agree?

I haven't used a moss pole yet, do you have any tips?

I grow this plant in semi hydro (mineralic substrate/ LECA), and I don't want to have something organic, like wood or sphagnum moss, near it.
Do you have any alternatives, that fit the same use but don't utilise organic substrates?

Here's some more pics -https://nd.nl.tab.digital/s/nbCDdS6G2p8HE96

Just stopped thriving I think. What do you all say?

Hi all! Can you help me diagnose my basil plant?

I just got one of those "grow your own" herb plants from the grocery so my expectations were pretty low, and it's already done way better than expected.

I originally thought it was pollen from it flowering but I only had the one flower left after trimming and this stuff is everywhere. I've always grown basil outside and this time thought I'd try putting it in a window box (with cilantro and rosemary in case that matters) but I've not seen this before.

Is this something to worry about? If so what's a good way to treat it?

More pics on Tumblr

Left to right. It's mother-in-law tongue, dried eucalyptus, big boston fern, and a split-leaf philadendron getting some roots! 😃

She has such cute leaves! She was my first ever hoya.

Hello!

I've got these plants currently, in an office with an LED light that's about 24in above the desktop, or about 12-18 inches above the plants (depending on the plant). I have a little mister for humidity.

I'd like to add maybe a spider plant (had great success with those in the past no matter what light they got???) and maybe one or two more, and wanted to see what recommendations y'all might have (I know pothos is a big one). I'm specifically looking for something with colorful or irridescent leaves. I see some great begonias and Persian shields and wonder if the light is good for them. I know some say those are both easy plants but I had a bad experience with Persian shield previously.

What would you consider this light? I can't imagine it's comparable to the sun at all so I'm guessing bright Indirect with how close it is to the plants?

I loooove and I've only had succulents before, with the exception of spider plants and a tradescantia, that I had to give away before moving. I don't know if succs would like this light so I'm holding off on those for the office.

Thanks!

I was given a dying hibiscus by a customer last summer. I nursed it back to life and it was doing great. However the heat in my shop is a blast furnace and half of the building is over 100f while there other half is a frozen wasteland.

There hibiscus did not stay green over the winter and i feared the worst. But this afternoon i noticed it has sprouted!

When I have to run the hot water before starting the dishwasher I usually catch it in a pitcher and use it to water the plants and that got me wondering.

Not because of the temperature but because the hot water has more dissolved minerals in it (yes I am aware this means my tank probably needs flushed; it's on the better half's honey-do list).

I guess now I am curious if water closer to room temperature is better for them too since it would be less of a shock.

Hello! Recently got a pot for this guy. While I'm repotting I may try to split it- I want to encourage it to be more bushy. I have been reading a bit about how to encourage bushiness and it seems I could either separate it at the root so the base is wider and hope it fills in, and/or prune.

Just wanted to see if any of you had success with this or generally getting them to grow more bushy than tall. This one sits directly under a bright fluorescent light at work (less than 12 inches above the plant, maybe 8).

If you've pruned one of these, how would you recommend going about it?

Thanks!

This is my Hoya hellwigiana. It's starting to throw out a peduncle again. Honestly last time the smell was so over-powering that I'll probably chop it off before it can bloom.

She was gifted to me last year, with only two flowers that fell in a few days (I guess the change of environments hit her hard), and I was feeling quite pessimistic about her future, because I've never taken care of an orchid.

Apparently I'm doing something right! I can't wait to see all the flowers open to share them with y'all!!!!!