Tips for adding nutrients to soil for my plants???

[JustinsWifey]

I currently have several plants that have taken root and I am baby-ing them as much as possible. However, I'd like some tips because I don't think the soil around my house has enough nutrients to make my plants as big as I'd like. So far, I've heard adding coffee grinds, sugar to the water, and tomato sauce, but I am hoping for some tips.

I'm looking for low cost, household items that can double as plant food, but I'm afraid of harming my plants. Please help!

 

[*BUDS]

No its not a hotdog, forget the sauce. Dont use backyard soil ,mix in perlite, blood and bone($10), potash (woodash),compost, worm castings etc and use hydro nutes every watering, keep ph at 6.5.

 

[cindysid]

Epsom salts and egg shells are good. Buds pretty much covered everything else. You could start a worm bin and a compost pile if you want to go organic, but that's next crop!

 

[WeedFreak78]

go buy a bag of manure(I've heard chicken is good for our plants) but any will work and topdress with an inch or two around plant, try not to let it touch the stem, and just water. Fish fert. is also good and it's hard to hurt plants with it. If you use hydro nutes just be careful and start out at 1/4 strength and work up to full strenghth watching how they react, where your in the ground if you overfertilize it would be difficult to flush out excess nutes. I'm doing Chem ferts for the first time this year, I've only done organics in the past for the fact it's very hard to over fert with organics

 

[Coho]

Do as Buds said and some dolomite too. Chicken poop can be hot as hell so be careful with that.

 

[chrishydro]

If you can get some old horse crap from a field, dont use anything that is moiste it will kill them overnight. Find old white dried up horse crap, gring it up and mix in the soil. Loaded with great stuff. DO NOT USE FRESH IT WILL KILL THE PLANT.

 

[bigsteve]

I pay $11 for a large bag of MiracleGro Potting Mix. It fills 3 3-gallon pots.
You can't afford $3.67 a plant to avoid all the hassle? Be realistic.

BigSteve.

 

[weedgnome]

go buy a bag of manure(I've heard chicken is good for our plants) but any will work and topdress with an inch or two around plant, try not to let it touch the stem, and just water. Fish fert. is also good and it's hard to hurt plants with it. If you use hydro nutes just be careful and start out at 1/4 strength and work up to full strenghth watching how they react, where your in the ground if you overfertilize it would be difficult to flush out excess nutes. I'm doing Chem ferts for the first time this year, I've only done organics in the past for the fact it's very hard to over fert with organics

I agree with what this guy said, been growing outdoors for 5 years, 3 using manure/compost. Just form a ring around the top of the soil with your fertilizer of choice, it doesnt have to be manure or compost. The water/gravity brings down the nutrients into the soil over time. Its very effective. Try adding a little bit at start and gradually increase how big the ring is and try to find your optimum amount.

Dont let the stem touch the fertilizer! The acids or whatever will beat the crap out of it.