Get Dirt Cheap on Repotting and Fertilizing your Plants

Repotting plants can be a hassle and cost you a lot of dirt, especially when it comes down to how you're repotting the plant and where. Working at a retail garden center, I've noticed how companies have put quite a hefty price on both potting mix and garden soil. Potting soil costs more than garden soil because of the type of soil that is in it. It helps water drain better to prevent the plant from soaking in its own juices for long periods of time causing root rot. Garden soil is thicker and heavier to help hold water since the surrounding ground area will try to dry it out. 

I have seen customers stress over the dirt they want to use to repot their plants with. They gladly spend the extra money to get the right dirt with the added fertilizer. In my experience, I have had come down to one conclusion, dirt... is just dirt. 

I've recently purchased a bunch of plants in need of repotting to make extra room for their roots. Because of the different pot sizes I had to deal with, I knew that I would need a great deal of dirt plus fertilizer. Also, because I was repotting the plants into another pot, potting mix was going to be needed for drainage purposes. After doing the calculations, I would spend nearly three times as much on some potting mix with fertilizer than I did on the bunch of plants. On dirt?! 

I later came up with an idea that would save me a ton of money and allow me to repot all my plants regardless of pot size. 

Firstly, I bought a couple of bags of plain ole top soil which is just dirt in a bag. It's about a buck and half. Though the texture is too thick for potted plants, I figured if I mixed it with some potting mix, it would help with drainage.














Next, I bought some all-purpose flower fertilizer. I realized that chasing after plant-specific fertilizer is a waste of money unless you doing something for a flower show. Miracle Gro's Shake 'n Feed works just perfect for all my different variety plants. I would suggest granules over the water-soluble mix because the granules last longer and fertilize the plants a little bit each and every time you water your plants. No need to constantly mix powder and water every time you refill your watering can. The granules last well over six months which saves you money in the long run.

I've taken a huge unused pot to pour my plain top soil into. I use the pot as a storage bin and a mobile workstation that I can come back to whenever I need to repot plants.

I also buy a reduced bag of potting mix to pour into the bin. This will help lighten up the texture of the top soil and give your plants better drainage when repotted.


NOTE: A reduced bag of soil are broken or recovery bags of dirt. Companies like Lowe's and Home Depot put broken bags of dirt into bags and mark them down cheap so they can get rid of them. It's worth paying 50% less for only a few ounces of dirt lost.

I pour a good amount of the granular fertilizer into the soil. You want to pour a good amount because when you want a decent amount going to each pot you will use to replant with. The more dirt, the more you pour.

I use a hand fork rake to chop up the dirt and mix the fertilizer, top soil, and potting mix together. Make sure to mix well by scraping the dirt at the bottom so the fertilizer is mixed evenly and the proportions won't be off.

After this step, you are all set to go and repot plants into their new pots.

Just a few of the plants I have. I have doubled the amount of plants after this photo was taken.

All of my plants have been repotted with this method and are blooming like crazy. There is never a need to spend more than you should for beauty in your gardens. Do your research because there are billions of ways to save money and have the same results. Like the old saying goes, "there is ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat."

Grow with Guts not Guesses

General care card inserted into flower pots at garden stores

Two years ago when I started working at a garden center, I didn't know the first thing about plants and taking care of them. I gave out a lot of bad advice and the plants I thought I could care for ended up in disaster. I never understood the science behind caring for the plants, therefore, it resulted in senseless losses and wasted money.

As another year passed and I learned from customers and our garden specialist about the care of plants, one thing became clear to me... a plant responds and grows around the environment it lives within. 

Ever wondered why plants do so well at the store but dies days or weeks after you get it home? Or you wondered why your neighbor's plant is doing much better in her yard than in your yard even though you have the EXACT same plant?  In my theory, this is because we pay too much attention to books and care cards and even other people's advice on how to care for the plant. In all seriousness, the best way to care for the plant is to pay attention to its environment.

Perfect example, at the garden store that I work at, our full sun plants receives over 10 hours of direct sunlight. If a customer buys the plant and plants it in an area which receives a little over six hours of sunlight, the plant will eventually have to adapt to its new changes which may result in changes in the number of blooms produced per day and so on. 

It is okay to follow a care card for it was designed to give the gardener a general idea on how to care for the plant but don't rely on its words religiously. Listen to the plant and use your instincts. They can take you a long way. 

How to Care for your Fruit Trees during the Winter Months

The summer months have come and gone and you have a new fruit tree that is getting ready to experience its first winter in your yard. In the coming months of winter, you have to take necessary measures in order for your tree to survive the cold weather, especially if the tree is rooted in the ground. With special care and paying close attention to your tree’s needs, your tree will most likely return the favor by producing favorable fruit for your every enjoyment.

Plan Ahead

In order to protect your tree from the harsh winter, it will require a bit of planning ahead. It is imperative to consider your tree’s protective needs or else you may not have a tree for the following year.

Get Rid of Pests

Nothing is worst than returning to the spring and summer months after a long winter to only lose your well-protected fruit tree to built-up pests infestation. Before you wrap up your tree and prepare it for a cozy hibernation, you have to get rid of the creepy crawly things that will try to take refuge on your tree during the cold weather. A great way to do this is to prune off damaged and old branches. Once the rest of the leaves have fallen off, it is time to give the tree a nice inspection to check for fungus and bugs. Horticultural oil is an oil-based spray that is safe on fruit and citrus trees to help control bug problems. This spray, when applied, suffocates the bug in a sense and prevents any of them from reaching adulthood in turn helps prevent them from reproducing during the winter. The best way to help with the many different fungus that affect fruit and citrus trees is by pruning away the infected branch or fruit and applying a copper fungicide to help kill, control, and prevent future infections.

Protect Your Tree

One of the major issues trees deal with in the winter is, “cold stress.” Cold stress is caused by the outer layer of a tree’s bark heating up during the daylight hours and cooling down too fast when the sun passes over. The rapid temperature change causes the layer to crack or split. Though the tree is able to heal itself from this damage, continuous cracking and splitting will eventually damage the tree’s softer inner core. Purchasing tree guards, thick insulation sheets that wrap around a tree’s bark to help retain heat, can easily prevent this problem.

Another part of your tree, which is very important to protect are the roots. Everything happens through the root system of the tree. It is where water and nutrients are absorbed and taken into the tree to help keep it alive and assist in photosynthesis. Without this root system, the tree will fail to exist. During the winter months, this root system needs to be protected, and the way to do this is some form of insulation. Because the Earth’s plates rest on top of a large ocean of boiling hot lava, the ground remains naturally warm, but the closer to the surface you go, the cooler those temperatures become. That means that simply having your tree planted in the ground isn’t enough to protect it from the cold weather, you’ll need to provide extra warmth in order for the roots to survive. A few materials you could use to help with insulation include mulch, pine bark nuggets, pine straw, and wood nuggets. Lay the material completely around the base of the tree. This will help retain heat that rise up naturally from the ground and the heat given off by the sun’s rays. StarkBros.com gives additional tips and suggestions on ways to help protect your tree from any damages.

Things to Avoid

There are a few things you want to avoid doing when caring for your tree during the winter. Do not fertilize your tree. Once fall begins to pass through, trees naturally begin to shut down on bloom, produce, and leaf production. The energy and supplies used to produce are now being spent to strengthen and extend the root system beneath the surface so that the tree may have a fighting chance of survival against any frost. By fertilizing the tree, you force the tree to produce, which will eventually cause the tree to become distressed, go into shock and probably die as a result.

You may also want to avoid leaving frost-damaged branches on trees. Though it is suggested to wait to prune trees during the winter, limbs that have been burned by a hard freeze may actually cause a domino effect and the burn will cause extensive damage to the rest of the tree. Think of it like frostbite to a toe or finger, the only way to prevent the damage from spreading, you have to cut off the damaged parts in order to save the rest of the body from infection.

After-Winter Cleanup

Once winter has moved on and your tree survives the harsh cold, it is time to prepare it for summer production and a future harvest. Remove the mulch from around the base to prevent over-heating and burning the tree. Do another full inspection to check for pests that may have lived on your tree during the winter. Begin small amounts of fertilization to help the tree to jumpstart production and let nature take its course.

References:

Citrus Trees. (2012, May 1). Retrieved November 13, 2015,
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/8552276662

Colby-Williams, J. (n.d.). How to care for fruit trees in winter. Retrieved November 13,

2015, from http://www.homelife.com.au/gardening/features/how to care for fruit

trees in winter,15295

Protecting Fruit Trees in Winter. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015,
From

http://www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/article/protecting-fruit-trees-in- winter/

Waterworth, K. (n.d.). How to Care for Fruit Trees in Fall & Winter. Retrieved

November 13, 2015, from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/care-fruit-trees-fall-

winter-59294.html