Test the moisture in the soil by poking your finger into the soil.

Water container plants at least every other day in cooler weather, every day in summer heat.

Yellowing along the edges of the leaves is a sign of over-watering.

Teri’s favorite watering can—a ketchup bottle with a squirt top. A 36-oz. bottle holds just over one quart of water.

Container plants are dependent on fertilizer for their nutrients. Plants need 13 minerals from the soil.
Major nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (N-P-K)
Secondary nutrients: calcium, sulfur, magnesium
Trace nutrients: zinc, boron, manganese, iron, copper, chloride, molybdenum

Commercial powder, such as Miracle-Gro: 1/16 tsp. to 1 qt. water once a week.

Organic fish fertilizers are available, but they smell fishy. Liquid kelp is organic but smells better. Mix 1 tbs. per gallon of water.

Mittleider “Pre-plant” fertilizer can be added to the potting soil mixture before planting to supply the nutrients that plants need only once. See the Mittleider chart for ingredients.

Mittleider Magic “Weekly Feed” is often called “the poor man’s hydroponics” because it provides all the nutrients that plants need regularly. One 25-lb. bag ($29) will feed an average garden for one season.

Combine the Mittleider “Pre-plant” and Mittleider Magic “Weekly Feed” with the potting soil before planting. To 28 c. potting soil mixture, add 3 tbs. Pre-plant fertilizer plus 1½ tbs. Weekly Feed fertilizer.

To 1½ 5-gallon buckets of sawdust/sand mixture, add 12 tbs. pre-plant fertilizer and 6 tbs. Weekly Feed fertilizer.

For regular watering and fertilizing of container plants, add 2 tsp. Mittleider Weekly Feed to 1 gallon water, or 3 tbs. Weekly Feed to 5 gallons water.

Fertilizer Sources

Garden lime (for acidic soil): Home Depot
Gypsum (for alkaline soil): Laura Kay’s Garden Center (1066 State Rd 198, Salem, UT)
Boron: Twenty Mule Team Borax
Mittleider Weekly Feed: Steve Regan Co. (721 S Main, Spanish Fork, UT)
Mittleider Gardening information: growfood.com; see also ldsprepper (YouTube)
The Mittleider Gardening Course (Amazon)
The Mittleider trace minerals (Amazon)