organic fertilizer for indoor plants?

[newbyplantlover]

Hi there. I saw a couple of topics for organic fertilizer for outdoor gardens, but I only have indoor tropical plants. I'm looking for a good liquid fertilizer, if possible. Any and all possibilities (including homemade) are welcome. Thnanks!

[Toil]

remember to keep it light. When encouraged, a lot of tropical plants get out of control.

I would say use a balanced compost slurry, or if that's too much trouble then fish hydrolysate. Go easy though, they are not from places with very fertile soil.

If you have compost made entirely from tree leaves I would try that first. Mix with water vigorously to make your slurry and pour. Maybe add a bit of hydrolysate (like neptune's harvest on the east coast - but try to find something sustainable instead). Ocean crest, which makes neptune's harvest, is no friend of the sea. I found their name on a recent petition to eliminate dogfish (they are in peril worldwide) by culling, to "protect the fishery). In other words the apex predators that eat dogfish are fished out, so dogfish are stabilizing the food webs, Ocean crest would be processing the "trash fish" and selling it to you, of course.


er... sorry for the digression. Anyway, consider "mulching" them as well.

what is your medium? soilless?

[cynthia_h]

I have a couple of houseplants (Monstera, Pothos). I like to use a half-strength solution of liquid kelp on them whenever I remember to do it.... The Monstera has been with me since around 1995, and the Pothos since maybe 1997. I've cut them back and repotted them several times, so they must like this regimen.

In the beginning, I was given a small container of Osmocote--the little bead things--and I put them on now and again as well. Gotta say, my outdoor plants get better and more regular treatment than the indoor ones do...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[newbyplantlover]

remember to keep it light. When encouraged, a lot of tropical plants get out of control.

I would say use a balanced compost slurry, or if that's too much trouble then fish hydrolysate. Go easy though, they are not from places with very fertile soil.

If you have compost made entirely from tree leaves I would try that first. Mix with water vigorously to make your slurry and pour. Maybe add a bit of hydrolysate (like neptune's harvest on the east coast - but try to find something sustainable instead). Ocean crest, which makes neptune's harvest, is no friend of the sea. I found their name on a recent petition to eliminate dogfish (they are in peril worldwide) by culling, to "protect the fishery). In other words the apex predators that eat dogfish are fished out, so dogfish are stabilizing the food webs, Ocean crest would be processing the "trash fish" and selling it to you, of course.


er... sorry for the digression. Anyway, consider "mulching" them as well.

what is your medium? soilless?

Oh my. Okay. I'll have to find some of those things. At a nursery, perhaps? I do have organic compost, some of which is mixed in with the soil I have. Do I drain the soil out of the slurry, or just pour it on top of the compost in the pot?

[newbyplantlover]

I have a couple of houseplants (Monstera, Pothos). I like to use a half-strength solution of liquid kelp on them whenever I remember to do it.... The Monstera has been with me since around 1995, and the Pothos since maybe 1997. I've cut them back and repotted them several times, so they must like this regimen.

In the beginning, I was given a small container of Osmocote--the little bead things--and I put them on now and again as well. Gotta say, my outdoor plants get better and more regular treatment than the indoor ones do...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Liquid kelp. That sounds good. Where do I find that? Grocery store or nursery?

I went plant crazy over the spring here, and accumulated 40+ indoor plants of 20+ varieties. :] They're happy, but my plant book says that a few of them really need fertilizer often--spathiphyllum, especially--and I don't have any good organic options anyway, so I wanted to ask. I don't like chemicals. I do have some Osmocote as well that I picked up when it was on sale, but I'm wondering if a liquid fertilizer would be better for my indoor plants.

[cynthia_h]

I purchased the liquid kelp at an independent nursery. It's a concentrate, so it lasts a v-e-r-y long time. I make a half-strength solution.

Cynthia