A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Using Miracle Grow

I dont use miracle grow or preeen on my perennials period. Only on my annuals. I feel like I purchase annuals for one purpose for the added touch of color to my windowboxed and a few other areas that perennials arent planted. I want them to be plentiful and since they are not going to be here for more then one season I want to get the most out of them while I can.

PAR - THANK YOU!
That's exactly what I was trying to understand. I totally 'get' the consequences of chemical fertilizers and want no part of it. I did check out that Naturize and unfortunately it's only sold in GA and FL according to the website. I'm still wondering about 'organic' MG though - can they call it organic if it isn't truly organic? The only reason I'm hung up on getting MG instead of something from gardensalive is because it's more accessible and there's no shipping charge - on something as heavy as fertilizer, that's a big consideration for me. Course if I keep composting my heart out like I have, may be I don't need to worry about buying any

I'm with Weezie pretty much.

I used MG at half dose when my transplanted tomatoes resumed growth. I used it once.

When my squash stood up and started to crank, I hit it with MG at half dose; one time.

I'm not pure organic but I am successful.

I tried Miracle Grow on annual plants only, not on vegetables. I wasn't impressed with it. I'm much more impressed with Spray-n-Grow and Bill's Perfect Fertilizer on my fruits and veggies. Meg, you should give it a shot. I have zero Japanese Beetle damage on my pole beans. I think healthier plants naturally deter the insects. I'm thinking about spraying all of my plants with the Spray-n-Grow combo. I may even order their Coco-Wet next year.

One note though, Meg. They say not to spray anything else with the Spray-n-Grow. I tried it anyway with good results except that 2 of my 13 apple trees showed some sensitivity (to my organic sulphur spray I think). The growth wasn't as vigorous on these trees and the leaves were turning yellowish (brown on new tender growth) Also 2 of my 4 pole bean varieties were starting to show a little discoloration on a few leaves. I just stopped spraying the sulphur on those plants and they seem to be improving. I was
using the maximum application rate also. I might not have had any problems at the minimum rate.