In this article, we’ll find more on fertilizing plants and curing or preventing infestations. To achieve healthy roots and great foliage, keep it simple by using liquid seaweed solution as a fertilizer.
Seaweed solution is rich in nutrients that are necessary for any and every plant. It provides the plant with a high supply of calcium, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and plant hormones like auxin which helps promote new growth in plants and cytokinin which in addition to promoting overall growth also aids in cell division, its presence is important for fruit bearing plants as in order to achieve a seed, cell division is needed. Its very easy to use, all you have to do is dilute the solution with a little bit of water, as written on the bottle and water away! I like this method because I find this less tedious….and less smelly too!
There are other ways to fertilize your plants too like manure or khaad. All you need to do is add about a handful of it to each potted plant. Bone meal is a good fertilizer as well. It has high levels of Phosphorous. Phosphorous helps plants to establish healthy roots and is a great fertilizer for root vegetables like onions, potato, garlic, turnip, etc.
When I was a beginner, I didn’t realize the importance of fertilizing. It was only when I myself started to see results that I knew fertilizing your plants is necessary, its like plant food. The frequency depends on the type of plant and the season when you’re adding the fertilizer but generally you can fertilize every 3-4 weeks.
Coming on to Infestations...
Infestations can be quite difficult to deal with. The important part is to know what you’re dealing with. The most common bugs I’ve had to deal with are mealy bugs. They’re tiny insects which feed on the nutrients prepared by plants and can spread from one plant to your whole garden. They can prove to be fatal to your plants and can deteriorate their health.
White flies as well are very common in situations of overwatering. Whiteflies cause damage to plants by sucking the sap and by excreting honey dew which in turn results in the growth of sooty mould. Direct damage is caused through Adults and nymphs feed by inserting their mouthparts especially in young plants phloem sap from sieve tubes with their sucking mouthparts.
An easy way to get rid of both of these bugs is to dilute Neem oil in a little bit of water and add dish soap or shampoo. If you spray this and leave it on overnight, wash it off with plain water in the day then you’ll have a bug free plant again! Make sure you are spraying on both sides of the leaves. There are many insecticides available as well but making the spray yourself is an intriguing experience too! Fertilizers strengthen the immunity of the plant and hence it is important to have a proper fertilizing schedule.
I hope this was helpful for all the budding gardeners!
- Arshiya Joshi<3
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