FAQs

A: We recommend fertilizing your plants immediately after transplanting them, so they have the nutrients they need to get off to a good start in their new home. After that we recommend looking at each plant's page on our website, as there is fertilizing and other groiwng information listed specifically for that plant. The following are general guidelines: Vegetables every 3-4 weeks, Annuals every other week, Herbs, Perennials and Shrubs should be done once each spring.

A: Generally speaking, most plants can be fertilized with a common 10-10-10 fertilizer. If you are growing organically, we recommend Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed. For reference, the three numbers you see on fertilizers represent the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium (in that order) in the fertilizer, and is known as the fertilizer grade. A 10-10-10 fertilizer would contain 10% Nitrogen, 10% Phosphate, 10% Potassium, and 70% other ingredients.

A: During the first two weeks after transplanting, it is important to keep the soil directly around your plants moist, as the roots need time to establish themselves in their new home. Watering directly around the base of the plant will provide the necessary moisture for the roots to grow down deep into ground. Once established, plants in containers and baskets need to be watered at least once per day on hot days, while plants in the ground can go a day or two between waterings. It is a good rule of thumb to give the soil a good soaking when you do water.

A: There is no one specific method for watering plants that is better than another. We do, however, recommend watering in the morning, and to water the ground around your plants while avoiding direct watering on the plant's foliage, if at all possible.

A: For plants being grown in containers or baskets, we recommend a soil mixture with fertilizer already included, if possible. If your plants are being grown in the ground, any common potting soil mixture will work.

A: You should NOT separate vegetables that come with multiple plants per pot. All vegetables varieties that come with multiple plants per pot will grow and produce if transplanted with the entirety of the pots contents into one spot. Separating the pot into individual plants will cause shock to the plants, which can result in stunted growth or death.

A: There could be multiple reasons your vegetable plant is not flowering. It is always important to make sure your plant is receiving the appropriate amount of sunlight required to grow, along with being watered and fertilized on an appropriate schedule. There are, also, a few vegetable varieties, like tomatoes, that stop flowering when temperatures become extremely high. Luckily, once the weather begins to cool down they will begin flowering, again. For more complex questions and situations, please contact us via our Help Desk.

A: Unfortunately, there is no general answer to this question. However, there are vareities of vegetable plants that produce, both, male and female flowers. Typically, the male flowers begin blooming before the female flowers, so it may take a few weeks for the fruits to set. If your vegetable plant has been blooming for more than 2-3 weeks and there are still no signs of it producing fruit, please contact us via our Help Desk and we will help you as best we can.

A: If you have a flowering plant that is not blooming, there are two plant needs that you should check. First, check to make sure your plant is receiving the correct amount of sunlight. A plant that does not receive enough sunlight will not bloom as it should. If your plant is receiving the correct amount of sunshine, the second plant need you need to focus on is the amount of fertilizer your plant is receiving. We recommend checking the container or bag your fertilizer comes in to make sure you are applying the correct dosage and at the correct frequency that fertilizer company prescribes. If these steps do not work, please contact us via our Help Desk.

A: Before digging up and moving any plant, we alway recommend calling your local extension office to determine what the possible problem could be. Prematurely digging up and moving a plant could result in the plant being severely stunted or dying.