Foliar Feeding

You can apply foliar fertilizers with a simple handheld sprayer. Foliar fertilizers will be more effective if applied to outdoor plants on a sunny day. It's time to move on to the next plant when the liquid starts to drip off the surface of the leaves.

If your plants look like they're nutrient-deficient, you might try foliar feeding. Plants can absorb nutrients through the leaves--actually, through the stomata located on the undersides of the leaves. Spraying the fertilizer onto the leaves is a great way to quickly correct a deficiency. Master gardener Paul James shares these tips:

• Two of the popular brands suitable for this type of fertilizing are concentrates of fish emulsion or seaweed.
• Mix according to label instructions. These products dissolve quickly in water so that they can be poured into pumps or handheld sprayers.
• To minimize runoff and help these sprays stick to the leaves, add a scant quarter of a teaspoon of liquid detergent to each gallon of spray.
• Spray leaf surface--the tops and the undersides--until the liquid begins to drip off the leaves.
• For indoor plants, apply once a month. For flowers and vegetables outside, apply every two weeks, preferably in the mornings.

You can find these foliar fertilizers at most home nurseries or garden centers. If you're applying chemical sprays to food crops, stop foliar feeding at least three weeks before harvest.

Also in this Episode

Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-106
•	Fertilizer Overview
•	Going by the Numbers
•	Foliar Feeding
•	How and When to Fertilize
•	Compost and Manure