When it comes to fertilizing annuals and perennials in your garden, these two kinds of plants can be treated differently. First, divide your plants into groups of annuals and perennials. They can be physically divided, or divided in your mind. Annuals and perennials have different nutritional needs.
Annuals prefer a water soluble fertilizer that is high in phosphorus (the middle number) for their blooms, such as 15-30-15. This is the perfect fertilizer (click here). The water soluble fertilizer gets nutrients to them fast.
For perennials I prefer a granular fertilizer, roughly 10-10-10. This is a good long lasting fertilizer (click here). You can put the granular fertilizer around the base of the plant and it will release into the soil.
When working to grow vegetables in your home garden, these are five useful tips to keep in mind.
Vegetables generally love at least 6 hours of sun per day.
Vegetables like well amended, good draining soil.
If you can mix in compost, cow manure, and peat moss when planting, vegetables will love it.
When selecting vegetables for your garden at home, talk to people in your neighborhood to see what thrives. You can also ask garden experts in stores and garden centers.
Generally, the easiest plants to grow include beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. One good way to plant your vegetables is to plant in a number of quadrants and rotate after plants are done. You can plant root vegetables such as radishes and carrots in one quadrant, vine vegetables such as tomatoes and squash in another, and so on. By doing this, different kinds of nutrients are pulled out of the soil, and as you amend the soil you have time to replenish important nutrients.
When gardening at home, it is important to take into account plant hardiness zones. You should know your zone before buying plants. Here is the USDA plant hardiness zone map. There are 11 plant hardiness zones with zone 11 being the warmest. The plant hardiness zones are based on winter low temperature. When purchasing plants, check the plant label to find out the zone the plant is able to grow in. If you have a different microclimate you may need to experiment to see how plants do.
There is also a plant heat zone map. Use both maps to find plants that will thrive for you in your home garden.
I worked for Rod McLellan Company as their expert grower, hybridizer and more for 3 years. Before they were bought, Rod McLellan had been the world leader in Orchids for a century.
My personal experience with Orchids has led me to understand well what Orchids you can grow more easily with bright light. If you want a larger, heavy, strappy Orchid, go for a Cymbidium. If you want an Orchid that blooms a long time and likes bright light, grow a Dendrobium. This is the easiest Orchid to grow in bright light as it loves to dry out between waterings. Another good bright light Orchid is an Oncidium. Oncidiums and Dendrobiums bloom for 2-3 months with proper humidity.
More difficult orchids to grow in bright light are Cattleyas and Vandas. Cattleyas bloom on average for 2-4 weeks. Vandas need a lot of humidity.