Seeds are germinating!
Sweet Peas are just sprouting up above.
Marigolds (above)
Cilantro and Chives (above)
Salvia (above)As soon as the seedlings start to pop up (preferably waiting until most of your seedlings are mostly all up), it's time to fertilize with 9-45-15. The phosphorus (the number 45) helps with root growth.
I am learning about fertilizing the flowers for the first time this year, but I have someone who is very knowledgeable who is teaching me. I am very excited to learn!
I am told I put this type of fertilizer on about every 2-3 watering (about 1x a week) until the seedlings have their true leaves. When the seedlings first come up, those two leaves are called cotyledons. The next leaves that come--you will tell a difference in what the leaves look like--those are their true leaves.
I chose to use a fertilizer siphon to fertilize my flowers. It took awhile for me to get it working because I guess you aren't suppose to have a Y on your faucet and you have to have enough pressure coming out of the other end of your hose in order to get the fertilizer to suck out of the bucket. When I got a watering wand with more pressure, then the siphon easily started working. The things you learn....
The fertilizer siphon in the picture above is the brass piece screwed on just above the red hose, plus the small black hose that is sitting in the white bucket. You can buy them at any nursery supply or a Wilco. When you use a fertilizer siphon, it dilutes the fertilizer I have in the white bucket by 16-1....so the fertilizer you are spraying onto your seedlings will actually be a calmer blue color than in the white bucket. If it's not, then you will be burning your plants because the fertilizer will be too strong. Also it is important to know that before you fertilize your seedlings, you need to make sure the potting soil media is already damp. Never fertilize onto dry potting soil because you can also burn the plants.
I used a postal scale to measure my fertilizer :)
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