best way to fertilize using a drip system???

16 years ago

I am trying to fertilize my plant with a drip system. Currently I am using the miracle gro liquid feeder (the one were you can just screw on the bottles). But I have some concerns. The fertilizer does not really get soaked in the ground since I am using a drip system, it just kind of drys on top of the soil.

I am thinking about hooking a miracle gro no clog feeder up to my drip system to have it fertilize every time the it waters. It is on an automatic system that comes on twice a week for 30 minutes. Each plant has a 1/2 gallon per hour drip emmiter. Is this to much fertilizer if I am feeding the plants every time? I do not want to kill the plants with to much. The miracle gro box says to feed every 7 to 14 day. I also thought about hooking the miracle gro feeder up for every other watering, but then I am afraid that since the such little water is used by the drip system that miracle gro will never reach the end of the line.

I have looked at the EZ Flo Fertilizer injector and those fertilize every time the plants are watered, so maybe it is not to much fertilizer for the plants or maybe they do not put out as much fertilizer as the miracle gro feeder??? I have no idea

Any one else have any ideas on how to fertilize plants with a drip system. Or should I just stick with the Miracle Gro liquid feeder, since some fertilizer is absorbed by the leaves?

Thanks!!!!

Comments (3)

ronalawn82
16 years ago
mike556, I cannot recommend it and my only reason is that there is a high probability that the material will be deposited and clog the system. The materials you are dealing with have a very high salt content which can kill a crop quickly.
ahuong
16 years ago
I think feeding it on every watering is fine--as long as you make sure to dilute the plant food concentration appropriately. Since the plant food is normally only given once every 7-14 days, make sure to dilute it in the feeder down to only 10-15% of its normal strength if you plan on applying it for each feeding.

For example, my own plant food that I use says to give 1 tablespoon per gallon every 7-14 days. Since I like to water each day and spread out the plant food evenly, I give 1 tablespoon for every 7 to 14 gallons of water, but water my plants with it daily.

I'm sure with a little scribbling on a notepad and a cheap calculator, you can figure out the right ratio to give for your watering rate.

It's actually been said that this method is even better for the plant, since it avoids those "feast or famine" periods between giving it good dose of plant food one day followed by nothing but normal water for the next 7-14 days.

Also, if you are looking for a fertilizer injector, be sure to check that you are able to acheive the minimum volume of water needed to activate the injector. Most "water pressure operated" fertilizer injectors that I have seen need a minimum of 30 gallons per hour (1/2 gal/minute) of water flowing through it in order to inject the accurate ratio of plant food into the outgoing water stream. Any less than that and it may likely just sit there spitting out plain "unfertilized" water.

You might not have enough plants and enough water flow to be able to use a fertilizer injector properly. Since you mentioned that your drippers were 1/2 gph drippers, then I would figure that you would need at least 60 drippers going simultaneously in order to meet the 30 gph minimum.

Just my humble opinion...
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svdbybld
16 years ago
All I use is the Miracle Gro no Clog sprayer. I usually just hook my hose up to my system so it is a much less expensive option for me.