FoxFarm Blog

Start Your Seedlings!

There’s nothing better than a home-grown tomato, and who can resist starting the plants from seed? Check average temps in your area and find out when you can expect regular temperatures in the 70s. Count back 8 weeks, and get those tomatoes going!

Start with our Light Warrior Seed Staring Mix, with mycorrhizae and humic acid. If it’s cold in your seed-starting area, use a heated grow mat to keep your seeds warm. You’ll need bright lights, so unless you’re growing in a greenhouse, plan on adding a few shop lights from the hardware store and placing them just six inches from the soil. You’ll need to raise the lights as they grow, always keeping them about six inches above the foliage.

Plant your favorite tomato varieties in seed flats, and keep the seeds watered well. When they start to germinate, choose the sturdiest, most vigorous seedlings, making sure to select about twice as many as you plan to grow in your garden in case a few fail (and so you’ll have extras to share!) Pluck out the remaining sprouts so your “survivors” will have room to flourish. Then begin feeding with a light application of 100% organic Liquid Big Bloom to get those roots growing.

Once the plants have two sets of healthy leaves, they’re ready to graduate to pots and real potting soil. Repot them into four-inch pots using Ocean Forest, making sure you continue to give them regular water. For a little extra push, mix Peace of Mind Starter or Happy Frog Jump Start into the soil before planting.

A week after planting, they’re ready for some fertilizer! Check out our feeding schedules for liquid plant feeding, or simply use our Peace of Mind Tomato & Vegetable according to package directions. Only a few more weeks until spring!

Revitalize Your Indoor Garden

There may not be much going on outside, but indoor plants can really use a lift in the middle of winter. Pick a mild-weather day, haul your houseplants outside, and give them the FoxFarm Makeover:

Clean. Start by blasting foliage with the hose to remove dust and debris. Let dry and yellowing leaves fall to the ground. Your plants do a better job of purifying the air and adding oxygen to your home if the leaves are clean.

Feed the foliage. Once the leaves are clean, give them a taste of 100% Organic Liquid Big Bloom. Try to get both sides of the leaves. A foliar feed like this is hard to do indoors, so take this opportunity to give the leaves a healthy, revitalizing treatment that will encourage the plant to grow and bloom.

Repot or replenish the soil. Plants in smaller pots should be repotted once a year. Toss the old soil on the compost pile, shake out the roots, and repot with Ocean Forest or Happy Frog Potting Soil. Remember to water well and let the soil settle before bringing inside; you may find that you need to add extra soil once you’ve watered the first time.

For larger plants that can’t easily be repotted, simply scrape off as much soil as possible from the top and sides of the pot, and fill in the gaps with Ocean Forest or Happy Frog.

That’s it! Bring the plants inside, and bask in their reflected glory. Feed every other watering with Liquid Big Bloom and Grow Big to maintain leafy-green foliage, healthy roots, and beautiful blooms.