FoxFarm Blog

Root-Pruning Container Plants

Container gardening is not just about geraniums in flower pots anymore. People are growing fruit trees, Japanese maples, ornamental grasses, and all kinds of other substantial plants in container.  Some of those containers are too big to move, and sometimes the plants are too large to re-pot.  So what do you do?  Try root pruning.

Start by scraping out a layer of soil around the plant until you expose some surface roots. Then take a shovel or a hand trowel and begin digging out some soil between the roots in the side of the pot. It’s okay to cut some of the roots; in fact, part of the goal is to relieve root down conditions and reinvigorate the plant.  Use pruning shears to clear away roots around the edge of the plant if needed.

Once you’ve cleared some soil from the top and sides of the plant, give it a good root drench with Big Bloom.  Fill in the gaps with Ocean Forest potting soil, our premium blend that’s packed with crab meal, bad guano, and earthworm castings.  Top-dress with Ocean Forest as well so the roots are no longer exposed.  Continue with your regular feeding schedule, and watch your container plants come to life!

Tiger Bloom Rocks the Tomato Patch

Say hello to Skyler, age 8, and Spencer, age 4.  They grow tomatoes with their family in Conroe, Texas, and their secret weapon (OK, it's not such a big secret at this point) is Tiger Bloom.

These 'maters went in the ground in March, and this is what they harvested in May.  We know that everything is bigger in Texas, but wow!  Good work, guys!

Fruit Trees

It's easy to forget about fruit trees this time of year.  They've already bloomed, and the bees have already worked their magic and helped them to set fruit. Your trees may have clusters of hard, round fruits the size of grapes that will become apples or peaches in a few months. But while you wait for your harvest, here are a few things to think about:

Check the leaves for signs of disease. Fruit trees are prone to a wide variety of diseases, so if you see spots or leaf curl, the best thing to do is to pick a few leaves, seal them in a plastic bag, and bring them to the nursery for identification.  Minor infestations can usually be handled by picking off the affected leaves and throwing them away, but if you do need to try fungicide or other treatment, be sure and ask for an organic product as your first line of defense.

Watch out for pests. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more exotic pest infestations, like the light brown apple moth infestation taking place in California.  Contact your county agricultural extension office if you see any unfamiliar pests on your trees.  Soft bodied insects can be controlled with a targeted spraying of Don’t Bug Me, and organic products like biopesticides with Bt can help control caterpillars.

Water and feed, water and feed.  The two go hand in hand.  Plants just can't access the fertilizer in the soil unless they have an adequate supply of water. Water deeply once a week. Try our Happy Frog Tomato and Vegetable to help ripen your crop, and use Big Bloom as a root drench to add essential nutrients. And then, stand back and wait.  It's almost harvest season!

And Now For a Word About Our Feeding Schedules

Here at FoxFarm, we cater to fanatics. Whether you’re growing giant tomatoes, luscious herbs, prize-winning roses, or the greenest organic lawn in town, you know that every detail counts. That’s why we obsess over quality and scour the planet for the finest ingredients, including high phosphorus bat guano, premium earthworm castings, fine- screened forest humus, and rich marine ingredients.

But that’s not all. We also test our ingredients in our own greenhouse and develop detailed feeding schedules for our most demanding customers. Go here for the perfect 12 week plan for bringing seeds and cuttings into bloom. We show you how to use our liquid fertilizers together, and add in our high-octane solubles for an extra boost.

And if you’re a hydro grower, we’ve got the schedule for you. It covers nutrients, reservoir changes, pH and light levels, and everything else a hydro grower needs to know. Both schedules are also available in Spanish. Try them out and let us know what you think! If you’ve got suggestions, feedback, or awesome photos of your garden, send them to us. We’d love to hear from you.

Pamper Your Roses

Roses go wild this time of year. The trick is to keep them blooming all summer long. Here’s what we’re using in our own rose gardens this year:

American Pride is the time-release plant food that rose lovers swear by. It combines high-tech soluble nutrients and minerals with the long term benefits of natural ingredients like earthworm castings, bat guano, and cottonseed meal. If you want the best of both worlds, American Pride is for you.

Organic rose growers love our Peace of Mind and Happy Frog Rose Food. Both have the same great ingredients, including beneficial microbes, humic acid, and alfalfa meal, and Happy Frog comes in a handy new resealable pouch that makes it easy to store all season long. Scratch a little in and around your rose bushes and water well.

We believe in going easy when it comes to pest and disease control. It all starts with healthy plants, which is why we recommend a mulch of Happy Frog Soil Conditioner to encourage strong roots. A foliar feeding of Big Bloom liquid fertilizer can perk up plants that are feeling poorly, and a targeted spraying of Don’t Bug Me will control softbodied pests like aphid and whitefly. Most of all, we believe in getting to know your garden and preventing problems before they start. Pick off disease or infested leaves and throw them away, feed your plants well, and you’ll have bouquets of roses all summer long.

Get a Jump Start on Tomatoes

Those tempting tomato seedlings are turning up in garden centers this month.  Gardeners on the coast should be sure to wait until the days are warm—tomatoes will just sulk in 50 and 60 degree weather, and they’ll let you know it, too—if the leaves turn purple, the plant is too cold.  But inland gardeners and those with protected, sunny spots can get started now.  Just remember:

Tomatoes are heavy feeders with giant root systems.  Choose a site where they will have plenty of sun and plenty of space, and try to pick a location where tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants were not grown last year.  (This will cut down on soil-borne diseases.)  Add plenty of aged compost or manure.  We’re partial to our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner—it’s full of beneficial microbes that help feed plants at the root zone.

Overhead watering can spread disease.  It’s absolutely critical that you water tomato plants regularly—irregular watering will stress the plant and cause malformed tomatoes—and that you don’t get the leaves wet when you do.  Use drip irrigation or water carefully with a hose at ground level.

Did we mention that they’re heavy feeders?  Seriously, tomatoes need some food.  Organic gardeners should try our Happy Frog Tomato & Vegetable, which comes in a resealable pouch to make it easy to store and use all season long.  Or, for a little more oomph, try our time-release Marine Cuisine.

Bring on the bees! You’re going to need some bees to pollinate those flowers, so plant some bee-friendly plants nearby.  Alyssum, yarrow, or coreopsis will lure bees, and later in the year, letting a few basil plants flower will keep them around.

Give Your Bulbs Some Love

Finally, all that hard work in the fall has paid off.  Tulips, daffodils, and other spring bulbs are in glorious bloom right now.  But remember, bulbs are a long-term investment.  To get the most out of them, year after year, follow these simple steps:

Feed:  Give bulbs a dose of our Peace of Mind or Happy Frog Bulb Food just after bulbs have finished blooming.  They’ll need the extra energy to start making next year’s flowers.

Leave the foliage:  Resist the urge to cut off the remaining foliage.  The bulb needs those leaves to help capture sunlight and transform it into food.  Hide the wilting leaves by surrounding them with blooming annuals like violas or alyssum, or interplant with a creeping groundcover like catmint or geranium.

Divide:  Daffodils don’t need to be divided, but if they’re getting crowded, plan on digging them up and separating them once foliage starts to die back.  Irises should be divided about once every four years.  (One easy way to remember:  Work out your frustration and divide them during presidential election years!)

“What Plants Need”—FoxFarm!

Look up plant nutrition in the newest edition of the Sunset Western Garden Book and what will you find?  A bottle of Big Bloom.

We're proud to be featured in that giant reference book that most gardeners simply call "The Green Book."  The last update was in 2001, so everybody was ready for some fresh ideas and new plants.  The new version runs to 768 pages, and you'll find us on p. 712, in a section devoted to treating nutritional deficiencies.

Our liquid, organic Big Bloom formula is perfect not only as a liquid fertilizer, but also as a foliar spray.  Apply it directly to the leaves of plants and let them soak up all that good food.  Worm castings, kelp, and bat guano are just a few of the ingredients that give Big Bloom its oomph.  Use it after plants have started to leaf out, and keep going straight through flowering and fruit.

Feed Your Dirt--It Feeds You

It’s time to get some nutrition in the ground ahead of the spring planting season.  In areas with no frost or light frost, a light feeding of our Peace of Mind All-Purpose fertilizer will replenish soils that may be depleted after winter rains.  It will also add important beneficial microbes that colonize the root zone and help plants get the nutrition they need.  Just scatter it around according to package directions and scratch it in.

After you’ve fertilized, add one to three inches of mulch.  Well-aged compost will do the trick, and we recommend our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner as well.  The mulch will improve drainage, protect roots, smother weeds, and give the garden a jump-start. 

And if you’re in an area that’s still getting heavy freezes, a little mulch might help protect plants, but we recommend waiting to fertilize until the ground has thawed and plants start showing signs of new spring growth.

Happy Frog Organic Fertilizers Available Now!

You asked for it, we jumped on it.  Fans of our Happy Frog Jump Start have been asking us to roll out a full line of organic fertilizers with that fabulous froggy packaging. It's the same great product as our Peace of Mind line, but with a fresh look and in a fabulous four-pound waterproof, resealable pouch. They're so weatherproof that you can even display them outside. What's not to like?

Distinguish yourself from the competition.  Even if the guys down the street are selling Peace of Mind, you can liven up your display with a fresh new look. And you won't have to sacrifice quality to do it. Happy Frog fertilizer products contain only our finest ingredients and they are all 100% organic and alive with beneficial microbes. 

The Happy Frog complete logo line includes: Jump Start Starter Formula, Fruit & Flower, Tomato & Vegetable, Acid Loving Plants, All-Purpose, Japanese Maple, Premium Lawn, Bulb Food, Rose Food, High Phosphorus Bat Guano and Steamed Bone Meal.  (Rock Phosphate is no longer available as a single ingredient product.)

What are you waiting for? Jump in!  Happy Frog fertilizers are now available for sale. Please call (800) 4FOXFARM for ordering information. 

Happy Frog Dry Organic Fertilizers

8 4lb. pouches per case

45 cases per pallet

SKU's vary by product

Smart Organics for Everyday Life!