Question
I was wondering if there was something i could feed the plants (Citrus Medica) to make them grow quicker. i water with fish tank water for some nutrients so i was wondering if i could use other things from around the house to give them more nutrients to speed growing?

Answer
Marc,

I have the following suggestions:



1.Recycle your coffee grounds. Your citrus tree likes acidic soil and coffee grounds will keep the soil acidic. Just sprinkle them on top of the soil and mix them into the top few inches of soil.


2.You can also mix tea leaves in the top few inches of soil and it will acidify the soil like coffee. Juste break open the dried used tea bags. If the soil molds after doing this just lightly spray with a generic Lysol or don't worry about it. The mold is just helping decompose the tea or coffee but if it bothers you the Lysol will kill the mold on the surface.

3.If you burn incense in your home, let the ashes cool down and put them on the soil of the plants.

4.You can make your own compost with materials as diverse as grass clippings from your lawn and leftover food that can be fed to worms who then produce a great fertilizer with their waste. See the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) compost page for how to undertake this. You can make a compost 搕ea?with fertilizer, adding it to a large quantity of water that is then used to water the plants or spray their leaves. You can also mix the fertilizer right into the soil when you抮e potting or re-potting plants; with compost in the soil, plants require less water.

5.Some studies indicate untreated charcoal can help catch and hold onto nutrients. If you have a fire place, use char and ash from wood fires. Otherwise, purchase medium or fine grade gardening charcoal from a nursery. Mix it into your potting soil in a 1 part charcoal, 10 parts soil ratio. Use medium grade (larger pieces) for plants that require more drainage or an airy mix and use fine grade (small pieces) or ash for your regular house plants.

6.1 teaspoon of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) per 1 inch of pot diameter sprinkled on top of the soil once a year encourages  a blooming plant to bloom.

Good luck.

Darlene