GB 199 TRANSCRIPT Houseplant Watering, Fertilization
Farmer Fred 0:00
Garden Basics with Farmer Fred is brought to you by smart pots the original lightweight, long lasting fabric plant container it's made in the USA visit smart pots.com/fred For more information and a special discount, that's smart pots.com/fred Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information, well you've come to the right spot.
Farmer Fred 0:32
Just because your houseplants might look OK, are they really thriving? Do you know how to water and fertilize houseplants correctly? We talked with the author of the book, "Houseplant Warrior," Raffaele DiLallo, about the best ways to feed and hydrate your indoor plants. Also, he has several tips for determining if your houseplants need a drink of water. And the best part of that, is, you don’t need to buy anything to make those watering decisions. We’re podcasting from Barking Dog Studios here in the beautiful Abutilon Jungle in Suburban Purgatory. It’s the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast, brought to you today by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. And we will do it all in under 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Farmer Fred 1:16
We're talking with Raffaele DiLallo, author of the book "Houseplant Warrior". He's also the creator of a wonderful website about houseplants, Ohiotropics.com. We've sort of tiptoed around the subject of watering plants. And you mentioned in an earlier chat about people usually try to water on their schedule, not the plant schedule, and the exposures that the plant has. But you point out in your book, Houseplant Warrior, the fact that if you're in the habit of using a moisture meter, that may not be a very good idea with indoor plants. And why is that?
Raffaele DiLallo 1:56
Yes. And so I'll preface what I'm about to say with this first: if you're using one, and you're getting good results, by all means, I'm not going to tell you to stop using it. But I will caution people about moisture meters. And the reason is because I met so many of my readers and my followers over the past, you know, five years, people that I've been helping with their plant issues, they have killed their houseplants because they're blindly relying on a moisture meter to tell them when to water their plants. Here is the most extreme example: someone came to me once and she said, "Well, my plants aren't looking too good. And I don't know what to do. Can you help me?" And so I always ask for pictures. And I always ask, you know, what is your process for watering? How do you determine when to water? How do you water and so on? You know, it's the engineer in me. I like to ask all these questions. And it's critical for problem solving. And so she responded back, she had a rubber plant, and she had a Chinese Evergreen. And I think there was another plant that I can't remember. But she had those two, and I said can you send me a picture? And they were all droopy and sad and dying. And then I said, Well, how do you determine when to water? And then she told me about her moisture meter. And she said, "Well, the moisture meter still indicates on the meter that it's moist." And I said okay, when was the last time that you actually watered ? And she said oh, it was a few months ago. And so right there I said throw it out, throw it away and use your finger instead. Throw it out, go and give your plant a really really good thorough soaking, because the potting mix probably has become hydrophobic by now and it's repelling water. Give it a nice thorough soaking so that it can accept water again and then just use your finger, put it in there, feel the soil. And really, for most houseplants - overly simplifying a little bit - but for most houseplants, if the top inch of of your potting mix is dry, then at that point you can go ahead and water. Of course it varies, depending on the type of plant that you have. It's very important not to just blindly trust a moisture meter. And that's what I think a lot of people don't realize, is that moisture meters don't actually measure the water content of the potting mix. They actually measure conductivity, and that basically is how well your potting mix is conducting electricity and it really depends a lot on the composition of your potting mix. And if you have also a lot of fertilizer salts that are built up in your potting mix, it's going to throw that off as well. And also if you have a much chunkier potting mix, that'll throw it off as well plus, a lot of moisture meters are very inexpensive and junky and not reliable. So I just caution people to not rely on moisture meters and to use your finger instead to judge moisture in your potting mix. You can also lift your pot to see how heavy or how light it is to help you do that, as well. Are there some other ways to but that's normally what I like to recommend.
Farmer Fred 5:03
You're not going to talk about wooden chopsticks?
Raffaele DiLallo 5:07
I thought about that too. But that is another method, too. So if you have a bamboo chopstick from your takeout or something like that, leftover from dinner, you can definitely insert it into the potting mix, let it stay for a few minutes, and take it out and then feel it. Did it turn a darker color? Do you have bits of soil still attached to it? How does it feel? You can feel it with your fingers too. Some people also hesitate to water when they insert a tool like that, a wooden chopstick all the way to the bottom of the pot, because they say well, the soil at the bottom of the pot is still moist, so maybe I shouldn't water yet. That's just how it works, that soil is going to take the longest to dry out unless you have a succulent or plants that do like to dry out completely. Don't wait until all of your potting mix is fully dried out before watering again, you just have to know your type of plant and where your plant comes from and what they like.
Farmer Fred 6:03
You have a whole section on your website, Ohiotropics.com, about soil moisture meters for indoor plants, and the three big dangers associated with them. And you're a guy after my own heart because you say, "I could easily include an affiliate link and try to get you to buy various moisture meters. But I'm not going to do that. Because I would not promote something that I don't believe in. And that doesn't work period, my reputation is worth more to me than that. And I would be doing a disservice to my readers." I feel the same way. We're both gonna die poor.
Raffaele DiLallo 6:33
I'm glad you brought that up. I mean, I will not recommend a product. Just because I can make some money on it, I only recommend products that I use and that I firmly believe in because I can speak from my own experience. And I can give my own opinions and experiences from doing that.
Farmer Fred 6:57
Now, having said that, I do have a moisture meter I really like, but it is a moisture meter that costs $100. You're able to calibrate it. And I've had it for about 20 years. Now it's got a 24 inch probe on it. So it's really meant for outdoor plants. But as long as you take care of it, and you store it indoors, don't leave it out in the soil, bring it inside, wipe it off, it tends to work reliably.
Raffaele DiLallo 7:21
That's great. I'm glad you brought that up. And you brought up the topic of calibration. And so that's that's a big issue. With the very inexpensive moisture meters, the ones with the two prongs that you can pick up at Lowe's or Home Depot, that are just a few dollars, those are not going to be reliable. They may even work well for a while, but they're not going to work long term, you won't be able to calibrate them. And so they won't be as reliable as the one that you just mentioned. So if you really do want to get a moisture meter, you would have to spend a lot more money and also take care of it exactly like you mentioned, and also keep up with the calibration. If you really want true results that that will actually help.
Farmer Fred 8:00
One thing you did mention about moisture meters is the fact that they're measuring the conductivity, which is usually due to the salt content of the soil. And a lot of salt content comes from fertilizers. We haven't talked about fertilizers for houseplants. Do they need fertilizer at all?
Raffaele DiLallo 8:16
Yes, absolutely. I mean light is the number one thing that plants need to photosynthesize and make their own food. However, indoors, growing things in pots, we don't have the benefit of animal droppings outside and leaves that are decomposing and adding nutrients to the soil. So we don't have that indoors. If we're freshly repotting a plant, a lot of times those will have fertilizer included and nutrients. So you'll you'll be okay for a while. But really, for the long term benefit of your house plant, I always recommend a good fertilizer routine for all your plants.
Farmer Fred 8:58
When you're looking at fertilizer labels, what are some red flag warnings that you might see on that label that would make you say no, I'm not going to use this one?
Raffaele DiLallo 9:07
That's a great question. I don't know if anybody has ever asked me that. So I would say the particular fertilizer I use actually does not include urea and I know that can cause burning or increase the risk of plants burning, especially if you over fertilize and you add too much. So I prefer a urea free fertilizer. Some plants are sensitive to that, some plants are more sensitive than others. So that's one thing. Another thing, I'm thinking of succulents, you got me thinking about succulents. You know, they typically like lower nitrogen fertilizers. So just be aware of the first number and you know the N-P-K value on your fertilizer labels. Succulents grow a lot slower than many plants. They just don't don't grow as quickly as many plants. And if you if you give them too much nitrogen, you'll just be encouraging weaker growth. It won't be as compact and your plants are going to lose their shape and form, and it might even make them more prone to pests, as well. Those are the two things that comes to mind when looking at fertilizers. I know there's a big debate over organic versus non-organic fertilizers, but I tend to use more of the organic fertilizers outdoors, because they have more of an odor. And indoors, I just use water soluble fertilizer that is not organically derived.
Farmer Fred 10:32
Yeah, I would be sleeping outdoors if I was using fish emulsion on my houseplants.
Raffaele DiLallo 10:37
Right? That's the one that comes to mind.
Farmer Fred 10:39
So I doubt that you have any fertilizer containers sitting next to you. But generally speaking, when looking at the N-P-K content, the nitrogen phosphorus potassium content of the typical house plant fertilizers you use, what are some of the three numbers that they might be? I imagine they're all single digits.
Raffaele DiLallo 10:57
Yeah. So I'm actually looking up the one that I use right now. So the one I use is a particular one called Dyna-Gro Grow. And it is 7-9-5. So that is the NPK value. I've seen many other all-purpose houseplant fertilizers 10-15-10. Some are more balanced 10-10-10. They really vary, but I would say in general, you know, use a fairly balanced fertilizer for your indoor plants.
Farmer Fred 11:30
I talked to a lot of houseplant experts and Dyna-Gro seems to be a very popular brand among houseplant growers.
Raffaele DiLallo 11:36
Yeah, I mean, I've been using this particular one and they have other ones as well. There's one for orchids. I have one more for foliage, but I just stick with one. The DynaGro Grow and it's been working really well for me. They have one with a higher middle number. So the phosphorus number, for blooming plants. A lot of us call it bloom booster type fertilizer, but they have a great variety of products.
Farmer Fred 12:03
Yeah, for those who might be wondering a little bit about what N-P-K - nitrogen phosphorus potassium - does for a plant. I think Gisele Schoniger of Kellogg Garden Products put it best and certainly the most succinctly, when she said the three numbers that NPK represent are "Up, Down" and "All Around". Up for nitrogen for growth, Down for phosphorus for root development, and then the potassium is for the all-around vigor and health of the plant.
Raffaele DiLallo 12:32
I love that. I've never heard that before. So up down and all around.
Farmer Fred 12:36
She hasn't copyrighted it, so be my guest. On that, is there anything else you want to talk about?
Raffaele DiLallo 12:42
So I would like to mention the topic of overwatering if I if I might.
Farmer Fred 12:47
I will introduce you with that when we come back.
Raffaele DiLallo 12:49
Okay, then.
Farmer Fred 12:50
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Farmer Fred 14:46
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Farmer Fred 15:55
We're talking with Raffaele DiLallo, author of Houseplant Warrior. He is also the curator of the website, Ohiotropics.com. And I know from answering garden questions for 40 years that if I just say, "watering is your problem," I'll be right 90% of the time. And I'm sure that's also true with house plants.
Raffaele DiLallo 16:14
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. So I have an entire section in "Houseplant Warrior", specifically on over watering because I have a lot to say about it. One thing is that people get so scared of watering properly to the point where they're actually doing the opposite. They're actually dehydrating their plants. And so it typically all starts with a Google search. Someone might go onto Google and say, Why is my Peace Lily getting a yellow leaf? And a lot of websites will just return with, "overwatering". Of course, you just have to be careful with the sources that you read on Google. When they see that then they'll become scared to water properly, and they'll let everything go bone dry. And that's it. And then they're gonna keep repeating that struggle. What I like to ask people, do you care about all of your plants' roots, or do you just care about some of them? If you're just adding one tablespoon of water to your succulent because you're scared you're going to overwater it, you know you're going to be causing a lot of harm, and in the long run, if your root system suffers, your entire plants are going to suffer. You need a healthy root system to have a healthy plant. Even plants like succulents need to be watered thoroughly, just as much as a fern. Now, what you do vary is the extent to which your potting mix dries out in between watering, but you still want to water properly. That leads me to talk about another issue: if your potting mix truly is not drying out in a reasonable amount of time, then you have to look at your other conditions, your growing conditions and not blame proper watering because that's the foundation of having healthy roots. So look at your light conditions. Is your plant shoved in a dark corner? It's going to be using a lot less water if your plants are not getting enough light. Is your potting mix not well drained? I always like to add additional material to my indoor plants whether it's perlite or pumice or orchid bark. There's a lot of different things that you can add to increase the drainage. Is your plant in too large of a pot with a ton of excess soil? That's naturally going to take a lot longer to dry out. Is your plant growing in too cool of a condition? Also, humidity plays a factor in how fast your potting mix will dry out, as well. So there's a lot of things to consider. Proper watering is such a cornerstone of houseplants or any plant's health that you need to consider everything holistically to determine what's going on in your particular situation and not just blindly trust a Google search result that says you're over watering your plant. That'll just lead you down the rabbit hole in this whole vicious cycle of plant woes.
Farmer Fred 19:00
One question that always comes to my mind when dealing with plants is: where does the water go? Is there drainage? Are there drain holes? And then if there are drain holes, where is the water going? Is it just sitting underneath the plant? If that's the case, then your plant may never dry out?
Raffaele DiLallo 19:16
Exactly. Yeah, you have to discard the excess water in your saucers. If you have your plant set in a decorative container with no drainage holes, check that. Lift your plant out, discard any excess water. Absolutely. We all get lazy sometimes, that happens. But it pays to check.
Farmer Fred 19:35
I noticed that in your potting mixes, you use peat moss in a lot of your formulas. And peat moss can be notorious for drying out and staying dry unless you hydrate it thoroughly before you use it. And then you have to keep it hydrated so that the water will flow through it and not around it. How do you keep peat moss from drying out?
Raffaele DiLallo 19:55
Unless you let your potting mix completely dry out for a while, normally it's fine. But like you mentioned, if you let it dry out too much for too long, it'll get hydrophobic. And so that's something also that many people don't realize. When they go to water, it'll just stream right through very quickly, then you have to work a little bit to moisten your potting mix again. So what I like to do in those cases is either water several times in a row, give it some time in between to re-moisten the potting mix, or you can also set your plant in a bucket of water with a few inches of water, and bottom water your plants. So let your plant take up water over time, maybe over an hour or two. And it'll start to absorb water through the bottom in order to remoisten your potting mix. So you would have to work a little bit to rehydrate the potting mix, but it can easily be done.
Farmer Fred 20:52
As you point out in your book, "Houseplant Warrior", after you've done that, after you've rehydrated that plant, pick up the plant and make a mental note of how much that pot weighs. And then, down the line, if you think your plant needs water, lift it up. Is it much lighter than what it was after you'd watered it thoroughly? Chances are it might need water.
Raffaele DiLallo 21:13
That's right. And I also like to feel the potting mix. To that note, sometimes I've gotten caught in this trap too. Sometimes I look at a particular plant at the soil or potting mix, and you know, it still looks dark. And so sometimes I assume, it hasn't dried out yet. But when I go to touch it, it's actually dry. So don't rely on just the appearance of your potting mix. Actually feel it with your finger. And like you said, pick up your pot and make a mental note of how much it weighs. It's subjective to some extent, but it definitely does help.
Farmer Fred 21:46
I always thought one way to get rich in this business would be to market water. I would have "Farmer Fred Water" and sell it by the gallon. And it would just be tap water that I've run through a Brita filter. But I'm not going to do that because I do have scruples, like you do. But is there a difference? Do you use tap water? Or are you using spring water or bottled water?
Raffaele DiLallo 22:10
So I have so many plants that it's difficult to use anything but tap water. Once I get my greenhouse, I'm probably going to start collecting rainwater or use an alternative source, maybe have more purified water. But honestly, for the most part, most houseplants will be perfectly fine with tap water. We have hard water here, most plants will be fine. So there are some plants that are notoriously more finicky, that really don't like hard water. Some plants even are sensitive to fluoride levels. Some plants that are traditionally known to be sensitive to that are spider plants. So they'll get brown tips at the tips of their leaves. If you have water that's been fluoridated, I believe even Peace Lilies will do that as well. And if I'm not mistaken, Aspidistra, the Cast Iron plants, as well. Many orchids are also sensitive to hard water, but for the most part, you're going to be fine. The only thing I would caution you with: if you use any water softeners that add sodium to water, that's toxic to plants. Anybody listening to that, be aware that some plants, like Calathea, for example, do not like many salts in water, and so many people have success with using distilled water. But you'll still want to fertilize every so often to make sure you're not causing any nutrient deficiencies, in those cases, too.
Farmer Fred 23:41
If you know that your tap water has fluoride or chlorine, does it help if you just leave a bucket of it sitting out and letting it dissipate? Does that make a difference?
Raffaele DiLallo 23:54
So I think that's that's another myth as well. If you leave your tap water out, this is another thing that's rampant, and I'm not gonna speak specifically for every single additive that's in water. But there are compounds in your tap water that they will not evaporate. We're talking about chlorine, you know, there's many different chlorine compounds. One of them is chloramine. Those will not evaporate. When you let your water sit out, the fluoride that's in water will not evaporate by letting it set out. So it's not doing as much as people think it is. If you really want to remove additives in in your water, then pass it through a filter. You know you mentioned Brita filters, you can pass it through a filter. That will do much more for you than than just leaving it out overnight. You might want to get a reverse osmosis water system as well. I would say a large part of that is a myth. And it's not doing as much as people think it is by leaving it out.
Farmer Fred 24:59
What about water softeners?
Raffaele DiLallo 25:01
Softeners, like I mentioned, just be careful because I know all the old school water softeners replace the ions with sodium. I'm not sure these days what they use, but if you have ones that are replacing the ions in your water with sodium, that is toxic to plants, especially over time, as that builds up. So I would recommend not using water softener water in those cases.
Farmer Fred 25:27
So use your outdoor faucet if that isn't connected to your soft water system.
Raffaele DiLallo 25:32
I would say, Yes, definitely.
Farmer Fred 25:34
By the way, I would like to point out that even though we do this show from what I fondly call Barking Dog Studios, those were your dogs barking, not my dogs barking.
Raffaele DiLallo 25:43
They were Yes. Sorry about that.
Farmer Fred 25:47
No, that's okay. It's part of the atmosphere here at the Barking Dog Studio in the abutilon jungle, here in suburban purgatory. This has been a pleasure talking with Raffaele DiLallo, author of "Houseplant Warrior: Seven Keys to Unlocking the Mysteries of Houseplant Care." His website is Ohiotropics.com. And if I'm not mistaken, you're also on Instagram.
Raffaele DiLallo 26:10
I am. Ohiotropics, is one word. I'm on Instagram. I'm also on YouTube, and Facebook as well.
Farmer Fred 26:18
There you go. Raffaele DiLallo, author of "Houseplant Warrior". I would say thanks for a few minutes of your time, but thanks for a very extended conversation about houseplants.
Raffaele DiLallo 26:28
Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure to talk with you, Fred.
Farmer Fred 26:40
We’ve talked on the Garden Basics podcast, back in Episode114, and in the Farmer Fred Rant blog page, about the benefits of crop rotation. It’s not just something for farmers. Every backyard or front yard food garden can be improved by not planting the same vegetables in the same spot, year after year. In Friday’s Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter, we get graphic about how to rotate your crops in a particular order, for maximum benefit to your crops and your soil. The graphic part, by the way, resembles a bicycle wheel. Or, a pizza garden, if you will. You’ll want to save the step by step diagrams to guide you along on your pursuit to better vegetable production and increased soil fertility. It’s in the newsletter that goes beyond the basics, the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred, Beyond the Basics newsletter, out Friday, June 3rd. Find it via the link in today’s show notes, or visit our new website, Garden Basics dot net . There, you can find a link to the newsletter in one of the tabs on the top of the page, also, you can listen to any of our previous editions of the podcast, and read an enhanced transcript of the podcast episode you are now listening to. That’s at Garden Basics dot net, where you can also link to the Garden Basics newsletter, Beyond the Basics, and it’s free. Look for it on Friday, June 3rd. Take a deeper dive into gardening, with the Beyond the Garden Basics newsletter. Find it at garden basics dot net. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.
Farmer Fred 28:19
Garden Basics With Farmer Fred comes out every Tuesday and Friday and is brought to you by Smart Pots and Dave Wilson Nursery. Garden Basics is available wherever podcasts are handed out. For more information about the podcast, visit our website, GardenBasics dot net. That’s where you can find out about the free, Garden Basics newsletter, Beyond the Basics. And thank you so much for listening.
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