Plant Care Quick Links

Here you will find highlights of our many plant care supplies. As always, it is our goal to help ensure your success! Our experienced and discerning experts are continually assessing both new and old products to make sure we always have the very best products available for your plant care needs. - Please be patient, as this page is under construction!

INDOOR GARDENING

Indoor Potting Mixes

Not all potting mixes are created equal, and growing successfully growing plants indoors begins here. Today's potting mixes are actually "soiless", meaning they are based (typically) on peat moss, or (less often) "coir" as opposed to heavy soils. A good quality potting mix will provide the proper equilibrium between moisture retention & drainage, and are balanced to support the plant's nutrient needs for the long hall. While we do carry the brand you can find everywhere, these are the mixes we use & recommend for indoor (or outdoor) growing in containers:

FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil

New to our line in 2010, this is the ultimate potting mix. Containing composted forest humus, sandy loam, and peat moss, Ocean Forest is a light, well aerated soil which retains moisture optimally. Including a powerful blend of premium earthworm castings, bat guano, and fish & crab meal, this is everything your plants need in one bag. This premium mix is 100% natural & organic - perfectly suited for organic gardening! 

Happy Frog Potting Soil

Potted plants can't seek out nutrients in the ground. Happy Frog Potting Soil is alive with microbes that help to break down nutrients and feed the plant roots. Made with only premium quality natural & organic ingredients, it is ideal for safe & successful container plants, indoors or out! 

Sunshine LC1 Mix

This professional potting mix is a balanced blend of sphagnum peat moss and course perlite. It includes a "starter charge" of nutrients, and a water bonding agent for professional water retention and aeration results. We've been using this mix for years - and we love it! Desgined for optimum results in a braid range of plant types, both long and short term, you will find many of our containers, annuals, baskets, houseplants, and even succulents potted in LC1. 

Indoor Feeding

All plants need to be fed from time to time. Using quality plant food helps to ensure quality results. Different plants will benefit more from different types of food. We offer a full range of quality plant foods for every facet of growing, including foods for; promoting blooms, organic gardening, hydroponic growing, orchids, cactus & succulents, and more. Of course we also offer a full range of all-purpose plant foods. Not sure what kind of food you need, or when or how often to feed your plants? - Our knowledgeable staff is always available to answer questions & guide you to success! 

FoxFarm Big Bloom Liquid Plant Food (0.01 - 0.3 - 0.7)

This natural & organic blossom builder is a live culture of vitimins, amino acids, natural growth hormones, enzymes, and beneficial organic microbes. This special micro-brewed formula incorporates earthworm castings, bat guano, and other high-test organic ingredients. Norwegian kelp improves nutrient uptake and increases yields. Rock phosphate helps transer energy from one part of the plant to another, which means bigger buds & more fragrant flowers!

Big Bloom is ideal for all flowering & fruiting plants, and is mild enough to use every time you water. With it, you'll enjoy healthier, more vigorous flowers, and dramatically improved fruit and vegetable flavors! Big bloom will also intensify flower fragrance, and will incease essential oil production, which means stronger flavors in herbs, fruits & vegetables. Use Big Bloom to extend fruiting & flowering later into the season. And, when a plant is struggling, a root drench with Big Bloom will help bring it back to life.

FoxFarm Grow Big^® Liquid Plant Food (6 - 4 - 4)

Get your garden growing with this fast acting, water soluble food that includes micronutrients. Ideal for early in the season when young plants need an extra boost, it will promote strong, lush, compact vegetative growth. The organic elements in this special brew encourage sturdier, healthier stems anfd leaves, but also provides enough nutrients and trace minerals to create the kind of branching you'll need later in the season to support more abundant buds & blooms.

Also available in a special Hydroponic Formula. 

FoxFarm Tiger Bloom^® Liquid Plant Food (2 - 8 - 4)

This is an ultra potent, fast acting, high phosphorus fertilizer with just enough nitrogen to sustain healthy, vigorous green growth during flowering. The low pH keeps it stable, and ensures the micronutrients are available when the plants need them. In addition to containing critical trace nutrients, it includes earthworm castings & kelp meal for a biologically active formula.

HYDROPONIC GARDENING 

Almost any terrestrial plant can be grown without soil, when substituted with a mineral based solution of nutrients and water. This is hydroponics (from the greek hydro meaning water, and ponos meaning labor.) Aside from not using soil, benefits of growing hydroponically are many. Since water is contained in a closed system & can be reused, it reduces water usage. Nutrient levels can be completely controlled, reducing waste & run-off.  Issues with weeds and soil-born diseases are eliminated. A hydroponic system provides a consistant & stable environment with quicker harvests & higher yields. However, this will require some specialized supplies.

Hydroponic Quick Links 

Hydroponic Systems 

Emily's Hydroponic Garden System

Grow all your favorite plants year round with this all inclusive start-up kit. Plants rest in aerated nutrient solution, absorbing food and water as they need it! This kit includes 6 infividual planter which can be induvudually swapped & rotated as needed,  a 2 gallon resevoir (16" x 24"), form fitting cover, starter media cubes, viewable drain tube, air pump & tubing, 16oz nutrient solution, pH testing kit, & easy to follow illistrated instructions.

Just add a high output T5 Jump Start  Growlight System for superior results!

MegaGarden Hydroponic System

Get the professional results of an Ebb & Flow system in a 22" x 22" x 10" sized garden. Nutrient solution is pumped up from a controlled water level tray. All plants are watered uniformly on a timed cycle! This kit includes a 7.5 fallon resevoir with an insert grow tray, submersible pump & timer, starter media cubes, water level indicator, growing media & 15 5.5" square planters, nutrient solution, and illustrated instructions.

Just add a high output T5 Jump Start  Growlight System for superior results!

Hydroponic Nutrients

FoxFarm Big Bloom^™ Liquid Plant Food (0.01 - 0.3 - 0.7)

This natural & organic blossom builder is a live culture of vitimins, amino acids, natural growth hormones, enzymes, and beneficial organic microbes. This special micro-brewed formula incorporates earthworm castings, bat guano, and other high-test organic ingredients. Norwegian kelp improves nutrient uptake and increases yields. Rock phosphate helps transer energy from one part of the plant to another, which means bigger buds & more fragrant flowers!

Big Bloom is ideal for all flowering & fruiting plants, and is mild enough to use every time you water. With it, you'll enjoy healthier, more vigorous flowers, and dramatically improved fruit and vegetable flavors! Big bloom will also intensify flower fragrance, and will incease essential oil production, which means stronger flavors in herbs, fruits & vegetables. Use Big Bloom to extend fruiting & flowering later into the season. And, when a plant is struggling, a root drench with Big Bloom will help bring it back to life.

FoxFarm Grow Big^® Hydroponic Liquid Plant Food (3 - 2 - 6)

This popular extra strength fertilizer with micronutrients is available in a special formula just for hydroponic systems. This is a potent, fast acting water soluble food that encourages vigorous vegatative (green) growth from the first week through bud set. The organic elements in this special brew encourage sturdier, healthier stems anfd leaves, but also provides enough nutrients and trace minerals to create the kind of branching you'll need later in the season to support more abundant buds & blooms.

Also available in a formula for growing in soil & soilless mixes.

FoxFarm Tiger Bloom^® Liquid Plant Food (2 - 8 - 4)

This is an ultra potent, fast acting, high phosphorus fertilizer with just enough nitrogen to sustain healthy, vigorous green growth during flowering. The low pH keeps it stable, and ensures the micronutrients are available when the plants need them. In addition to containing critical trace nutrients, it includes earthworm castings & kelp meal for a biologically active formula.

FoxFarm Open Sesame^® Soluble Fertilizer (5 - 45 -  19)

This early flowering formula for gardnees and hydroponic growers provides the optimal level of nutrition with minimal salts and other residue buildups. Open Sesame^® will go right to work at the root zone, delivering targeted nutrients when the plants need them

Growing Tip: Feed with Open Sesame^®  every other watering, starting at about the fifth or sixth week of a plant's life. It takes just a few weeks to get stocky, sturdy, compact, high-producing plants & buds that are ready to burst! Once the buds have formed, help your plant produce awesome flowers by switching to Beastie Bloomz^®. For more information, check out the FoxFarm Hydroponic Feeding Schedule. 

FoxFarm Beastie Bloomz^® Soluble Fertilizer (0 - 50 - 30)

This heavyweight blossom builder is ideal for gardeners & frowers that want to take their plants to the next level. This is a high phosphorus  soluble fertilizer that is geared towards building amazing buds and blooms. The revolutionary micronutrient pack is designed to unbelievable internal bud density, which means plants create fat, dense, tightly-packed blossoms, and plenty of them. You'll also see exceptionally brilliant color, and a long, dazzling blooming season!

Growing Tip: Start with Open Sesame^® starting at about the fifth or sixth week of a plant's life. Once buds begin to set, begin feeding your plants Beastie Bloomz^® every other watering & the feeding schedule. In the eighth to ninth week of a plant's life cycle, switch to Cha Ching^® for an incredible harvest!

Cha Ching^® Soluble Ferilizer (9 - 50 - 10)

This late flowering formula for gardeners & hydroponic growers encourages the production of essential oils & succulent fruit. Every stage of the growing cycle demands optimal nutrition. Cha Ching^® is engineered to maximize a plant's production. Packed with micronutrients, this is a high phosphorus fertilizer that won't leave a salty residue or buildup.Cha Ching^® creates juicy, robust fruit with essential oils & resins pumping out of leaves & stems for concentrated flavor & perfect texture. 

Growing Tip: Start with Open Sesame^® starting at about the fifth or sixth week of a plant's life. Once buds begin to set, begin feeding your plants Beastie Bloomz^® for two weeks. After flowers are fully formed, switch to Cha Ching^® and continue through harvest, feeding every other watering. For more information, check out the FoxFarm Hydroponic Feeding Schedule.

Lighting

Whether growing indoors or out, proper exposure to light is critical tot he success or failure of plants. Indoors, it may be necessary to suppliment natural light for optimal performance, particularly in the low- light months of winter. We offer several energy efficient solutions including T5 lighting, and can special order professional HP lighting systems on request.

Single T5 24" Fixture with 24w Bulb, 6400K

This ecenomic model is ideal for seedling, orchids, aquariums, under cabinets, and more! Including electronic ballast, mounting hardware & instructions, this is a rapid start, no noise alternative with low heat output. It comes with a 6' power cord, and "daisy chain" cable which allows connecting up to 8 units with only one outlet.

Consider using a T5 Reflector System for even more efficient light delivery to your plants!

Jump Start Grow Light System

Including a T5 light, reflector, and stand, this unit delivers up 15-20% more light lumens, promoting faster growth. The simple toggle clamp allows for quick & easy height adjustment as your plants grow. With this unit, you can easily provide the optimum light for your plants at every stage of growth! This unit is available as a 2' or 4' system.

 T5 High Performance 2' Reflector System

This kit includes uniquely designed hardware that allows you ro link multiple reflectors together, allowing you to easily create a light configuration tailored to suit your specific growing area! The super high reflective finish delivers more light energy to your plants & increases the efficiency of any T5 grow light. Includes T5 strip, 24w - 6400K tube, reflector & special "linking" hardware.

Professional Grade High Performance Lighting

As professional growers, our vast resources allow us to offer high performance lighting systems including high pressure sodium & metal halide fixtures & bulbs at special prices. These items are special order only - See us for details. 

7 Day Dual Outlet Digital Timer 

Using a timer to automate your lighting adds convenience and encourages productive growth with consistent hours of light. Timers are essential for all hydroponic system applications. Features 1 minute on/off, up to 8 on/offs per day, different days with differnet cycles, controls 2 outlets simultaneously, 15 amps.

Temperature Control & Heat Mats

Providing the proper temperature range for your plants is crucial for best success. This is particularly imortant for good germination of seeds, proper development of seedlings and young plants just beginning their lives, and for plants being grown outside their normal temperate preference. Fortunately, their are toos and methods for accomplishing temperature control in the home environment.

Windowsill Heat Mat - 7.3v

The perfect size for a windowsill, this mat provides provessional results in limited space areas that ten to run coolerr, like by windows. Enjoy better germination & rooting by providing bottim heat like the professionals do! Engineered for reliability, performance, and durability, they are waterproof, UL listed, and provide a boost to the root zone of 10 - 20 degrees over the ambient temperature.

Consider adding a Digital Temperature Controller for optimum results!

Seedling Heat Mat 9" x 19.5"

Enjoy better germination & rooting by providing bottim heat like the professionals do! Engineered for reliability, performance, and durability, they are waterproof, UL listed, and provide a boost to the root zone of 10 - 20 degrees over the ambient temperature. This mat is sized to fit a standard flat.

Consider adding a Digital Temperature Controller for optimum results!  

Seedling Heat Mat 20" x 20" - 45w

This dual sized unit provides uniform heat for two standar growing flats. Enjoy better germination & rooting by providing bottim heat like the professionals do! Engineered for reliability, performance, and durability, they are waterproof, UL listed, and provide a boost to the root zone of 10 - 20 degrees over the ambient temperature.

Consider adding a Digital Temperature Controller for optimum results!

Digital Temperature Controller for Heat Mats

Optimize your growing conditions by controlling a constant optimum temperature. Compatible with all heat mats, this controller allows you to maintain temperature anywhere form 68 to 108 degrees, with an otional celcius readout. This is a digital unit for ease of use and reliability.

Click Here for instructions on using this controller.

Hydroponic Growing Media

(Coming Soon!)

Hydroponic Tools & Accessories  

(Coming Soon!)

Hydroponic Guides & Instructions

Hydroponic Glossary 

ORGANIC GARDENING

Organic Soils & Amendments

FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil

New to our line in 2010, this is the ultimate potting mix. Containing composted forest humus, sandy loam, and peat moss, Ocean Forest is a light, well aerated soil which retains moisture optimally. Including a powerful blend of premium earthworm castings, bat guano, and fish & crab meal, this is everything your plants need in one bag. This premium mix is 100% natural & organic - perfectly suited for organic gardening! 

Happy Frog Potting Soil

Potted plants can't seek out nutrients in the ground. Happy Frog Potting Soil is alive with microbes that help to break down nutrients and feed the plant roots. Made with only premium quality natural & organic ingredients, it is ideal for safe & successful container plants, indoors or out! 

Master Nursery Bumper Crop

This premium soil amendment is the number one choice with organic gardeners for good reason! A blend of sphagnum peat moss, composted hen manure, composted shellfish, and aged bark, it is pH adjusted for ultimate results. This is an all purpose organic soil builder and top dressing specially formulated for superior results in growing vegetables, flowers and roses. It helps to aerate compacted or heavy soils, improves moisture retention, anf provides a healthy, organic-rich envoironment in which beneficial soil microbes can flourish!  

Organic Plant Food

FoxFarm Big Bloom Liquid Plant Food (0.01 - 0.3 - 0.7)

This natural & organic blossom builder is a live culture of vitimins, amino acids, natural growth hormones, enzymes, and beneficial organic microbes. This special micro-brewed formula incorporates earthworm castings, bat guano, and other high-test organic ingredients. Norwegian kelp improves nutrient uptake and increases yields. Rock phosphate helps transer energy from one part of the plant to another, which means bigger buds & more fragrant flowers!

Big Bloom is ideal for all flowering & fruiting plants, and is mild enough to use every time you water. With it, you'll enjoy healthier, more vigorous flowers, and dramatically improved fruit and vegetable flavors! Big bloom will also intensify flower fragrance, and will incease essential oil production, which means stronger flavors in herbs, fruits & vegetables. Use Big Bloom to extend fruiting & flowering later into the season. And, when a plant is struggling, a root drench with Big Bloom will help bring it back to life.

Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer (2 - 3 - 1)

This superior organic blend of premium seaweed and fish hydrolysate ensures complete feeding. Fish & seaweed are scientifically proven to build up natural sugars in okants, making for stronger foliage, more fragrant flowers, and tastier produce witha longer shelf life. Unlike other fish & seaweed fertilizers, it is cold hydrolized (precessed without heat), leaving beneficial protiens & enzymes intact. Used regularly, natural fish oils are also known to inhibit disease by creating a protective coating on plant tissues which prevent microscopic disease spores from attaching to a plant. This product is OMRI listed.

Organic Insect & Disease Prevention

Whether gardening organically or not, prevention is always the best cure. Following these tips will give you the best chance to prevent insect & disease issues, or at least minimize them before infestations can set it. It is a proven fact that happy, healthy, well-fed plants are far less likely candidates for attacks from insects & diseases!

1) SITE SELECTION - Light

Always make sure you understand your plants needs before you plant! Selecting the right location for your plant, and providing the right amount of sunlight is crucial for any plant to prosper. Too much or too little light can cause a plant to struggle creating stress for both you and your plant. As in humans, stress triggers a chemical change within the plant and comprimises the immune system. Stress in plants can be easily detected by many insects, and its presence advertises an easy and open target. Plants with weakened immune systems are also less likey to fend off diseases and thwart their development into more serious issues.

2) SITE PREPARATION - Soil

Whether gardening ourdoors or inside,  in the ground or in containers, everything begins from the ground up! Providing not only physical support for the plant, it plays an integral role in supplying accessible nutrients, as well as the plants ability to process them. It is also the plant's support sytem for providing moisture and aeration for the roots. Dense or compacted soils  do not drain well, interfering with a plant's access to life-giving oxygen, weakening the plant from the ground up. This scenario can also provide a breading ground for soil-born diseases. Providing the proper balance between water retention & drainage, and good organic content (such as compost) is crucial for healthy plants! Additionally, ensuring the presence of both endo and ecto-micorrhizae will promote stong root development and maximize nutrient uptake and processing. Scientific studies have indicated that plants grown in the presence of micorrhizae are far less likely to attacks from insects, and their presence give a strong boost to the plant's ability to fend of disease, naturally. Depending on the type of plant(s) you are growing, soil pH should also be given consideration. Improperly balanced pH can directly affect a plants ability to use avaialble nutrients. 

When planting in the gorund, we recommend that a minimum of 50% of your ammended soil mixute should be comprised of your native soil. This is imparative, particualrly for woody plants whose roots will enventially reach the surrounding (unamended) area. We have strong recommendations for organic soils & ammendments for both in the gound, and in containers.

3 PLANTING

Proper planting ensure a good start & a healthy environment in which your plants can naturally prosper.Once a suitable site is selected, be sure to amend your soil to a depth comparable to your plants root mass, when mature. With the exception of Tomatoes & grafted Roses (which should be planted deeper in SE Michigan), plants should never be planted deeper than they were in the cointainer they came in! In fact, when planting outdoors, particularly in clay-based soils, it is a good idea to slightly elevate plants to ensure good drainage, and allow for some settling over time. Soil or mulch should not be allowed to build up around the collar of the plant, as this will interfere with a plant's ability to breathe.

For larger plants, and plants with woody stems, we recommend preparing an area a minimum of twice the width, and one and a half times the depth of the rootball. Fill your hole with enough ammended soil to bring the plant collar up to (or slightly above) the surrounding soil level, then positioning the plant in place. Add enough ammended soil to cover half of the root ball, then water thoroughly before filling the rest of the hole, and watering again. Using this method will compress out air pockets naturally, and will avoid the artificial soil compaction of hand tamping. It is during this precess you can make the best advantage of using organic root stimulators to promote strong, quickly establishing root systems. Trees should be properly staked for the first year in the ground, until roots are developed enough to take hold on their own. The use of a good quality organic mulch is recommended.

4) MULCHING & GROUNDCOVERS

The proper use of organic mulch or groundcovers can have many benefits. It will help conserve water, reduce weed growth, and moderates soil temperatures, providing for a consistantly healthy environment for your plants. Additionally, as mulch breaks down, it will add nutrient rich, active organic content to your soil. While mulch is a good thing, too much of a good thing can be bad! Never mound, or allow mulch to build up around the collar of a plant, as this will interfere with a plants ability to breathe. Mulch that is too deep can interfere with soil aeration, inhibiting oxygen flow to the roots, and can create an unhealthy, artificially moist environment.

Living groundcovers can provide a natural, organic, living mulch. While not ideal for annuals or vegetables, it can be a great choice for landscape beds & even containers!

5) WATER & IRRIGATION

The most common failure of plants is due to improper watering. Improperly watered plants become stressed and likely targets for insect attacks & disease due to compromised immune systems, and inability to properly process nutrients & sunlight. Different plants have different water needs, and most aspects in a plants environment are constantly changing. Things like rainfall, length of daylight hours, air circulation & wind, and even humidity and air pressure can effect how moisture moves through the plant and the soil. For these reasons, we always recommend hand watering over programmed or timed watering, or watering based on a calendar, as it inevitably leads to an excess or deficit in soil moisture at some point. Always check the soil first! (Soil moisture meters are available, but I use my finger, and find it to be quite reliable!) Consider also the depth of the roots of your plant, making sure that when you water, the entire root mass has the opportunity to access moisture. This is relatively easy when growing in containers, but in the ground, again, it is more important to know your particualr plant. Most annuals will root to a depth of 8 - 10 inches, so they should be watered to that depth. Lawn roots are more shallow and will need less water, while roses, shrubs & trees have roots that will reach much deeper into the soil, and will need to be watered more deeply.

Household tap water is perfectly suitable for most plants, but should always be avoided for watering chlorine or fluoride sensative plants (such as Venus Fly Traps, Sundews, and Orchids. For these, we recommend using spring or distilled water.) The capturing of rainwater through the use of cisterns or rain barrels is a great, more earth-friendly alternative to using tap water, as is using pond water which is naturally rich in beneficial microbes.

6) FEEDING

Proper feeding goes a long way in not only kepping plants healthy, but inhibiting insect & disease attacks. Plants use 15 nutrients for all stages of growth, so it is important to select an organic food which includes not only NPK (Nitrogen - Phosphorus - Potash), but the full range of secondary and trace nutrients, as well. These minor elements are critical to a healthy immune system, in addition to aiding a plant's vigor, disease resistance, production, and drought tolerance. Equally of benefit, foods including beneficial micorrhizae will be far more likely to thrive, and need less attention in other areas. Some plants do have specific nutrient needs, so when possible, it is always best to select a food that is design to meet your plant's specific needs (as opposed to using the "one size fits all" all-purpose approach to feeding). Always read and follow the directions on the package. By using too little, or using it too infrequently, the results can be almost as catastrophic as using too much, too often. Under-fed plants, or those lacking specifically needed nutrients will be weak, with poor production, and may present a "failure to thrive". Over-fed plants can burn (yes, even with organic foods), and can be equally stressed as under-fed plants. In both cases, the result can be plants which are prime & easy targets for insect & disease. We offer a full range of organic plant foods, so you can be sure to have the right food for the right plant!

7) MONITORING & MAINTENANCE

It may seem like "survival of the fitest" is a perfectly organic approach. However, we should remember that by the contrivance of gardening itself, we are attempting to emulate the natural environment in a contrived or contained space. Your plants will benefit from your careful observation through all phases of their development. Noticing subtle changes in your plant's appearance can give early clues that something may be going amiss. Pale or mis-colored foliage may suggest issues with light, water or feeding. Spotting, stippling, or mis-shapen foliage can indicate rising issues relating to insects, disease. Just as it is easier to prevent a problem than to cure it, if a problem does arise, it is easier to control it in early stages, before the problem really takes hold. Today, there are plenty of good alternatives for organic insect control & organic disease contol.