Growing roses organically is more effective, less complicated, and safer for both you and the environment. It's also safer for your cat!
One year, my cat tried to sample my homemade rose fertilizer. I'm afraid she didn't enjoy it. Remembering the look on her face still makes me laugh! (Yes, cats do have looks on their faces.) She sat on the porch, trying to lick the stuff off her face for fifteen minutes afterwards.
Before I reveal my secret recipe, I want to mention a couple more things that I put on my roses. In the spring, when the roses start to leaf out, I push aside the wood-chip mulch and add a thin layer of compost or well-composted manure, mixed with a little bonemeal. Another option is to apply 1/4 cup organic granular fertilizer around the root zone. Mix it into the top 2 inches of soil using a hand-held cultivator. I read on the internet that alfalfa pellets also make a good fertilizer. The recommended dose is a handful, scattered around each rose. I'll have to try that next spring.
Now for the secret recipe. It's cheap, easy and fun!
2 tablespoons Mermaid's fish fertilizer (powdered fish)
1 teaspoon Maxicrop kelp extract (powdered seaweed)
1 tablespoon Epsom salts
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
3 cups water
Combine in a quart-size, liquid measuring cup. Stir with a wire whisk to remove the lumps. Pour into a 2-gallon watering can, and fill the can with water. It makes a good foliar feed, and you can pour the extra around the root zone. It should only be applied in the evening -- harsh afternoon sunlight might burn the leaves. Don't apply fertilizer to drought-stressed roses. They should be well-watered beforehand. You might want to water in the fertilizer applied around the root zone, although this mixture is so mild that it won't harm the roots at all. One batch feeds 2-4 roses, depending on their size.
Because organic fertilizers work more slowly and steadily than chemical fertilizers, you don't have to worry about exact timing and measurements. I usually apply 1/4 of the mixture (1/2 gallon) to each small rose in the garden, and twice as much to each large rose. I only use this recipe for summertime application. The fertilizer gives the roses a boost right before they bloom. I apply it again 6-8 weeks later to encourage repeat blooming. I don't apply fertilizer in the fall because the roses need to stop growing and prepare for cold weather.
So, what do each of these ingredients do? Powdered fish supplies the major nutrients needed for healthy growth -- nigtrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Kelp gives potassium, trace minerals and natural plant hormones, which increase disease resistance and flowering ability. Vinegar is added because we have alkaline soil, and the acid helps the roses to absorb trace minerals. Epsom salts supply magnesium, which is especially needed because of our alkaline soil. Molasses provides iron, trace minerals, and a dose of sugar, which the roses can use for a boost of energy right before flowering.
The neat thing about this recipe is that I can mix it up in my own kitchen. No toxins, no fears. And although my cat still comes around to take a sniff, she hasn't tried to taste it again!
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