Hi, I'm planning to grow some veggies on my balcony. I have two questions: 1.What would be the best fertilizer for vegitables, considering that I'm planning to consume them? I found Miracle Grow, but I'm not sure if I can eat veggies after using this fertilizer. 2. I'm planning to plant them in peat moss (CIL company) with additions of vermiculite and perlite. Can I actually plant veggies in the peat moss or I have to choose another type of soil? On the package of the peat moss no indications that it contained hormons or pestisides. The reason I chose peat moss and not soil is I have allergy to soil and all my house plants are in the mixture of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite. Thanks in advance.
There are special "peat-lite" formulations. I'd choose 20-10-20 (mostly soluble nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and 15-0-15 (which has soluble nitrogen, calcium and potassium). Use them alternately; if they're mixed, you'll witness precipitation of calcium phosphate. -Tony
Lara, You should look into a product called 'coir' (I used the brand 'Peat Eliminator': http://www.plantbest.com/peateliminator/default.htm). It's made from grated coconut husks and works just as well as peat but is pH neutral and is FAR FAR FAR better for the environment. It absorbs water faster, breaks up & aerates clay, and supposedly discourages fungal diseases too. The best part is that it doesn't promote the destruction of peat bogs which take thousands of years to form and only expand at a rate of 2mm per year!! The amount of peat extracted in one year takes another 220yrs to replace!! For more info on that horrible truth, check out http://www.coirtrade.com/environment.html or just google [GOOGLE]peat coir bogs[/GOOGLE]. Anyway, I used coir in my back yard last fall and it not only was it cheaper than peat (!!) but it was also really easy to apply - it comes in blocks that expand when you soak them in water (a 3.75kg bag yields 2.5 cubic yards of useable coir!). But that's enough of a promo from me. I strongly encourage you to look into coir as a cheap, easy & green alternative to peat. Good luck! :)
A couple of points about coir that should be made in the interests of balance. First of all, coir is an imported product from tropical countries... mostly from Thailand. With all the talk about being a "locovore" and the "hundred mile diet" etc... does it really make sense to eat local food that was grown in soil that was transported half-way around the world? Ummm.. better for the environment? Really? And second of all, peat moss extraction IN CANADA is a renewable resource activity. About 50 million tonnes of sphagnum peat accumulate in Canadian bogs every year, while only 800,000 tonnes of peat moss is harvested. Only 0.02 percent of Canadian peat bog acreage has been harvested for agricultural soil ammendments... much much more has bein drained for housing and industiral developments.
I am not big on "saving" peat bogs, therefore I use peat moss, as it is a great medium for growing most anything. I would add, that coir is not actually pH neutral. Coir traditionally has a pH between 5.5 and 6.8, just depending on the location it came from. - Millet