How to Recognize Houseplant Stress

How to Care for House Plants

Steps for Indoor Plant Care to Reduce Houseplant Stress

I should have been more aware of the houseplants I brought in for the winter.  I wasn't  So imagine my dismay when I finally looked at the few houseplants I have, and recognized the signs of improper care.

Spider Mite Webs

Yellowing Leaves of  Pothos

This is a Golden Pothos.  One of the easiest,  most carefree houseplants there is.  Suddenly, (Or maybe not so suddenly) the leaves had turned yellow.  And the spider webs were entangled within.

I had the plant hanging from a hook in a west facing window for its winter home.  So I was pretty sure the light was not the problem.  Pothos can tolerate low light even from a north facing window.  I had watered this guy in the days previous, so I didn't think it was suffering from thirst.  Pothos can go for long periods of dryness. Watering every 3 – 4 weeks will not harm it.

In fact so many houseplants suffer and die from the over-watering by well-meaning caretakers.  Wet feet – water standing in the container – can cause molds, and harbor diseases.  If the soil is soggy water fills the soil pores and pushes out oxygen the roots need. The soil should have a chance to drain, and dry out between watering. A moisture meter can determine when your houseplant needs watering for proper care.

Gold Pothos

Safer Insecticidal Soap

Water Spray to Wash Plant Leaves

The Safer Insecticidal Soap was the second step to treating the spider mites that had infested my Pothos with the webs.  The first step was a spray in the sink with a warm blast of water on all the leaf surfaces.  This water shower can wash away some of the pests, and also gives the leaves a bath. By removing dust and dirt from the leaves, the plant can breath and better use the Carbon Dioxide it takes in, and transforms this CO2 to clean oxygen. Take the time to care for your indoor plant.  Plant leaves need to be cleaned periodically throughout the season.

Insecticidal Soap Spray for Spider mites

I then sprayed the entire plant, tops and bottoms of leaves, stems, and I even hit the soil with the Insecticidal Soap.  This step may need to be repeated in a few days if I see any new webs forming. 

The next step in my attempts to save this sickly plant, was to check a resource I frequently refer to – Jerry Baker’s Great Green Book of Garden Secrets.  Not only can I  look up the symptoms of a plant problem, but this book gives me safe, easy, inexpensive remedies to care for my ailing houseplant.

A note in Jerry Baker’s book caught my eye. Water softener water should NOT be used on plants.  This water is salty and salts can build up around plant roots causing major problems.

Water Softener Valve

I make a habit of turning the water softener on by-pass when I’m out in the yard, but I must admit, watering indoor plants just didn't get the same care.  I encourage you to use filtered water and avoid fluoridated water as well.  Fluoride can cause tips to turn yellow, and other chemicals in the city water can form a crust on the soil.

So I've devised a method to treat my houseplants better, and reduce their stress.

Charcoal Filter

Water Filter in Refrigerator

I’ve got a charcoal filter insert for the coffee and tea maker so I use the water from the tea compartment for a good source of filtered water.  The fridge also has a filter.  Both of these options filter water but the tea water is hot, and the fridge water is too cold.  Let the water sit till it is room temperature before watering your house plants.
The yellow leaves were still a concern.  I had the right lighting, and the water source was room temperature and filtered.  So I continues to research Jerry Baker's book and found that ‘if the mature leaves were turning yellow, the plant is starving.’
This pothos was outside all summer.  And besides the rain or rain barrel watering, this guy was on his own.  Duh – months of growing with no food.  Months of flushing nutrients through the potting mix with no nutrition.  I am so embarrassed!

Liquid fertilizer mixture

Compost tea

Water Soluble Fertilizer

Feeding houseplants with fish fertilizer is my first choice.  The water soluble organic fertilizer is great for a quick uptake by plants. A compost tea would also have been a good option.   But, I had used up my supply and so I resorted to another source for this emergency. 

Brown Spot on Leaf

The brown, dead spots on leaves indicated a Magnesium deficiency; so out to the shed for the Epsom Salts.  A tablespoon of Epsom Salts per gallon of water should remedy this problem too.

Epsom Salts for Added Magnesium

 

Watering houseplants with a weak solutions made from a used tea bag and a few drops of dish liquid will give nutrients to maintain a healthy plant.  The tea is slightly acidic which plants like, and the soap makes the water wetter, so it disperses through the soil and to the roots of the plant.
 
Jerry Baker has an All Purpose Houseplant Tonic in his book, Great Green Book of Garden Secrets that I am sure will carry the plant through the winter months with less stress.  
2 tbsp. of whiskey
1 tbsp. of hydrogen peroxide
1 tbsp. of Fish Fertilizer
1/4 tsp. of instant tea granules
1/2 tsp. of unflavored gelatin
1/2 tsp. of liquid dish soap
1/2 tsp. of ammonia
1/2 tsp. of corn syrup
1 gal of warm water. 
Mix all of the ingredients, and use this instead of plain water on your houseplants.

The ammonia is a source for Nitrogen, and the corn syrup adds carbohydrates for the plant’s food source. 

Golden Pothos

Houseplant stress can be reduced by smart watering practices, and adequate light.  Room temperatures between 65 degrees and 72 degrees is optimal to reduce houseplant stress.
 
I love to have plants indoors over the winter.  Finding plants that are easy to care for and also aid in indoor air quality will be addressed in the next few posts.  Houseplants in the office can also have benefits we will discuss.

Thanks for your visit today.  What houseplants do you have?  What problems do you encounter in their care?  Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

Organic Fertilizers–Part 6–Other Sources

Other Good Organic Fertilizers 

We have looked at the sources of organic fertilizers from Plants, Animals, and Sea Sources.  The alfalfa, corn, cotton and soybean plants offer good safe nutrients to the soil.  The food chain is not impacted by these products since the debris of the stems, stalks, and hulls is used for this organic material.

Manures, blood meal, and bone meal create excellent sources of nutrients. Here again, the materials used here are either remnants of the slaughtering process, or the waste from the animals themselves.
 
The ocean offers kelp, and fish to add to this list of organic fertilizers. Kelp is harvested in such a way that it regrows with a few weeks making this a highly sustainable resource of organic fertilizer.  And the fish industry removes the food portion of the fish, and the scraps are ground and processed into the fish fertilizer we use. 

A few other sources I’d like to bring attention to are great in nutrient values and I'd like to mention them here. 

Comfrey blossoms

Comfrey – Is a  fast growing plant with large leaves and deep roots.  These roots are able to collect nutrients from the soil and make this plant a good source of nutrients.  Livestock feed on comfrey, and the leaves can be used to make liquid fertilizer.  By soaking these leaves for 4-5 weeks, a nutritious and smelly ‘tea’  is created.  This liquid fertilizer can be used around the garden once it is diluted 15:1.
The comfrey leaves can also be used as a compost activator. They quickly breaking down to a thick black liquid. The comfrey roots are high in potassium, and the leaves are high in nitrogen.

Bonfire Ash

Bonfire Ash – is the remains of wood.  It is alkaline (pH higher than 7) and has lots of minerals like potassium and calcium.  Fireplace ash can be spread around the garden, and tilled into the soil. 

Nettles

 Nettles – are Prickly. Using gloves to harvest these leaves is essential.  Once the fresh, young stems are gathered, crush them and soak in a covered container for 3-4 weeks.  Nettle ‘tea’ should be diluted one part tea to 10 parts water.  Use a a foliar spray or douse soil around the garden.  The nettles are a good source of nitrogen.  Since this is a weed, it can be cut twice a season for an endless source of nutrient.  Studies have show that even manure of cattle who have a diet of nettles is more nutritious.

Buckwheat as cover crop - OSU

Cover crops, or Green Manures – This practice of covering the garden with a crop works if you have a nice sized vegetable garden.  The sowing of rye grass or clover in the fall is going to add nutrients to the soil when, in spring, this material is tilled into the garden to decompose.Some plants in the legume family increase nitrogen in the soil as well.  Cover crops can reduce weeds by shading the weed seed from germinating. The nutrients this ‘crop’ returns to the soil when tilled in is benefitting the micro-organisms as organic matter that is decomposing.


This return of nutrients to the soil from these sources is often overlooked, but hopefully, we can try some of these in our own space.


Have you used nettles or comfrey?  Wood ashes?  Do you plant a cover crop?  What plant have you found to be beneficial?  Let us know.  Thanks.

Organic Fertilizers–Part 5–Sea Sources

Ocean Plants and Fish Offer Great Fertilizers

From Kelp, we get one of the most nutritious organic fertilizers.  This algae is not the seaweed that washes up on the beach, but a highly sustainable plant that is harvested from the ocean floor.  The kelp regrow within ten days of harvest, giving a fresh harvest that is quite renewable.  
Kelp contains 79 minerals, or micronutrients. The is almost every mineral and trace mineral found in nature. Carbohydrates are available to feed microorganisms in soil when applied as an organic fertilizer.

 

Kelp is the most common type of seaweed. It is processed in three different methods.  One is a Kelp Powder.  The fine ground kelp is small enough to be mixed into a solution.  Applied as a foliar spray, kelp powder solution nutrients that can be taken in by the foliage of plants.



Kelp meal is another version of this organic fertilizer source.  Kelp meal is a good source of potassium , with some nitrogen.  Kelp meal is primarily used as a soil conditioner. 



Kelp meal, or seaweed meal, is dried and milled into a powder as shown here. Liquid kelp is yet another form of this product.  Liquid kelp is usually cold processed and has high amounts of growth hormones.  These hormones are readily available to plants.  Liquid kelp can be mixed into water for application. 



Seaweed is divided into three types – green, brown, or red.


Seaweeds, particularly the green and brown seaweeds, are processed into extracts which are accepted in the horticultural industry to improve plant yields, plant growth, plant health, and the plants have better resistance to insects and diseases. Seaweed extracts are full of macro- and micronutrients.  High in amino acids, and plant growth regulators, seaweed extracts offer a good source of nutrients to benefit plants.




Fish fertilizer is a by-product of the fishing industry.  Most fish that are processed into fertilizers are not fish by-products that come from the food industry, but fish that are specifically used for plants and animals. These are bottom fish that don't make the grade for human consumption.

Like the seaweed, fish fertilizers come in different formulas. Fish powder is ground up, and using heat, produces a water soluble product that is high in nitrogen.



Fish meals are ground up carcasses of fish.  The meal is high in nitrogen with an N-P-K of around 10-6-2. Nitrogen aids in the growth of plants, and the phosphorous benefits good root development.  Use fish meal early in the growing season for vegetables and flowers for a slow release benefits for months.

Using a process called hydrolyzing, which uses enzymes, manufacturers omit the use of heat and acids in making a product that is water soluble and high in nitrogen. This product called Liquid fish are less smelly than Fish emulsions. However, the cost is higher.

Fish emulsions are produced from the fluid remains of the fish. A liquid remains and results in a fish concentrate by evaporating this liquid by about half.  The evaporating portion of this process destroys some nutrients but at 5-2-2, fish emulsions are still known for the micronutrient availability.


Fish bone Meal is high in calcium                                                  

Alaska Fish Fertilizer is OMRI (C) listed

Ok – here is the conundrum I am facing: Do I close this article now, or do I tell you –as Paul Harvey used to say – the rest of the story?

Fish emulsions and fish meal are made mainly from fish that are not suitable for human consumption.  This ‘trash’ fish often contain toxins.  The Menhaden is a fish that spends time in heavily polluted waters and is a popular fish in production of emulsions.  Heavy metals can be found in these fish. Even some freshwater fish that are not allowed for human food, are used in some fish emulsion processes.


Bunker or Menhaden Fish
Fish Processing


Some fish fertilizer companies do use food grade waste products in addition to non-food fish. This may reduce the impact of the toxins that may be in non-food ingredients

When steam is used in the process, it can be problematic too, especially if the water comes from a municipality that chlorinates it’s water. Since the emulsion is ‘reduced’, the chlorine becomes more concentrated too. High chlorine amounts can harm plants.
 
If you can't tell from the product label, check on the MSDS, Material Safety Data Sheet for details.  The MSDS will be specific on ingredients and chemicals in the product.


I will be looking for liquid fish made from the enzymes.  This process retains more of the proteins, enzymes, vitamins, and micronutrients than emulsions.

Peaceful Valley Enzymatic Digested Liquid Fish

Seaweed, kelp, and fish can be excellent fertilizers.  The seaweed and kelp are highly renewable, and the fish by-products offer complete nutrition to plants if they are not loaded with heavy metals.
( I have no financial connection with any of the products I have featured here.)