Just wanted to get some feedback from anyone who has ever used liquid organic fertilizer with the gritty mix or in containers in general.  What did you use and were you satisfied with the results.  Are you still using it?

I am going gritty when I pot up after dormancy this fall and am thinking of using Botanicare's Pure Blend Grow 1 0.5 1 for next year.  This is a 2:1:2 ratio which isn't that far off from Al's recommended 3:1:2  

I grow my vegetable garden organically(off of yard/kitchen compost) with excellent results and would like to be able to feed my containerized figs organically as well. Next spring I plan to sink 3-4 pots at least half way into the ground, I don't think they will be a problem to maintain organically with pure blend and compost around the pot. It's the pots on hard surface that will have to rely entirely on the somewhat hydroponic style of feeding that I wonder about.

The first half of this year I was using a liquid fish emulsion based fertilizer which I abandoned. I used some Grow More Citrus 20:10:15 (because I had some on hand) to perk up the trees and within a couple of days they responded very well to the 1/2 strength application. I have used this fertilizer a couple more times and am happy with the growth put on this year.

I will use Foliage Pro (or similar like the Grow More) if that is the only way to have happy productive trees, but I am in love with the 'choose organic whenever possible' life style. I'm just fishin for some hope here.

So, again what are your thoughts and experiences?

Calvin...

I grow in the gritty mix, but use the Foliage-Pro/Pro-TeKt cocktail, very diluted with each watering.  I gave up on the organics because of the damn stench when they start to decomp.  I had every Housefly in a 20 mile radius living near my fig trees.  The fish juice was the worse.

I like a lot of the fer'ts. that are  developed for use by the pot-growers.  That's where I buy all my supplies...from the local pot-growers supply stores.

I wish I had your option of sinking my containers into the surrounding soil.  personally, I think in-ground has many advantages over container culture, and is a more natural approach to gardening.  I containerized my figs because of my lousy climate, and because I must store my trees in my unheated garden shed.  So, containers give me the mobility that I need.  In another life I would live in the semi-tropics, so that I could grow without these worries....or, have a nice glasshouse.  Not happening, so... I do what I must do.

Hope to read som more comments on this thread.  Information is always good to share.

Frank

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the input. I agree about the fish, I still like it for my in-ground berries, but every blow fly in the neighborhood does comes over for a taste of the dead fish it can't find.
At least you can store your pots in your garden shed, I think my garden shed would be a death sentence. I'm going with the attached garage; the warm motor block from the wife's car keeps the garage from getting below freezing for the most part.

I'm kind of surprised, I thought more people would have something to share on this topic. Growing figs in containers seems to be quite a variation from the normal(at least it is in my neck of the woods, I don't know or have even heard of anybody trying this here) and that would seem to be the right group of people to go out on a limb and try the unconventional in plants and fertilizers. Heck, the gritty mix alone is unconventional.