Hard Liquor for Indoor Plants
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Posted: Aug/17/2006 3:26 AM PST
Don't know how many of you had heard this already. Sounds crazy, but I found an article on Yahoo! News where a professor actually found that using a little bit of hard liquor on indoor plants actually makes more blooms, or more colorful blooms. Something like that. I think the alcohol stunts the growth of the stem a bit, and it focuses more on the blooms the stem. I can probably post the article here if you all are interested. |
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Posted: Aug/17/2006 2:56 PM PST
I use a small amount of beer on my epiphyllum cactus ( orchid cactus ) it helps new growth but then if you use super thrive in your water it will do the same thing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Garden Bear [URL="http://www.littlebossbear.com"]http://www.li ttlebossbear.com[/URL] |
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Posted: Aug/17/2006 3:39 PM PST
But beer's a lot cheaper and goes better with pizza! I bought Superthrive this year but haven't noticed anything spectacular as a result. What results do you get, Garden Bear? |
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Posted: Aug/17/2006 4:13 PM PST
Never heard of superthrive. Glad to hear on personal accounts the theory works though. |
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Posted: Aug/17/2006 4:15 PM PST
I have heard of using booze, many times before. I do use superthrive and have for about 10 yrs. I do see a difference especally in a plant that is having trouble or plants that had to deal with a drought situation. I do make up a mix from Jerry Baker for my lawn that has beer in it and it works nicely. A gal in my garden club uses Vodka in with her miracle grow, she uses that for her irises and daylils(she is a daylil breeder-maybe she knows something) Also a orchid grower uses birth control pills to bring on bigger blooms for plant competitions--I know crazy. ANd last,, I met a woman 7 yrs ago,, she was at the age of 85 and a world known Rosarian. I was at her garden on a garden tour--her garden was breath taking!! Later I went back to talk to her, she gave me some of her secrets...roses get banana peels, coffee grounds and RED WINE,,,during blooming time. I started treating my roses this way,, and I have them living all organic--YES,,,no rose chemicals. I still spray them every 6 weeks with neem, but that is it!! SOOOOOOO ok maybe booze is good for the garden!! Last of all a -->>>TIP--I use myself!! I add 1 shot of gin to my vased flowers. It seems to PICKLE the blossoms, so the arrangement lasts longer. I do use this method when I do a large display at the Phila Flower Show--shhhh don't tell them I let this out! |
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Posted: Aug/17/2006 9:45 PM PST
lol You mentioned coffee grounds and it reminded me that Starbucks allows you to pick up their old coffee grounds for fertilizer for free. |
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Posted: Aug/18/2006 1:42 PM PST
Ted, Just remember *Everything in Moderation** toooo much coffee grounds will change the PH of the soil. I'd say 2 tablespoons of grounds per plant--per 2 week period. |
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Posted: Aug/18/2006 2:18 PM PST
I'm a Super Thrive Queen. I use it when I place new plants in my garden beds. I use it on any plant that looks like its struggling and when I run out of fertilizer I will use Thrive instead. That happens maybe once a year but its a different boost for the plants. All the plants are very happy. I add coffee grounds to my compost bin and sometimes if I have left over coffee I dilute it with water and water my germanium's. Makes them bloom more I've noticed. But I think I'm a better gardener when I can sip a glass of wine at night enjoying the fruits of my labor with a walk around the yard. )had to get the alcohol in somehow! HAHA!) |
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Posted: Aug/18/2006 2:23 PM PST
Quote: What is SuperthriveOriginally posted by sweetlebee But beer's a lot cheaper and goes better with pizza! I bought Superthrive this year but haven't noticed anything spectacular as a result. What results do you get, Garden Bear?   Kale:banana-wa |
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Posted: Aug/18/2006 3:26 PM PST
It's a vitamin and hormone supplement that comes in a little bottle and actually smells like the liquid vitamins we had as a kid (well, my generation, that is!). It's available at Lowes and Home Depot. I used that and MiracleGro on my impatiens in the ground expecting nice lush growth but they never did much. I don't have enough experience with container plants to say whether it made a difference there. I think I'll try foliar feeding on my container plants next year and save the Superthrive for new and struggling plants like Pacific does. |
