I think the message as it applies here is that we shouldn't be afraid of using synthetics in lawn care just because they contain chemicals. Just because something has an "ingredient" with a funny looking name that may be hard to pronounce doesn't mean that it's necessarily bad or wouldn't be produced naturally. For example, organic fertilizers can cause chemical run off just like synthetic fertilizers. Somewhat off topic, someone asked me what I was feeding my dog because her fur was so shiny and smooth. This person couldn't believe when I told her that I feed her bagged, dry dog food from the pet store. "All those chemicals and artificial ingredients! It's just not natural!" This person fed her dog a raw diet, and I guess she was assuming that plopping a round of filet mignon into the food bowl was somehow more natural than dog food. To me, that's just as unnatural. (Her dog was also suffering from conditions that may or may not have been related to diet, including terrible fur quality and weak bone issues...) Giving a dog a T-bone is as unnatural as dropping countless pounds of soy meal in a lawn to feed it., just as broadcasting Scotts Lawnfood is equally unnatural to feeding your dog dry kibble. There is nothing natural about a lawn (or farming or gardening, for that matter). There was an entire hoopla about this years ago, which is why the word "organic" is used where "natural" used to be. Lawns do not exist in nature without human intervention. Stop mowing, feeding and weeding the lawn for a single season and you will see my point. In nature, success would be a single seed out of thousands germinating and surviving log enough to produce more seed. In the man made lawn, success is typically 85-90% germination at a minimum, with the constant upkeep to ensure proper care for many years, and the prevention of any grass plants from producing seed. At any rate, I was going for a lighthearted post with that image and not something of serious analysis.

Hi Prairiemoon, Lets try to get back to your specific questions... Bone meal and blood meal. Blood meal is very high in N, and that's about it. N (Nitrogen) is one of the nutrients that plants rely on heavily. It is responsible for green leafy growth upwards. In nature, plants get N through the breakdown of organic matter in the soil, through a process called mineralization. Blood meal is, in a broad sense, "organic matter" because made from the carcasses and remains of animals from meat rendering plants. However, it is not allowed under strict organic certification programs (for example, by farmers whose produce is certified organic). I won't go into the detailed reasoning, but if you oppose agri-business, you might want to think twice about using a lot of blood meal. Bone meal is also made at meat rendering plants. Animal bones are dried, steamed, ground, and pelletized. Bone meal adds a big hit of P (Phosphorus) and not much else. P is responsible for root and bloom development in plants. Bone meal is also not allowed under most organic certification programs. My comments here are very condensed and simplified-- all this information is available in more detail on the web through the miracle of Google. Kimmsr's comment about container "soil" environments being artificial is key to your situation. Organic growing tends to require living, biologically active soil. I say "tends" because many people use organic fertilizers in container growing mediums, with good results. This is a topic that causes a lot of debate that we don't need to go into here. Anyway, should you use bone meal or blood meal in containers? Probably not. These materials require the presence of a diverse bunch of micro-organisms, as well as consisent oxygen and moisture (a "living" soil) to turn their organic N and P into the inorganic forms that plant roots can use. Your practice of mixing half the leftover potting mix with leaves and letting sit for the winter may be providing some life, but it will be high on the fungal side, and high on the carbon (dead leaves) that will hog any available N to help it decompose. Not a great environment for a microherd. IMO, what you need to do is to try a range of organic liquid feeds as a soil drench. This will help provide the missing nutrients in a form that is more likely to be made available to plant roots. Things to try: - compost tea - alfalfa emulsion/tea - liquid kelp - fish emulsion that is low-N / high-P - worm castings (on the "soil" surface, will be "watered in") - mixing compost with your potting "soil", up to about 1/4 by volume. - feeding more than 4x per year. Remember that potted plants are absolutely dependent on what you feed them, and your infrequent feeding has likely put them into a feast/famine cycle. Feed a very dilute soil drench every week. Or even every second or third watering. Very, very dilute. IMO, since you are not dealing with a living soil environment, and you're not eating the plants, you shouldn't worry too much about a strict organic regime. Before I get pounced on by other readers, let me say that the evils of chemical agriculture are rooted in the scale and side-effects of its destructiveness. The big problems: soil degradation; oil-dependency (in terms of both the manufacture and transportation of chemical ferts); monoculture and the consequent loss of locally-adapted varieties; and diminished plant health due to the thwarting of natural processes that feed plants. So I certainly don't advocate using Miracle Gro or any sort of bright-coloured powder made by the chemical giants. BUT, you may be able to find locally-made alternatives. There's a guy in my area who makes a product in his barn that I use for my indoor plants (along with the liquid kelp and compost tea). It's not quite organic, but it is not harming the planet either. With a little homework you might find something conscionable in your locale. Good luck with the lush blooms. I love 'em too.

StressBaby... I'm not so sure about tha causes of citrus leaf drop. I have 5 or 6 citrus, a couple of mandarin oranges, a couple of grapefruit and a couple of I-forget-what-i-planteds. The oranges tended to get infested with spidermites over the winter so a few years ago a decided to toss them in the garage for the winter as i just didn't want the mites spreading to other plants. My garage walls are insulated and i do have insulated doors, but there is no addotional heat. All heat is from the windows (I have 3 large south facing windows), what must leak out from the house (insulated 2x6 contruction) and whatever heat comes from the engines. I am in zone 5, massachusetts. I do occasionally get ice on the floor if the outside temps stay below zero for a few days. That first year, i did get the leaf drop you describe. I really thought i had lost them all. One lost about 90% of it's branches, the rest lost most of their leaves. But come Spring, they cam back to life and recovered fully. The following year, i decided to take better care of them since they deserved a bit of credit. I made sure i stuck to a weekly watering plan and that was enough to prevent almost ANY leaf drop. I did get a bit of freeze damage on one tree closet to the doors. This was closer to the springtime when they had started sending out new growth. SO i have now overwintered the in the unheated garage for 3 winters. Temps have been as low as -19F at night outside, and i hardly get the leaf drop. I am of the mind that it was completely due to my neglect that first winter and the lack of water. This winter i plan to put a themometer in the garage so i have an idea of what the temps actually are, but i am pretty much amazed they do so well. Poppa

Yor fig Need Thinning,and trimming in the Spring only. This year is unusual bad for figs here in New Jersey. So you can't get a conclusion about your fig looking of this year. One Other thing you can do,if you want ripe main crop: Brake off the breba,crop as soon as they appear. No fig will produce 2 full crops in New Jersey. The hot season is not enough long. Happy Gardening Happy Gardening