Plant food as was mentioned, is commercially prepared and designed to replenish nutrient depletion in soil. These are made in tablet and powder form and they are water soluble and can be fed to plants in liquid form.

Plant food gives gardener many improvements over using manure or manure mixes. Firstly, they have no odor, and take up minimal space. Secondly, the mixes are scientifically prepared and come with instructions on how and when they should be used.

As with soil, you may want to mix your own, however there is no use in attempting to mix something that will unfortunately never live up to the commercial products on the market.

Plants you buy are already in the pot, and should be OK without extra additives for around a month or so. If this fails to make the plant thrive, or if the plant shows signs of distress, it is more likely something is wrong with the plant or its environment, and not due to lack of nutrients.

If within a month, the plant continues to be in distress, then you may need to feed it. Remember, when using a plant food, to use the instructions carefully, they are developed after careful research and designed to improve the health of your plants.