I love fish emulsion and used the powdered kind made by Seagate. It is said to be slow-release, constantly fertilizing at low rates for 3-4 months. Therefore, I only use it once, in the spring. I do supplement with general purpose, water soluble fertilizer ever so often, but at a rate of 1/2 the recommended dilution. One big difference is that all my plants are outside from April till November, so they can utilize a lot more water and a lot more fertilizer than plants grown indoors. Since I grow approximately 1000 tropical plants, all potted or mounted, I am always watering/fertilizing something.