What should I use to fertilize my garden?
snowflake asked:
I just got my garden tilled and now I’m anxious to get the plants in the ground. The problem is last year all my produce ended up being really small, so I think the soil is deficient in nutrients. Should I put fertilizer on the soil before putting in the plants? What kind? My garden is fairly big — around 400 sq. feet. — so it would be really hard if I had to pour fertilizer onto each plant from a watering can. I know compost or manure might be good, but it costs way too much at a greenhouse and I don’t know any farmers that could give it to me. Besides, I don’t have any way of hauling it. Is there something I could sprinkle on the ground beforehand, or something I can hook up to the hose and use after the plants are in?
I just got my garden tilled and now I’m anxious to get the plants in the ground. The problem is last year all my produce ended up being really small, so I think the soil is deficient in nutrients. Should I put fertilizer on the soil before putting in the plants? What kind? My garden is fairly big — around 400 sq. feet. — so it would be really hard if I had to pour fertilizer onto each plant from a watering can. I know compost or manure might be good, but it costs way too much at a greenhouse and I don’t know any farmers that could give it to me. Besides, I don’t have any way of hauling it. Is there something I could sprinkle on the ground beforehand, or something I can hook up to the hose and use after the plants are in?
Use a slow release fertilizer, such as Osmocote for veggies, and till it into the soil. Also, till in some dead leaves, dried grass, and a few bags of horse manure. Or you could buy a couple bags of compost and add a little to each hole as you plants the plants/seeds.
10 10 10 fertilizer covers the basic needs for gardens. Purchase it at a local garden store or hardware store.You can always use miracle grow every couple of weeks.
i use miracle grow all purpose plant food. you can get it in bulk at home depot or Lowe’s and it comes with an attachment for your hose. it was $15 for 8 treatment bags. hope that helps
Miracle Grow is just that. It works great.
If cost is the issue, buy bagged cow manure, about 1.50 per bag. Put a couple of inches into each planting hole; it will not burn the plant as it is ‘cooked’ manure. After planting, scratch appropriate amount of Osmocote into the soil. It is a slow release fertilizer – 4 months, so you don’t need to fertilize every month. After the growing season, accept all free leaves and grass clippings and pile it on your garden. It will nicely decompose over winter and help next years’ crop.
I would start a compost heap: It is a great fun way to fertilize your garden. When you can, buy a composter::*:%7Breferrer:source%3F%7D&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi You can take shredded paper, grass clippings, vegetable trimmings etc. and turn them into “black gold” for your garden!