Fertilizer
Fertilizer is an important part of gardening that is often overlooked. Fertilizers are food for plants that gives them the nutrition they need for healthy growth and resistance to disease. Organic fertilizers enhance plant growth via both animal and vegetable sources.
Fertilizers come in granular form for tilling into the soil and liquid form for either direct application (fertigation) or foliar feeding. Fertilizers are rated numerically for N-P-K (nitrogen, potassium, phosphate):
- Animal fertilizers (feather meal, bone meal, blood meal, fish meal)
- Vegetable fertilizers (alfalfa meal, kelp meal)
Fertilizers come in granular form for tilling into the soil and liquid form for either direct application (fertigation) or foliar feeding. Fertilizers are rated numerically for N-P-K (nitrogen, potassium, phosphate):
- Nitrogen – for green leafy growth
- Potassium – for roots and flowers
- Phosphate – for stem thickness
Granular Fertilizer
Granular fertilizers should be applied when seeding, planting starts, and every few weeks during growing, depending on your crop and form of fertilizer.
When planting seeds, dig a groove in the soil and mix in the fertilizer. Cover it with enough soil to leave the grove your desired planting depth. Then place your seeds on top and cover them with the remaining soil.
When planting starts, dig a hole where the start will go and mix in the fertilizer. Cover it with enough soil to leave the hole the right depth for your start. Then place your start on top and fill the hole in around it with the remaining soil.
When applying granular fertilizer during growing, it can simply be sprinkled into the soil around the plants and worked in with a hoe being careful not to disturb the roots.
Groganics 9-3-4, Groganics 6-6-6, and Down to Earth 4-6-2 are all good organic all-purpose fertilizers.
Granular fertilizers should be applied when seeding, planting starts, and every few weeks during growing, depending on your crop and form of fertilizer.
When planting seeds, dig a groove in the soil and mix in the fertilizer. Cover it with enough soil to leave the grove your desired planting depth. Then place your seeds on top and cover them with the remaining soil.
When planting starts, dig a hole where the start will go and mix in the fertilizer. Cover it with enough soil to leave the hole the right depth for your start. Then place your start on top and fill the hole in around it with the remaining soil.
When applying granular fertilizer during growing, it can simply be sprinkled into the soil around the plants and worked in with a hoe being careful not to disturb the roots.
Groganics 9-3-4, Groganics 6-6-6, and Down to Earth 4-6-2 are all good organic all-purpose fertilizers.
Liquid Fertilizers
Liquid fertilizers are applied during growing through a fertigation system or through foliar feeding.
Fertigation is the application of fertilizers, soil amendments, and other water-soluble products through an irrigation system. Due to the nature of application, fertigation is more common at farms that it is at gardens.
Foliar feeding is a technique of feeding plants by applying liquid fertilizer directly to their leaves. Foliar feed helps to reduce transplant shock and is an excellent fertilizer to spray on starts each week until they are ready to plant. Foliar feed can also be applied to mature plants during growing.
For a good foliar feed, mix 1 oz per gallon of water of:
Fertigation is the application of fertilizers, soil amendments, and other water-soluble products through an irrigation system. Due to the nature of application, fertigation is more common at farms that it is at gardens.
Foliar feeding is a technique of feeding plants by applying liquid fertilizer directly to their leaves. Foliar feed helps to reduce transplant shock and is an excellent fertilizer to spray on starts each week until they are ready to plant. Foliar feed can also be applied to mature plants during growing.
For a good foliar feed, mix 1 oz per gallon of water of:
- Liquid kelp meal (makes cell wall thicker and reduces mildew)
- Liquid fish emulsion - promotes growth.
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