desertgirl
Garden Ornament
I found a nice organic fetilizer for my square foot garden veggies. It is 8-1-1, and says to use it twice a week. Thoughts? This seems a little excessive....
Fertilizing
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desertgirl
Garden Ornament
Anyone?
vfem
Garden Addicted
That does seem excessive, but it also sounds like it doesn't offer much as far as nutrients right off the bat?!
I have 10-10-10 fertilizer I use right now... and I use it twice in a season that's it.
I have 10-10-10 fertilizer I use right now... and I use it twice in a season that's it.
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desertgirl
Garden Ornament
Hmmm,that's quite a difference. Yours is a raised garden or ground? Mind if I ask what kind you use (or is that bad etiquette to ask someone's secret...I'm kind of new to all of this)
)
vfem
Garden Addicted
LOL....secret... 
I goto Tractor Supply Company and buy a bag of their brand. I get a lot of $5 and $10 off coupons from them. So I just grab a big bag for the season.
I use this in my veggie garden, for my shrubs and trees (not my azealas, I use a higher acidic fertilizer from Planttone for them). I use it for all my raised beds or flowers as well.
If I was to give you my FAVORITE fertilizer I've ever used its planttone without the acidic addition (that one is only for things like azealas, pines and holly bushes). Its a good fertilizer, its all organic and comes as a 5-5-10 or a 3-5-5. I think for the square foot technique and just starting off really look into Planttone. Nurseries carry it, and Lowe's carries it. I did not see it at TSC, Walmart or Home Depot this year.
Which ever one of those would probably be best for what you are doing.
I goto Tractor Supply Company and buy a bag of their brand. I get a lot of $5 and $10 off coupons from them. So I just grab a big bag for the season.
I use this in my veggie garden, for my shrubs and trees (not my azealas, I use a higher acidic fertilizer from Planttone for them). I use it for all my raised beds or flowers as well.
If I was to give you my FAVORITE fertilizer I've ever used its planttone without the acidic addition (that one is only for things like azealas, pines and holly bushes). Its a good fertilizer, its all organic and comes as a 5-5-10 or a 3-5-5. I think for the square foot technique and just starting off really look into Planttone. Nurseries carry it, and Lowe's carries it. I did not see it at TSC, Walmart or Home Depot this year.
Which ever one of those would probably be best for what you are doing.
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desertgirl
Garden Ornament
You are the best! Thank you for all of the great advice (here and on other posts!).
Much appreciated!
).Much appreciated!
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
It's not the nutrient content of the fertilizer that matters (although note that yours is a VERY nitrogen-biased one...); it's the CONCENTRATION. The actual number of nitrogen (etc) atoms you are putting on. (edited to clarify: if you are putting it on STRAIGHT, 8-1-1 has about the same N immediately available as 10-10-10, but the bottle may be wanting you to dilute the bejeebers out of it, which changes the situation)
For a very weak fertilizer, twice a week is perfectly reasonable.
For a fairly concentrated and/or time-release type fertilizer, twice a year is perfectly reasonable.
You could do some math, and see what it amounts to.
(Frankly, I am much more of a believer in building soil quality than in fertilizers as such, organic or not, although certainly they do have their place)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
For a very weak fertilizer, twice a week is perfectly reasonable.
For a fairly concentrated and/or time-release type fertilizer, twice a year is perfectly reasonable.
You could do some math, and see what it amounts to.
(Frankly, I am much more of a believer in building soil quality than in fertilizers as such, organic or not, although certainly they do have their place)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Rusty
Chillin' In The Garden
I like a manure tea. Locally the bran comes in a plastic "burlap" bag (very loose weave with lots of good circulation), so when it is empty, I fill it with fresh horse manure and let the whole sack soak in a big bucket of water for about 24 hours. Then I remove the sack and use the resulting "tea" on anything that needs fertilizing. Plants seem to love it. What I love is the price!
Rusty
Rusty
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desertgirl
Garden Ornament
The fertilizer I am using is 8-1-1, mixing 1 tbsp in a gallon This would make it a weak fertillizer (and therefor ok to use twice a week)? Also, my garden is a square foot garden, ad the soil I've started with is a mixture of supersoil,peat and mushroom compost (with red wigglers)I am also composting and vermicoposting. How does one build soil quality?
