Wow there are literally hundreds of post/discussions here about both fertilizing and mulching that the search bar at the bottom of the page will pull up for you to read through.

But rather than rehash all the info in them I'll just tell you what I do. Assuming these are in ground plants, and your soil has already been well amended prior to planting then fertilizing for the first time is just AFTER first fruit set. It can be done with your fertilizer of choice. I use granular 10-0-10 (or 10-10-10 if you have it) as a side dressing after first fruit set and again each 6 weeks thereafter. If you prefer use a liquid but liquids will leach out of the soil/root area faster than a granular will IMO.

Many use compost or foliar feeding or liquids every 2 weeks or even none if the soil is quite rich. It varies from garden to garden so you just have to experiment and see what works best for you in yours.

Mulching - organic mulches such as straw, old hay, leaf mold, compost, grass clippings, etc., are preferred (not wood chips) since they not only keep the soil cool, retain moisture, and supress weeds but also improve the soil as they decompose. I use hay and lots of it since I have ready access to it. Straw is even better is you can get it.

Mulching discussions See also the Soil & Mulch forum here.

Fertilizer discussions.

Dave

Dave,

I really appreciate your answer. I looked through a few pages of threads on mulching, for instance, but they all seemed very specific - i.e. "Should I use black plastic mulch?" or "Out of these three things, what should I use to mulch?" or "What's the cheapest thing I can use as mulch?" or others were for flower gardens, where it seems that some might have visual aesthetics as one of their top priorities...

This is a new garden, with raised beds, so the soil is not very rich. We built the beds and filled them with half topsoil and half compost mixed together. Then I mixed in the osmocote.

I guess I decided to start a new thread since I wanted just some basic advice on what would be the best option for veggies since I'm not too terribly constrained by anything and it's a mixed veggie garden (not ALL tomatoes, for instanced).

If I'm going to mulch with hay or straw, would my best option just be to go to a feed store? I live in Dallas, but there are several feed stores within driving distance...

I remember when I had guinea pigs, this one store offered to give me all the sweepings out of the hay trucks for free (the stuff that fell off the bales).

How thick do you put on the mulch, and how do you continue to fertilize after you mulch? Pull some up, add fertilizer, and lay the mulch back down (or re-mulch)?

Dave knows what he's talking about but since I live in DFW, I'll point out a few things. May is our wettest month but those rains usually come with nasty winds, tornadoes and hail so while it's definitely getting hot don't let your guard down. That rain will keep the soil cool and wet but by the end of May I would have your mulch in place. Once June rolls around you won't see rain again much until September and you want your mulch put on wet soil so it can hold it in.

Always scratch dry fertilizer into the soil or put something on top of it. Then you need to water it in. I wouldn't ever use any fertilizer that has numbers over 10 on anything other than lawn or corn(because corn is a grass).

Okra loves heat and grows so big that the soil will probably be in total shade. A bit of mulch is nice but if cash is tight use it on the other veggies.

Also if you have access to a bit of leaf mold, I'd add it to your beds. They are new and raised so they don't have all the microbes that are in older soil. A bit of leaf mold will bring in all kinds of good stuff.

Well that's my 2 cents worth. Good luck.

If I'm going to mulch with hay or straw, would my best option just be to go to a feed store? I live in Dallas, but there are several feed stores within driving distance...

I remember when I had guinea pigs, this one store offered to give me all the sweepings out of the hay trucks for free (the stuff that fell off the bales).

How thick do you put on the mulch, and how do you continue to fertilize after you mulch? Pull some up, add fertilizer, and lay the mulch back down (or re-mulch)?

Feed store might be your best option if a day trip to the country with a truck is out. Here the big round bales go for $30 and that is enough to mulch a huge garden with or smaller beds with for years. :)

How thick? Like shebear said, timing is everything. You want the ground to warm first but not get too warm. For that reason my 6-8" total goes on in 3 layers, 1 2-3" layer at a time so that it is all on by the end of June or early July. You may need yours on sooner in your locale.

For fertilizing you just rake a narrow slot of it back about 6" from the row or the plants, lay down the fertilizer, work it in to the soil, and rake the hay back into place on top of it.

X X X X X
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Or if you use drip irrigation (or soaker hose) like I do on some of the garden you can feed with fertigation through the water system.

I also agree with shebear that some added leaf mold if you can get it would be great and if you have lots of fall leaves available be sure to collect the compost them this fall for the beds next spring.

Dave

I put down a later of newspaper (several layers actually) under the straw/hay. It holds the weeds back through the main growing season and completely composts into the soil. It also keeps the soil moist. (Yes, somehow it lets the rain through.)

I get all I want for free from the many recycling stations around town.

As for fertilizing after the mulch is down, I've never had to. I use composted livestock manure in the fall and till it in, in early Spring.

Mulching is SOOOOOOO worth it.

Another option for straw/hay - I get mine as "waste hay" from a local farmer. It's simply what was left at the end of the winter. He cleans out his barn to make room for the summer's new hay. I got his number from a local feed store.

Good luck!