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mngardenman

Applying fertilizer?

14 years ago

This question is after the fact but I am just wondering if I made a mistake or not? I planted my corn, watermelon and pea seed in the garden this weekend and then applied the recommended rate of Miracle-Gro all purpose plant food 24-8-16 to the ground after seeding so will this hurt the germination of the seed or will it be ok? Thanks!

Comments (6)

  • 14 years ago

    You added miracle grow mixed in the proper proportions? If so, Your veggies will be just fine, no worries, however, until your plants get 2-3 true leaves, they won't need/use the fertilizer anyways, and some of what you applied may leech and wash away, if you get too much rain or water too heavily.

    With miracle grow, the Nitrogen and Potassium and Phosphorous is in a form that is readily available to the plants. Alternatively, when you compost or add organic amendments to the soil, soil microbes must first break down the organic matter and nutrients that are in the compost before those nutrients can become available for the plant to use. Just random bits of information.

    On professional soil tests from local soil testing services, they will tell your the different amounts of the different forms of N, P, and K in the soil, IE, they will give you the amount of P1, P2, and P3, where P1 is a form of phosphorous that is readily available for plants to consume, P2 needs to be broken down a little more, and P3 needs a lot of work to break down into a form that can be used.

    The pH of the soil will determine how quickly those nutrients (P2 and P3 for example) will break down into useable P1. Gardeners generally shoot for a pH of 6.5

    Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

  • 14 years ago

    To side seed by 2 inches and 1 inch below seed in band down row 24-8-16 will burn new seed as soon as seed cracks all moisture in soil around seed nitrogen be to high along with potash at 16 % per hundred.

    You can use Dapp are popup fertilizer 18-46 over seed to get fast seedling start.

  • 14 years ago

    gator, what?

    How can you assume those things when the OP didn't tell us what rate he applied, or how much of it he applied to the soil, if he used it in the furrow or on top after he closed the row.

    And how will using Diammonium Phosphate give seedlings a fast start? Seeds are like chicken eggs, the growing chicken has all the food it needs in the yolk and white, and baby chicks only need food on day 3 after hatching, its the same with seeds and young plants.

  • 14 years ago

    I think we should assume the simple interpretation for the OP. The standard delivery method for miricaleGrow is with the hose aspirator that would indeed give the appropriate dose. Therefore, except for the possible waste issue which would also apply to a downpour later in the season, everything should be fine.

  • 14 years ago

    I applied 1 packet of the water soluble 24-8-16 Miracle-Gro all purpose plant food that you put in their liquid feeder container and connect to a garden hose. 1 packet according to their instructions covers about 500 square feet and that is about what I covered. Don't know how much this affects the fertilizer but we have fairly light sandy soil so I am assuming the fertilizer would leech away more quickly compared to a heavier soil? I applied a 10-10-10 granular fertilizer last year just before seeding and had no problems with germination.

  • 14 years ago

    Since you have sandy soil, I would seriously give considerate ion to using a long lasting fertilizer, maybe Epsoma or Milorganite. Aged Poultry manure or bat guano would be good, perhaps blood meal mixed with bone meal.
    The miracle grow is going to wash out of your soil very quickly, plus it won't feed the bacteria in the soil, so it won't help to build the soil.
    Some alfalfa pellets and straw would be helpful, as well. For a quick fix, consider fish emulsion and seweed emulsion.