Im trying to find out the same thing, Im new to this so Ill watch your thread!
Thanks

It depends on your dirt. But you could simply mulch your plants heavily with shredded tree leaves. This will help the soil retain moisture, and suppress some but not all weeds. As the leaves break down, they will be consumed by worms, and so you will have worm castings in your soil. Leaves supply only a small amount of nitrogen, so you might consider adding a compost made with manure, to increase available nitrogen. Leaves can be shredded with a mulching lawnmower, and then raked up onto a tarp. They should be dry before shredding.

FWIW - all plants use the same nutrients in ratios that cover an extremely narrow range. IOW - all plants use very close to the same ratio of nutrients, so you can forget all the 'specialty fertilizers' for all but a very, very few plants.

There is, however, a distinct advantage in having nutrients available at the ratio in which plants absorb them. Like deficiencies, more of any one element than necessary is detrimental to a plants ability to grow at/to its genetic potential. (See 'Liebig's Law of the Minimum')

When you're employing the 'shotgun' approach and fertilizing w/o a soil test to give you direction, one fertilizer ratio is pretty much as good as the next, though a case can easily be made that even with the shotgun approach, choosing a fertilizer that supplies nutrients in a % multiple as close to a 3:1:2 ratio as possible is probably the wisest and least expensive choice.

Al

What Al said, and I'd ask what the soil test said and what you are mulching with and how much OM do you have? And then what Eric said about long-term care. Nonetheless, there are plenty of solid fertilizers out there with a 6-4-4 formulation or 3-2-2 which should be just fine as long as your soil is decent and then a liquid for your greens and a separate for your fruits like the consumer products by Age Old Organics and you'll be good until you get your compost routine going. .

Dan

I top dress my vegetable gardens every fall/late winter with compost and, if I get around to hauling it in, composted manure. I have lovely, fertile soil as a result.

That being said, some plants are heavy feeders, and, yes, I'll give them a side dressing or apply a bit to the furrow before planting seed if it's following a crop that was a heavy feeder (I have a long growing season and succession plant). For these purposes, a good all-purpose balanced organic fertilizer which is widely available is Espoma's Plant Tone. Another option is to feed with fish emulsion. However, I find that tedious (and expensive) in the garden, although I do use fish emulsion extensively to feed potted seedlings and containers.

I use the Plant Tone as well, and I'll give the spinach & onions some blood meal and also a squirt of liquid Age Old during the season & the garlic the same squirt (but not during dry tremendous winds like today). Otherwise the soil gets compost like Mary does in the fall.

Dan

Thank you for all the responces....the soil was as dead as possible last year..the nitro didnt even register and it was slightly acidic as NJ soil can be. I tilled in several bags of compost and then in the fall of last year I put in manure and compost and tilled that in. That being said I failed to do a new test this year in my haste and excitement. Decided to do the fish and kelp emulsion route as I have a connection and it wont break the bank...except on the potato, which once sprouted will recieve some molasses :)) Now if I could just rein in the flea beetles life would b perfect.

Throwing some "fertilizer" at your soil is neither very environmentally sound nor economical, you need to know what nutrients your soil contains and what might be needed. Even many or the organic "fertilizers" can be washed out of the soil and contribute to the pollution of our planet.
Start any fertiliziation program with knowledge and that means having a good, reliable soil test done. Contact your counties office of your Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service about having that done and dig into your soil with these simple soil tests,
1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

which can help guide you in creating a good, healthy soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rutgers CES

Sounds to me like OP gets the whole build-your-soil thing. Perfectly legitimate to ask about reasonable fertilizers in that process. A little judicious application of Plant-Tone 5-3-3 is hardly the environmental equivalent of a chicken farm or a big old bag of some Scott's uber-N lawn product.

As I said earlier, I did test the soil last year and ammended the soil appropriatly. I hardly think the careful application of fish and kelp emulsion is going to destroy the environment...NJ did that all on their own. Thank you again for the responces and Marymd7 for your responce :0)

Ever heard of a granular fertilizer called "Rose Glo"? A friend took me to her organic nursery and they said it was wonderful for all flowering plants in containers or baskets. I don't know how much to use or how often. I bought a bag of 30 pounds and want to use it correctly. Help !

The largest single source of pollution of the lakes and steams around here is Joe Homeowner who spreads unneeded fertilizers on his lawn and garden. That source, well documented, is why many Michigan counties prohibit the sale of fertilizers containing Phosphorus unless you can show, by a soil test, a need for that element. This is also a common problem throughout the rest of the USA and Canada. An organic gardener will know whether the garden they tend needs that or not, and if the soil is properly tended "fertilizers" probably will not be needed.

What some folks seem to have difficulty in accepting or understanding is that organically sourced fertilizers do not leach and therefore do not contribute to pollution. They are not soluble, require digestion by soil organisms to become available to the plants and are - for the most part - simply just another form of organic matter that is applied in a calculated and directed manner with regards to the nutrients they contain, as opposed to just mulching or amending with something like compost.

Amending your soil with compost or other OM is always a good place to start but it may not be sufficient in providing ALL the nutrients in adequate levels that are required to grow harvestable crops, which pull nutrients from the soil. Applying the Plant Tone or another general purpose or blended organic fert according to package directions is an assurance that adequate nutritional demands will be met and the plants given the optimum conditions to grow and produce. It won't burn plants, won't leach into groundwater and won't contribute to pollution. That's one of the major advantages of organic ferts over synthetic or chemically-derived fertilizers. Plus, they stimulate soil biological activity.

I don't know how much to use or how often.

I find it hard to fathom a product is not labeled with application rate. So a gardener can take their soil needs and climate and plant needs into account for a decision on whether to fertilize and how much. Sounds like a product to be avoided!

And what GG said.

Dan

Just a follow up..mulching with some bamboo leaves and some careful application of fish emulsion and kelp. Everything is up and lovely and aside from the bunnies and the bugs..which im sure everyone will be happy that i pick the dammed things off by hand (not the bunnies). Soil test I sent to the AG came up great, so apparently I have manage not to destroy the earth and ammend my garden nicely. Sorry for the sarcasm, but when I initially posted it wasnt for a lecture...thank u to all who posted.

"Organically sourced fertilizers do not leach and therefore do not contribute to pollution."

Is that true? I'd love to think this is true since I garden 25-75 feet from a lake. Our Lake Smart monitors tell people that phosphorus run off from our gravel roads is the leading cause of the algae blooms that threaten Maine lakes. We are advised to quit mowing, quit removing brush and to quit fertilizing our lawns---whether chemically or not---to help stem the flow of phosphorus into the lakes.

Thanks for the follow-up. Nice to hear that your soil is looking good.

Recently, I've switched to using organic lawn food to amend my soil in addition to compost and bagged humic acid. My latest theory is to encourage the growth of fungus in the soil. So I've changed from tilling or double-digging new beds, to just skinning the sod off and amending the topsoil with OM, then mulching.

Gosh, as someone who hates absolute statements in response to gardening questions (there are VERY few absolutes in this world!), maybe I shouldn't have been quite so adamant with that remark :-)

Let's see how I can best re-phrase that. Because of their mode of action, organically derived fertilizers are slow release, have low burn potential, and low leach potential, primarily because they are not water soluble. For the most part, they are just processed organic matter - plant and animal remains or extracts - and go through the same nutrient delivery mechanism that any other organic matter goes through, namely digestion and assimilation by soil organisms. It is the solubility factor that contributes heavily to any pollution issues - soluble fertilizers move through the soil with rain and irrigation and wind up in groundwater and eventually streams and other waterways.

The vast majority of organic fertilizers are not water soluble and must be acted upon by soil organisms to get converted into soluble ions that can be taken up by plant roots. This is a slow process that is accomplished over a period of time so the resulting soluble nutrients are presented in sort of timed-release effect that are accessed by the plant roots as they become available. Not a whole bunch of soluble nutrients that may be more than is necessary for the plants at the time of application, so that the excess is leached away. That's why organic ferts are considered to be more efficient than inorganic ones - virtually nothing is wasted or washed/leached away.

Is it possible that organics CAN leach or wash away with run-off? Sure, if they are grossly overapplied or applied incorrectly. But the leach potential is very low compared to inorganic fertilizers, which are pretty much entirely soluble, even if coated or treated for slow release.

Thanks. I understand.

I'm always surprised and skeptical when I hear that lawn fertilizer is the cause of Phosphorus pollution of water. Phosphorus binds to soil and does not leach unless there is an excess of Phosphorus. Fertilizer that gets accidentally spread on sidewalks and later washes into the gutter might explain some of that claim that lawn fertilizer is the source of the pollution. But the Phosphates in laundry and dishwashing detergent and other household cleaners is a more likely domestic source.

If, however, the soil itself is allowed to wash off the land into the water, that could explain Phosphorus in water.

Because lawns are always growing, I don't think much soil washes off of lawns. Most farm fields, on the other hand, spend at least half the year with the unplanted soil exposed to the elements. Wind and rain carries the soil off into waterways. So, chemical fertilizer applied to farmland is a major source of water pollution.

Where I live, the pollution of rivers from farmland runoff is an accepted fact of life (98-99% of Snake River pollution is from agricultural activities).

ID gardener is correct that P is 'immobile' in soil - and organophosphates in pesticides are perhaps the biggest source of P, the ferts for lawn are a big source of N for eutrophication issues (along with antifreeze and other car drippings) in urban watersheds. IIRC a few years ago Arcade Creek in Calif., USA was the most polluted urban waterway, due to it running thru residential neighborhoods overusing organophosphates.

P can also come from pet waste, inefficient/faulty septic systems, incomplete treatment at wastewater treatment plants (many must upgrade to new standards), and the remaining consumer products still containing phosphate. And lawns are semipervious and contribute to much runoff (and interestingly to the urban heat island as well).

And, overall, the main reason for the dead zones all over the planet are overuse of fertilizers. By far. I doubt pinkcat is killing the Mississippi Delta with their regime...

Dan
(sometimes billed as a geeky Urban Ecologist).

Yes, according to the DEP, the leading cause of phosphorus pollution in Maine lakes comes from run off from the gravel roads that surround them. The roads are mismanaged, have no ditches to stem the flow of rainwater, and people who owned summer camps are now winterizing and moving here (me included) and turning their formerly native yards into leveled out, suburban lawns. People drag box springs down the roads behind their trucks to level out the potsholes and to widen the roads, which disrupts the gravel, and makes it more prone to run-off.