I can't really explain why your plants performed the way they did other than to suggest that fertilizer may not be the cure.

Peas and beans both take nitrogen from the air and don't really need much in the way of soil fertility to do OK. Your beans did well and your peas did not. A possible explanation is temperature. Beans generally love the heat and peas hate it.

I have grown peas for years and every year is different. What has been the same every year is the peas eventually yellow from the bottom up and die. This is true in my SQFT beds, in the ground and in containers. I unscientifically call this phenomenon warm weather disease. Peas can be tricky. Plant too soon and seeds rot in the ground and plant too late and plants die before producing. Depending on the year and where you live there may not be a long enough period of ideal peas weather in the spring in which case fall may work better.

While fertility may not explain the good/bad performance of your various plants since you are asking about a good 'general' fertilizer I will offer a comment or two on the subject.

The SQ FT method is based partially on the idea that a 'quality compost' frequently replenished will provide all the fertility any plant needs to do well.

In theory I agree, but in practice it is not at all that simple. The number one nutrient most veggies need is nitrogen. The ingredient least likely to remain in compost is nitrogen. Nitrogen is a funky nutrient in that it readily changes forms from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate to gas.

The end result is that if you are growing in a compost/organic rich soil and not getting the results you expect there are many potential causes, but if it is a nutrient problem a lack of nitrogen is the most likely culprit.

Do be careful adding nitrogen as many plants like tomatos will produce huge plants and little fruit if too much nitrogen is present.

So, what is a good, all purpose fertilizer? No such thing, but if I assume the nutrient you are most lacking is nitrogen I can offer some suggestions.

Do you want synthetic, natural or organic? Do you care?

If you want synthetic just go with Miracle Grow, the blue stuff you dissolve in water. Choose the product where the first number is highest and use it every couple weeks at full strength.

If you want natural go with Espoma Garden tone for all purpose. It's a combo of synthetic and organic stuff.

If you want hard core organic find a grain mill near you and buy soybean meal and lightly dust the surface and work it in. 10 pounds of soybean meal is enough for 1,000 sq feet of lawn so a light dusting really is all you need.

Thank you for responding! I definitely have been scratching my head on this one. How can plants in the same bed have such different outcomes?

I will go pick up either some Miracle Grow or Espoma and hope I have better luck this year.

Also a question on quality compost. I currently do no have my own compost pile so I have to rely on what I can buy at the garden center. I recently bought some "Nutri Mulch" to add to my beds in hope that this may help. Does anyone know if this is a good quality compost?

As a rule any compost sold in a plastic bag sucks. Make your own or plan on using a fertilizer. Yes, I do understand it is unreasonable for most to make enough of their own compost. I certainly couldn't do it.

Some report great results with mushroom compost in bags, but other than that all the stuff sold in bags is terrible. That's why Mel says you must have compost from at least 5 different sources. It's to overcome the suckiness of commercial compost.

Not a huge deal, just add some fertilizer, particularly one with nitrogen and all will be well fertilizer wise. Compost is terrific at holding on to almost all nutrients, just not nitrogen.

I am in full agreement with justaguy2...buying any compost really is poor quality-with the possible exception of "gardners and bloom" compost(not soil amendment). But, as Mels says, you cant buy compost as good as you can make it yourself...it really is very easy...

Hey Snibb and Justaguy,
Help! I am in need of advice about ferts, since it's clear that my garden's not growing. I wasn't able to find Gardners and Boom, so I used an alternative commercial mix and it turns out the one I used wasn't too high in nitrogen.

Eveything in my garden is stunted and yellowing... and I am unsure which organic fert to go with.

JaG, I know you are a fan of fish emulsion, especially the Neptune's Harvest Hydrolisate. Do you use it on all your veggies, or only some? Does their hydrolisate formula stink as awfully as the "old school" fish emulsions do? I am reluctant to put it onto crops we would eat directly (lettuce, carrots, etc) because of the funky stink factor. LOL

I also have the Dr. Earth liquid 3-3-3 and I applied that a few days ago as a bandaid, but I think some things will need a dose of more nitrogen. I can probably scratch in some sort of dry organic that will act more slowly, but I think I need something more fast acting right now.
Another thing I should probably mention is the fact that these are "raised" above concrete, with plywood bottoms, so it is a bit more like a container (very LARGE containers) with plywood bottoms. So my watering is more frequent than in ground.

Can you advise me on the right ratio and how often?
Here's what's growing (or not growing, rather... lol).

Cukes
Zukes
Winter Squash
Melons
Carrots
Tomatoes
Haricot Vertes
Lettuces
Basil
Peppers

Thanks!
-k

Where i live i think there are 2 bagged composts of very high quality. Both are 100% organic and approved for organic farms.

Both are produced locally.