I let the plants tell me when and if they need anything. Assuming my soil was well amended before planting then they may already have everything they need available. If they do show signs of any nutrient deficiency then I try to go for the lowest dose quickest acting available.

Since I know I have a well-established and active soil micro herd in most of my gardens that can be anything from a side dressing of composted manure or compost tea, some fish emulsion, liquid kelp, or any one of the hundreds of other organic supplements available. If it is a new bed without the micro-herd established then I may have to go with a quick-fix synthetic as the organics won't work in that soil.

Dave

Agree agree agree! Never fertilize just-in-case. Do it only in response to a problem showing itself (or a recurring problem you know is going to show itself).

Cool, thanks for the advice everyone. I think the only plants I'll fertilize are my brussels sprouts cuz some are looking stunted.

I use liquid fertilizer pumped through my row drip system. Probably just about everything gets three doses during their growing season. Mid growth just gets fish/kelp fertilizer.

I agree there is no reason to use soluble fertilizers unless the plants are showing signs of need. I use organic fertilizers that break down slowly, even at end season - they will feed next year.

Thanks for the advice everyone. One last question. Is it bad to fertilize a light dosage of organic soluble fertilizer mid season for brassicas? I know some crops like peppers can be hurt with too much fertilizing mid season. But besides time wasted and fertilizer wasted, could it actually adversely affect the plant? For instance, my row of brussels sprouts are inconsistently healthy. Some are looking good, others not. Should I selectively fertilize or is it ok to dose all the plants? Thanks

<Is it bad to fertilize a light dosage of organic soluble fertilizer mid season for brassicas?>

In general I'd say no, no harm done. But not all "organic soluble fertilizers" are the same. There are hundreds of them available. Some are straight N, some high K or P and some are strictly micro-nutrients. So all have different effects. To answer your question accurately one would have to know at least the brand name or the nutrient focus of the one you are talking about?

Plus your row BS could be inconsistently healthy for reasons other than nutrients so you need to really ID the problem first. So what are the less-than-ideal symptoms?

Dave

Hi Dave, some of the plants are healthy and large, while others are dwarfed in comparison. I also think I may have planted my first crop of BS too early because the sprouts on them are growing loosely and some taste bitter. I think the heat hit them unfortunately