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sydandpaigesdad
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 2:52 pm
- Location: wv
new gardener with questions about fertilizer
Hi all new to gardening on my own, I have planted corn and string beans and both sre coming up pretty well, they were planted May 20th and I threw 10-10-10 fertilizer on the rows after planting the seeds. My question is when shopuld or should I add more fertilizer to them and how go about it, just throw it along the rows as before or in a differnt manner, thanks in advance. God Bless
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freedhardwoods
- Senior Member
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 9:32 pm
- Location: Southwest IN
I think your beans will do fine but adding a little more of the 10-10-10 wouldn't hurt. The corn needs nitrogen. I buy urea, which is 46-0-0, and 6-24-24 and mix my own ratios. For my corn I tilled in a heavy dose of 50/50 mix before planting and then sidedress with a 1:3 mix after the corn is at least 3" or 4" tall. The 50/50 would be 23-12-12, and the 1:3 is about 30-8-8.
There are various forms of nitrogen you can use. Liquid - 28%, urea - 46%, ammonium nitrate - 34% are common forms. The ammoniun nitrate is hard for non-farmers to get in many places because that is a key ingredient for explosives.
The fertilizer is more readily available if you work it into the soil.
There are various forms of nitrogen you can use. Liquid - 28%, urea - 46%, ammonium nitrate - 34% are common forms. The ammoniun nitrate is hard for non-farmers to get in many places because that is a key ingredient for explosives.
The fertilizer is more readily available if you work it into the soil.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Are you a farmer or a backyard gardener (or somewhere in between)? Lots of us backyard gardeners are avoiding commercial fertilizers like that and focusing on organic gardening to build up the soil.
Organic fertilizers like compost add major nutrients, secondary nutrients, trace elements, bacteria, fungi, earthworms, tilth and improve the health and productivity of the soil. Organic fertilizer increases soil organic matter, improves soil structure , improves water holding capacity, reduces erosion from wind and water, improves water holding capacity.
Other advantages of organic, biologically based fertilization:
* The nutrient supply being more balanced helps to keep plants healthy.
* Enhanced soil biological activity improves nutrient mobilization and decomposition of toxic substances.
* Enhances root growth due to better soil structure, which helps the plants better absorb water and nutrients from the soil
* Increasing the organic matter content of the soil improves the exchange capacity of nutrients, and buffers the soil against acidity, alkalinity, salinity, pesticides and toxic heavy metals.
* Helps to suppress certain plant diseases, soilborne diseases and parasites.
Chemical fertilizers add only the N-P-K. Chemical fertilizers have long-term adverse impact on the organisms living in soil and a detrimental long term effect on soil productivity of the soil. Since chemical fertilizers, do not replace trace mineral elements in the soil, these gradually are depleted. This depletion has been linked to studies which have shown a marked fall (up to 75%) in the quantities of such minerals present in fruit and vegetables
Many artificial fertilizers contain acids which normally increase the acidity of the soil and interfere with plant growth. They enhance the decomposition of soil organic material, which leads to degradation of soil structure. Over time the soil becomes less fertile, forcing the application of more and more fertilizer.
If farming is your business, then you may have to do cost-benefit analyses on all of this. For backyard gardeners, the benefits are pretty much all on the organic side and the costs on the chemical side, since you can produce your own compost without buying anything...
Just something to think about since you said you are new to gardening and just getting started.
Organic fertilizers like compost add major nutrients, secondary nutrients, trace elements, bacteria, fungi, earthworms, tilth and improve the health and productivity of the soil. Organic fertilizer increases soil organic matter, improves soil structure , improves water holding capacity, reduces erosion from wind and water, improves water holding capacity.
Other advantages of organic, biologically based fertilization:
* The nutrient supply being more balanced helps to keep plants healthy.
* Enhanced soil biological activity improves nutrient mobilization and decomposition of toxic substances.
* Enhances root growth due to better soil structure, which helps the plants better absorb water and nutrients from the soil
* Increasing the organic matter content of the soil improves the exchange capacity of nutrients, and buffers the soil against acidity, alkalinity, salinity, pesticides and toxic heavy metals.
* Helps to suppress certain plant diseases, soilborne diseases and parasites.
Chemical fertilizers add only the N-P-K. Chemical fertilizers have long-term adverse impact on the organisms living in soil and a detrimental long term effect on soil productivity of the soil. Since chemical fertilizers, do not replace trace mineral elements in the soil, these gradually are depleted. This depletion has been linked to studies which have shown a marked fall (up to 75%) in the quantities of such minerals present in fruit and vegetables
Many artificial fertilizers contain acids which normally increase the acidity of the soil and interfere with plant growth. They enhance the decomposition of soil organic material, which leads to degradation of soil structure. Over time the soil becomes less fertile, forcing the application of more and more fertilizer.
If farming is your business, then you may have to do cost-benefit analyses on all of this. For backyard gardeners, the benefits are pretty much all on the organic side and the costs on the chemical side, since you can produce your own compost without buying anything...
Just something to think about since you said you are new to gardening and just getting started.
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7428
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
Compost is ok if you have a tiny garden. My problem is I have a 20ft by 45 ft garden and I can not make enough compost to do my whole garden. I buy 4 bales of 3.8 cu ft peat moss for the garden every year. I am a small scale farmer back yard gardner, I use commercial fertilizers, ammonium nitrate, 15/15/15, muratic of potash, sulfur, wood ash, urine, lime, sand, lime stone, super phosphate, too. Garden food is good. Grocery store food has the flavor of cardboard.
I put a pint of ammonium nitrate in 5 gallons of water and I pour 5 gallons of fertilizer water on each 20 ft row of corn once a week after the corn has grown 2 ft tall. I do the same thing to my beans and tomatoes. I feed my garden and it feeds me.
I put a pint of ammonium nitrate in 5 gallons of water and I pour 5 gallons of fertilizer water on each 20 ft row of corn once a week after the corn has grown 2 ft tall. I do the same thing to my beans and tomatoes. I feed my garden and it feeds me.