I am a fairly new gardener, I have had a small veggie garden for the last few years and have just recently moved. I am starting a vegetable garden this year on a plot that has not been gardened on before (well not for a good 35 years). We tilled it and that's it. It's about 300 sq feet, maybe a little more, I still have to measure. I was planning on buying compost and/or manure but the amount I'd need, at least according to the bag, is cost prohibitive. So I'm going with what I've got in the ground for dirt and fertilizer. I purchased some garden tone (NPK 3-4-4) that I am going to mix into the ground before planting. My understanding is that this takes a bit of time to actually be available to the plants, so I was wondering if you think I should also be using a faster acting fertilizer. If so, any recommendations on brands or NPK values for young plants? Do I just need to do this for a few weeks until the garden tone kicks in (and then continue to add garden tone as often as the bag suggests) or do you think I should continue using a fast acting fertilizer in addition to the slow release garden tone throughout the season? I'd prefer something that doesn't stink too bad as this garden is not on my property, it's at my grandparents house.
I've been reading threads on fertilizing all day and it's making my head spin. I can't seem to find much related to a brand new plot with no soil amendments. I am open to both organic and synthetic options. Will the fertilizers provide all of the nutrients the plants need or will other supplements be needed? At our previous house (a few towns over) we had a lot of issues with blossom end rot on our tomatoes, is there anything special we can do to prevent that here?
We are planning to grow a wide variety of plants:
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Eggplant
Green Beans
Sugar Snap Peas
Brussels Sprouts
Broccoli
Onions
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Butternut Squash
Lettuce
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pepperhead212
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2882
- Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
Since that area looks like it hasn't been gardened, and you are new there, I would definitely get a soil test done. Your county extension agency is one place; this year I sent my samples to the U of Connecticut and it was only $12 for a standard soil test, giving recommendations for fertilizer for the area. It is fairly close to you, and I got the results very quickly on email.
Here's the link to that soil test site. The first two PDFs are what you need - the submission form, and sampling instructions. These, and most standard tests don't give you a N reading, but they do give you an amount on the recommended fertilizer. In fact, in two of the three samples I sent, the only recommended fertilizer was a small amount of N. Almost everything in the soil was there in "excess", despite the fact that all I ever do is dig compost, leaves, and grass clippings into the ground!
https://www.soiltest.uconn.edu/sampling.php
There are many other threads on blossom end rot, so I won't go into it too much here. Low calcium is traditionally deemed as the cause for it, but it is much more complicated, and it seems to me that certain varieties get it EVERY time, yet grow out of it, while one variety (salsa) that I grew did not get one good fruit, while all the rest did fine!
Here's one long thread, which will get you started:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... om+end+rot
Here's the link to that soil test site. The first two PDFs are what you need - the submission form, and sampling instructions. These, and most standard tests don't give you a N reading, but they do give you an amount on the recommended fertilizer. In fact, in two of the three samples I sent, the only recommended fertilizer was a small amount of N. Almost everything in the soil was there in "excess", despite the fact that all I ever do is dig compost, leaves, and grass clippings into the ground!
https://www.soiltest.uconn.edu/sampling.php
There are many other threads on blossom end rot, so I won't go into it too much here. Low calcium is traditionally deemed as the cause for it, but it is much more complicated, and it seems to me that certain varieties get it EVERY time, yet grow out of it, while one variety (salsa) that I grew did not get one good fruit, while all the rest did fine!
Here's one long thread, which will get you started:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... om+end+rot
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jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7447
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Northern Utah Zone 5
"I purchased some garden tone (NPK 3-4-4)"
That is good. I think that will be all that is necessary for this season. Use according to directions. Too much fertilizer is worse than none. It can kill the plants if it is applied too heavy.
I have gardened for many years and never had a "soil test" done.
That is good. I think that will be all that is necessary for this season. Use according to directions. Too much fertilizer is worse than none. It can kill the plants if it is applied too heavy.
I have gardened for many years and never had a "soil test" done.