What should I use to fertilize my vegetable garden?
Question:I used Miracle Grow Shake and Feed, but it seems like a lot of folks are down on Miracle Grow. I only used it because the package said it was safe for veggies. That being said what should I use (I'm growing Zucchinis, Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Watermelon and Honey Dew). I want big nutrient-rich vegetables, but I don't want contaminated veggies. This is my first time growing a garden and this site has been most helpful with all my other questions. Thank you all in advance.
Answers:
One of the problems with chemical fertilizers in a veggie garden is you will eventually be eating those chemicals. The other problem is, long term, you will burn out your soil.
An easy organic fertilizer is throwing a handful of compost in a bucket of water - set it in the sun for a day - and then water your garden with it. That is called compost tea. If you have a fish aquarium, use the water from your water changes on your garden. Some people buy fish emulsion oil which would essentially be the same thing.
Keep your soil rich and fertilized by adding compost to it every season. Be sure to turn it into the soil.
If you don't want a contaminated veggie garden - build it in a raised bed so the rain run-off from all your neighbor's chemically treated yards don't run into your garden. Or container garden. I do both :0)
Good luck with your garden! I learn something new every year - always a different problem!
I lived in both a Mobile Home Park and a House and when we planted our gardens we used organic fertilizer. I would save all my garbage from veggies, egg shells, food not eaten put it through my processor and mix it in the soil of where my plants where..My corn grow 9 ft. tall and very sweet. I had cherry tomatoes that looked like oranges, Bell pepper that where very large and sweet.
I am doing the same thing here in Arizona in my back yard and my neighbors are amazed at the garden I have. The only thing that was different here I had to put a cover over the top of the garden due to the rays of the sun out here. But my corn is so tall I need a ladder to reach the corn. It just loves the sun. I water every night or real early in the morning...
Good luck with your garden.
I have had great susses with slow release vegetable fertilizer. It will feed the plants for 2-3 months. You should look at the need of each vegetable. Organic fertilizer is also recam ended. Epsom salt sprinkled around veggies will give you a healther plant and bigger yield.
We use nothing but compost in our vegetable garden. When you use any chemical based fertilizer there are a couple of things that happen.
Using chemical based fertilizer is a lot like giving candy to a kid. They'll get a short term boost of energy, but it does nothing for their long term health.
There is also a tremendous amount of energy expended in creating and shipping the fertilizer.
Using composted organic materials that you gather from your own yard costs you nothing but time. You benefit from the exercise you get from doing the work. Keeping the organic waste out of the landfill, saves energy, and landfill space. But ultimately, it is the soil that you grow your garden in that benefits the most. Compost adds humus to the soil and organic matter. These items help maintain the soil structure, moisture retention capability and fertility of the soil. Compost is also beneficial to the organisms in the soil like earthworms, whereas dumping ammonium based fertilizers on them is not.
Using grass clippings from your yard adds nitrogen to the soil. Bone meal is an excellent source of phosphorus and wood ashes can provide potassium. These elements are provided to your plants in a form that is available to them on a slow release scale, and are not easily washed away, like ammonium based fertilizers
Check out our website for more gardening ideas at-
http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c...
Good Luck and Happy Gardening from Cathy and Neal!
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