Summer fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will benefit from a side-dressing of organic fertilizer when they first set fruit and every 4 to 6 weeks thereafter. An alternative is to water in a dilute solution of fish emulsion, seaweed extract, or kelp meal every 10 days. Feed fruiting crops that have flowered…
Fertilizers
Fertilizer Side-dressing Vegetable Crops
Side dressing is the application of fertilizers in a shallow furrow or band along the side of vegetable row crops or in a circle around individual plants. Side dressing gives extra nutrients to vegetable crops so that they can produce to their full potential. To side dress create a furrow 1 to 2 inches deep…
Organic Fertilizers and Soil Amendments
Organic fertilizers and organic soil amendments come from natural sources–plants, animals, and rocks. An organic fertilizer is a natural soil amendment that adds plant nutrients to the soil, most often nitrogen, phosphorous, or potassium. (NPK analysis is the concentration of major plant nutrients–nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K)–in a fertilizer as a percentage of…
Vegetable Plant Nutrients: Sources and Deficiencies
When vegetables and other plants lack essential nutrients or elements they will not look themselves; they will look unhealthy and they may even die. The symptom of a nutrient deficiency can range from yellowing and poor growth to flower and fruit failure. Nutrient deficiency symptoms in plants can be confusing. Many plant nutrient deficiencies share…
Plant Nutrients for Vegetable Gardens
Sixteen chemical elements are necessary for plant growth. Three are non-mineral elements that come from air and water; thirteen are mineral elements that come from the soil. All of these elements are used as plant nutrients or to make plant nutrients. Being familiar with the elements necessary for plant growth will help you diagnosis many…
How to Make Comfrey Manure Tea
Comfrey manure-tea time arrives with the first flowering of tomatoes and peppers. Comfrey tea is made simply by soaking the leaves of the herb comfrey in water for about 20 days. Comfrey tea is rich in nitrogen and potassium; it is a nutritious side-dressing for fruiting vegetables. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and berries use nitrogen to…
How to Make Compost Tea
Compost tea is excellent all-purpose plant food. Made from aged compost–organic materials that have finished decomposing, compost tea contains all of the major and minor nutrients plants require. It gives young plants a starter boost and older plants a pick-me-up. Not only that, but compost tea will ward off many common garden diseases and even…
