How Much Fertilizer Does Your Garden Actually Need?

[@Maria-ql3fc]

Travis I wanted to tell you about an experiment that worked great for me on unidentified disease in heirloom tomatoes, and has been successful on my Anna apple tree. Pouring milk around the base of the plant and spraying the foliage with milk, if you can get raw milk it works best but the milk from the store works too. It came to my attention in the summer when I either read something on it or saw it online, the means escapes me atm, but it actually works. I prefer the flavor of heirloom tomatoes for fresh eating so I try and grow a few favorites every yr but they don't like the heat and humidity of zone 9A thus some succumb to disease but I found using the milk and growing in partial shade I can get a decent harvest.

[@pilsplease7561]

I fertilize after every big crop in my raised beds because frankly you dont have a lot of wiggle room with containers they will deplete far faster and drain better hence they leach out nutrients quite fast. So i will use a general like 4-4-4 organic fertilizer on any bed immediately after harvesting, and amend in azomite and basalt rock dust for the trace elements. I will also check the soil ph and if necessary add some lime or something like that to balance soil ph. I grow a lot of high demand crops in raised beds including corn which you absolutely need to put in fertilizer after corn, or after garlic.

[@elikerr785]

I'm a very new gardener, and fertilizing is definitely something I'm always learning more and more about. I also didn't realize (at first) that raised beds and containers are different in more ways than just their size. I have gotten good results with both, but I learned "the hard way" with fertilizing and building healthy soil vs fertilizing containers to keep the potting mix nutrient rich. I think the emphasis on balanced fertilizer (organic) is important, I spent so much time trying to find the "right" NPK ratio fertilizer when I didn't even understand fertilizing fundamentals.

[@michaellane9079]

Just use rabbit poo. For raised beds 1 feed sack full per 32 or 40 sq feet. Just mix it in and plant. Containers suck to grow in. Too much work. Constant watering and too many problems compared to raised beds. Since you are a newbie ill give you 2 tips. 1 is the rabbit poo. #2 is on watering. In the raised beds there is very little need to water after the plants are established. I dont water all summer except during long periods of extreme heat. Even then only if they are looking really rough. Everyone obsesses over fertilizer and watering. With these 2 methods there is no need to worry. I hope this helps.

[@goldstandard3714]

Northeast Louisiana pretty much shares an identical grow zone with Travis' South Georgia Bulldogs. My "One cup of coffee" mind was blown considering the revelation of Travis' sandy soil vs. my heavy clay. Going to need a second cup to process it all. Nuance, kinda important. Thank you brother

[@dinaducheny3450]

Glad it wasn't just me. Love the content. I will go back and watch again as I take notes. Maybe in slow motion. LOL

[@bwayne40004]

Been meaning to fertilize the brassicas for over a week. Tomorrow for sure now!

[@DeloressGarden]

I’ve definitely been following your advice for my garden and it has definitely worked thus far.

[@dnawormcastings]

Great video on fertiliser use🇳🇿🌱

[@donnastormer9652]

Thankyou! Very helpful

[@LeahNess-t7o]

Good info!! 😊❤

[@tidalcreekfarm]

I garden in bags, mostly 5, 7 and 10 gallon. I have to water daily so it is very difficult to retain nutrients and maintain microbe balance. I still have 60 pepper plants going that are 8 months old, up to 5 feet tall, and still pumping out a crop in only 5 gallon bags. I preload with neem meal, crab meal, feather meal, a balanced poultry based 4-3-5, bio char, and kelp meal. I use Agrothrive once a week during season. My two inground plots don't need nearly as much inputs.

[@sciencesaves]

You’re a good candidate for feeding through a drip line. That way your plants always have nutrition that is available to them immediately

[@jasperthomas8048]

Thanks Travis for the info. I have an insect net over my cabbage (plants a little smaller than yours) and I have a few holes in the leaves, and one that just has stems sticking out. Raised beds. Wondering what is eating my plants.

[@pilsplease7561]

Something to mention, all phosphorous and all potassium is organic, all of them are naturally derived, Even the so called synthetics are just ground up rocks that they mine from the earth and then just grind up all forms of potassium on the market are natural, muriate of potash, potassium sulfate, and langbeinite are all natural forms they are natural minerals mined straight from the earth then ground up so they are small and evenly sized for spreading. One of the few times Im glad I went to college for Geology cause I know minerals and rocks.

[@bobbun9630]

Lawn fertilizer (no weed and feed) and 13-13-13 is the way to go. Well, if you're getting it at as a homeowner at a big box store, at least.

[@LazyDogFarm]

It's definitely some of the most affordable stuff you can get. That Rainbow 10-10-10 is usually dirt cheap at the local feed and seed stores around here.

[@williammikell2210]

Too Hot and Too Dry to plant cool season plants here. I am going to wait till it cools down 10 degrees to plant.

[@Maria-ql3fc]

Fertilizers have become so expensive it's ridiculous . Organic fertilizer helps the soil biology and I prefer it for many reasons, but if I need a quick rescue for a few plants I will grab a fast activating chemical and only give a small dose while also giving a organic that will keep giving. My carrots finally came up, seems like it took over a week.

[@tonyb1803]

I am curious. What is your opinion regarding Urea Fertilizer 46-0-0. It is supposed to be from organic sources. The one I bought from Amazon is water soluble to drench or spray. I have been pushing my cabbage and collards because I, due to the heat, was forced to plant late for my area, I planted them in the middle of October. I am in South Carolina about 35 miles north west of Charleston.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Don't see why it wouldn't work. Just have be a little more careful with it because it's so "hot."

[@MrMoore1007]

Just checking on when you will be taking fig cutting 2024?

[@LazyDogFarm]

I've been propagating the last couple weeks -- about 1,500 down with around 3,500 more to go. We'll have a video update soon.

[@Hill_Billy_Without_A_Hill]

Can using gypsum ruin anything/mess things up in a garden? I did put some out this last spring, in hopes to help with blossom rot, on tomatoes and squash. Ended up not really messing with the summer squash. I really notice the blossom rot/ black spots on yellow/orange tomato varieties the most.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I don't think it will hurt anything.

[@tinatriestoplan8316]

Fertilizing is a hard concept for me to grasp, although this video is very helpful. My main concern is onions. I'm up north (6a). I get confused when one channel says it needs nitrogen, but then another channel says phosphorus. Also, some will say fertilize every 2 weeks for onions. Which is it, nitrogen or phosphorus? Do I start with nitrogen, & feed them only 3 times throughout their growing season, plus add in the phosphorus? My understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, but any root crop needs phosphorus, whereas the above ground crop needs nitrogen?

[@marvinbrock960]

Technically, onions start off needing Nitrogen to grow the plant, greenery… then got switch over to Phosphorus which promotes all the growth in the head. That’s putting it simply.

[@tinatriestoplan8316]

@@marvinbrock960 Thank you! When do I switch to phosphorus? When they start bulbing?

[@franklandry5864]

​Alternate your fertilizings. Every two weeks. Once your onions start bulbing, stop fertilizing all togethera​@@tinatriestoplan8316

[@robinhite5468]

Go to Dixondale Farms. They tell you from start to finish on how to grow and fertilize your onions. They are a major supplier of onion plants. @tinatriestoplan8316

[@bobbun9630]

Ignore that advice that simply says to use a specific fertilizer for a specific crop. Address nitrogen and phosphorus/potassium separately. You can use a combination product if you want to do some math once you have determined what the need is. For phosphorus and potassium, you're addressing the needs of the soil. You want to get a soil test done. These will tell you which your soil is deficient in, if it is, and will likely also give advice on how much to add. These nutrients are less mobile in soil and will probably only need to be added once per season, if at all. For nitrogen, you're attempting to replace what the plants are expected to remove from the soil. This will be a crop specific amount, which you can get information about from reliable sources. I would suggest getting the information from your county extension office or from agricultural research information rather than a random gardening channel on KZbin. For crops with a longer growing season, you may want to spread the application out into more than one application. A few crops may also have timing considerations. Consult those same sources for details relevant to what you're growing.

[@italiana626sc]

5:02 Honest question, Travis: Can you point me to some studies that indicate that non-organic fertilizers run out quickly after introduction, as compared to organic ones? I've searched and haven't been able to find anything that says organic fertilizers last longer - and benefit plants longer - than non-organic ones. Thanks!

[@LazyDogFarm]

I'm just speaking from personal experiences. I've noticed it a lot on sweet corn. When I used to use a lot of synthetics on my sweet corn, the veggie planted after the corn would always struggle. It seemed like the plot was just zapped. But since I moved to more organic sources, I can plant right behind sweet corn with no issues. The idea is that organic fertilizers are slower because the molecules must be broken down (by soil microbes) into smaller forms so the plant can absorb them. Synthetic fertilizers are already in those smaller forms. This makes them readily available to the plant, but also more "mobile" and more likely to "leach" during heavy rainfall events.

[@Christian-jx3nx]

@@LazyDogFarm isn’t corn a bad example since it uses up the fertilizer, a heavy feeder?

[@davidward1259]

@@LazyDogFarm I'm sort of with Christian-jx3nx on corn not being a great crop to use as an example. Synthetics (common urea based pelleted fertilizer) can loose 40% of it's nitrogen value to volatilization (evaporation) based on when it applied. Same problem can occur with nitrogen fertilizer in bags that is old. It looses potency over time. Factor volatilization in with corn being one of the heaviest feeders and nitrogen gets used up or evaporates fairly quickly.

[@italiana626sc]

@@LazyDogFarm Cool! Thanks for the explanation. I know you've got tons of experience with it. I've been wanting to try Coop Grow and Aggrothrive. Might just have to put in an order from you!

[@brianczuhai8909]

Bull Dogs? Lions @ Packers Sunday! Lions are out for some past Turkey Day revenge! There's winning. And then there's just kicking the other teams ar$e winning!

[@LazyDogFarm]

Gonna be a tough matchup. That Lions offense has looked unstoppable lately.

[@infoimolaza]

Hello, nice video! I love your video content and would like to sponsor you for our smart irrigation controller. Are you interested? Just provide honest feedback.