Fertilizer:

I've just finished tilling my new vegetable garden and would like to know what type of fertilizer to use. I live in the Northeast.
Thanks

Personally, I prefer organic fertilizers. This company sells several types. I have dealt with them for several years with good results. Sometimes you can find Espoma fertilizer at Lowe's.

http://homeharvest.com/orgfert.htm

Homemade compost. Completely satisfying because you made it yourself.

This year I am using General Organics Bio Thrive fertilizer. It has an NPK of 4-3-3. Everything looks great and is huge and it is only mid June! I am almost out and need to buy some more. I was thinking I might want to cut back on the nitrogen for the next organic fert I buy. Any input on that one? The picture attached is from 10 days ago. Things are twice, if not three times as big now.

Urban - I would agree to cut back on the nitrogen. I'm no expert, but I know that if you overload the nitrogen, you'll get big plants but they'll be all foliage and no fruit.

How do you know you even need fertilizer? Have you had your soil tested? That should be your first step!

Doug

Doug., once a person messes up by not adding fertilizer, you will remember to add fertilizer the next time around. Having a garden with no fruit is a good indicator.

I have an experiment going on with some tomatoes...

A small group are planted in leaf mold, the others in raised beds with lots of soil amendments and are fertilized every two weeks.

The small group have from none to two tomatoes and are about a foot high. The other group is loaded with more fruit than I can count and are about six feet high.

In the 70's my lot was in glacial lake bottom clay. It took 3yrs of tilling all my neighbors leaves into the garden to get a decent crop. My grape vine barely grew so I buried all the organic garbage around it those same 3yrs and finally it took off and overran the arbor and produced very well. Humus is absolutely necessary for a decent crop and all the chemical fertilizers can do is burn the available minerals out of the soil. Tough times ahead - time to learn all we can about natural gardening! Now - while we have the resources and time.
=== 80yr old 3rd gen. gardener

I use tons of home made compost and few days after transplanting I side dress with 10-10 10 till it get too hot. Miracle grow as needed. Happy gardening !! Belle

You rock Carl_inWis.

I most recently found a company that has Poopeas for sale. I haven't used it this year because I just found it, but I plan to use it next year. I guess it is the best organic, NON-SMELLING, fertilizer around and really easy to apply. Has anyone else used Poopeas? Here's where I found it: http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/ProductCart/pc/Poopeas-Organic-Compost-c807.htm

Carl, I see you are not for the chemical fertilizers. Is it O.K. to mix the compost & chemical fertilizers, by using one & then the other also. Am I defecting the purpose by using both?

I make compost but when all those fall leaves, kitchen scraps and plant parts decay, it doesn't leave enough volume to feed everything in my yard, which originally consisted of the same clay that Carl in Wisconsin has for native "soil". So I add bagged compost, dehydrated manure and Espoma clay soil conditioner when creating a new bed. My veggies, whether in pots or in-ground, get Espoma Garden Tone. This season I have been adding greensand (also Espoma) with good results.