I am looking for a recommendation on fertilizer for my seedlings, as well as for plants once I put them out in the raised beds. I also have an EB that I will be setting up but have used all the fertilizer and soil from the initial purchase. I also need to find out what to use for the new soil since it's been used for two seasons now.
I really would like to avoid shipping at this time, later I intend to order from Bob. For now, however, I need to be able to just go to a BB and pick up what I need. I know I have been trying to find out about a Super Bloom that someone is using, but there are several so I don't know which one. I also have written down a "15/30/15" for corn, but can't find any with those numbers.
My light room is overflowing and it's almost time to move things out to the greenhouse then on to the beds. They are old enough though that they should have some lunch first.
Any help would be appreciated.
Fertilizer recommendations
!5-30-15 is the formula used by Miracle Gro ( Standard) and its many imitators. Usually only available in highly soluble form. Not the greatest for corn, which is a grass and needs an N number higher than P or K. I sometimes use a light application of Miracle Gro or one of its knockoffs to jumpstart seedlings especially at transplant. But it does not replace a well amended soil. If you are organic fish emulsion works to jumpstart also. In amending the soil, an extra boost can be had with either granulated fertilizers or animal manures. Chicken manure is best for corn.
Bloom Booster 15-30-15 is available at Lowes and I used two cups in my EB and had excellent results with my corn but that is only for corn or flowers. You can also use 10-10-10 which works very well also.
As a novice gardener I get really confused trying to understand initials used by you experts. Just in the above couple posts...........I do not know what an EB is or a BB. Perhaps there are others suffering the same ignorance and an extra few seconds taken to spell out the word would really help. I note that Tplant spelled out Bloom Booster and am wondering if that is what BB is.........probably not. Anyhow, thanks for listening. John
of maybe "JS".......
JS, Its probably going to get worse with so many people "texting". If you hang around anytime, you will find most of the folks who grow in containers refer to the proprietary Earth Box as an EB. In recent years there there has been a tendency to refer to Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and the like as Big Box Stores. Really has nothing to do with gardening. 2 busys post is the first time I have seen it shortened to "BB". I am of the ERA where a BB was a little pellet shot of an air rifle.
This message was edited Mar 5, 2009 7:53 AM
hehe, sorry John. You are absolutely right. Not fair to newbies, but I'm afraid in the shuffle of typing the same things day after day we have succumbed to using initials sometimes...
EB is "EarthBox"......HEB is "Homemade EarthBox", BB is "Bloombuster"....guys, have I missed one?
John, I would suggest picking up The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith. It covers vegetable gardening from a beginner's viewpoint. It has great information on soil building, garden bed preparation, composting, soil amendments, and has a "vegetable reference" with least 2 pages on each major type of vegetable you might want to grow.
It is really a "crash course" in gardening and the quickest way to get up to speed on these terms. The author is in Vermont, so the gardening schedules will be off, but the foundation and principles in there are great.
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Gardeners-Bible-High-Yield-Gardening/dp/1580172121
EB = EarthBox [TM] which is a ~17 gallon container which will support 2 large tomato plants, or all sorts of vegetables.
http://www.earthbox.com/
The official EarthBoxes are sufficiently expensive that a whole cottage industry has sprouted of people who purchase ordinary Rubbermaid or other containers from the store (along with filter baskets from aquarium shops), some PVC, and build something very similar for half the cost. There are all sorts of plans for these Homemade Earth Boxes on the Internet.
http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm
The numbers people refer to such as 15-30-15 are N-P-K or Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash (Potassium) in that order. These are the primary or macronutrients which make all plants grow. Nitrogen is vegetative (green) growth. Phosphorous is for root and overall plant health. Potassium (K) is the key to blossoming and fruit production.
This message was edited Mar 2, 2009 3:42 PM
I grew 6 Jimmy Nardello peppers in each of 4 Earthboxes last summer. Put:
Espoma Garden-toneŽ 3-4-4 (Organic) in one box
Generic 10-10-10 in two others.
A combination of Garden-toneŽ 3-4-4 and generic 10-10-10 in another.
No difference in the growth of the plants, the number of peppers or the taste of the peppers that I could discern.
LOL, I got BB = Big Box over in the rose forum. Before that I didn't even know what a big box was other than something a stove came in. Sorry. :)
That shows how it can be confusing... I thought BB was BocaBob of coco coir earth box fame... or maybe I just need another COC (cup of coffee) LOL
This message was edited Mar 14, 2009 5:57 AM
FYI, the formula on all purpose Miracle Grow was changed I have heard. It's no long 15-30-15. Always read labels!