organic fertilizer

Does anyone know where is a good place to buy organic firtilizer? Shipping charges are so high.

You might try local nurseries or your big box stores once they get the garden centers up and running for the season. I don't know how good the selection will be in your area, but I expect you'll be able to find something locally.

Yup - check with a local nursery if you have one. The Home Depot here carries fish emulsion which is a great fertilizer. I've even seen it at Ace Hardware. If you have any farm or ag type stores they will carry stuff as well.

Kelly

Indiana, the heart of the farm world? Visit a farm, can get green manures (not plant) or aged anywhere there r cows....dairy animals r fed hi concentrates of soil enriching foods, beef cattle r fed less concentrates n have a lower fertilizer value, so arent as prone to burning your plants as fast. Rabbit fertilizer under a hutch? good place to raise earthworms, too, good fertilizer. just learn to b judicious in applications, or use it as 'Tea" style addition... n by the way, a lot of nurseries just dont bag it as manure, so check what they think they r sellin, n you'll end up with same stuff, different name

The Espoma brand is high quality. They make products with the word "Tone" in the name. Examples: Rose Tone, Holly Tone, Tree Tone, Plant Tone, Flower Tone, Bulb Tone. I buy them at the nearby garden center , the same place where I buy roses, perennials, and tools, and so on. I have also seen a limited selection at big box stores such as Lowes. These products usually come in both small and big bags, and the bigger bags have the lower price per pound.

I checked zip code for Danville IL on www.Espoma.com, looks like closest place to buy Espoma products is Rantoul Illinois, at Rural King, but nothing in Danville.

Your local garden supply may sell well-composted cow manure in 40 lb bags, which you could use around the plants. . .

What would be the difference between say Flower Tone and Plant Tone? Or Rose Tone and Holly Tone?

My guess would be the ratio of nutrients (N/P/K) in the product. I know certain plants like certain types of soil (for example acidic soil for blueberries) and I would suspect the same is true for their nutrient requirements.

This message was edited May 4, 2009 6:33 PM

People like to use Holly Tone on acid-loving plants such as hollies, hydrangeas and rhododendrons. Bulb Tone would promote strong root growth. Roses are heavy feeders and typically need more fertilizing than other flowers in order to bloom profusely. Tree Tone would have ingredients for strong roots and above-ground growth, and fewer of the ingredients promoting flowering/seeding/reproduction. etc.

The day I bought Rose Tone, the (honest) employee in the garden center told me I could simply use Flower Tone on roses. but i am a product junky, and i have over 20 rose bushes, so I bought Rose Tone anyway. We use Tree Tone for groundcovers around trees. We also have Bulb Tone, Flower Tone, Holly Tone. But i have not yet bought Plant Tone. I suspect Plant Tone might be aimed at vegetables, not really sure. We don't grow vegetables, except for a very small number of herbs, and some years we put in a couple tomato plants.

The new product in the line up I am anxious to buy is Plant Starter Plus Mycorrhiza, which is for planting
or transplanting. I did some research last week on mycorrhiza and will be using it every time I plant or transplant! I have an old bag of mycorrhiza product from a different company, and when i have used that product up, i'll switch to the Espoma Plant Starter Plus Mycorrhiza.

If you read the info on their website, the ingredients themselves are the same across all the varieties of "tones", all that's changed is the amounts, so you have a little bit different N/P/K ratio in each one.