Garden Fertility: It’s not too late

By now for most of us it is feeling much like summer with vegetable crops out in the garden and starting to take off. Late spring and early summer are great times to review the fertilization that you did before planting and to make any adjustments. Hopefully you had a soil test and applied necessary amendments prior to planting or at planting; if you didn’t, there is still plenty of time to put down fertilizer.

Most of Fertrell’s dry fertilizers can be side dressed along the row and worked into the soil. If you don’t have a soil test to provide specifics, a good general application rate for side dressing many of Fertrell’s dry fertilizers is 10 lb per 100 row feet. Larger fruiting crops typically require more potassium, so we suggest using Fertrell’s Super K 3-4-7. Leafier crops prefer Fertrell’s Super N 4-2-4.

Once you have applied a good dry fertilizer blend, it is also beneficial for plants to foliar feed with a liquid fertilizer. Fertrell offers a product called Liquid # 3 2-3-1 which is a blend of fish, kelp, and humic acid. Liquid fish itself provides N-P-K as well as amino acids for improved crop growth. Kelp naturally contains plant growth stimulants that encourage crop performance and growth. Kelp is also high in iodine which when foliar fed helps to reduce insect pressure on garden crops. Liquid # 3 can be foliar feed at a rate of 1-2 oz per gallon of water. Apply on crops to get complete coverage, but not to the point that it is running off the leaves. Liquid fertilizers can be applied every 7-10 days throughout the growing season or anytime that plants are in a stressed situation.

It’s not too late to fertilize to get the most from your garden!

Our production facility is currently operating. We are shipping fertilizers, soil amendments, and animal nutrition products daily to support farmers and home gardeners. Visit us at www.fertrell.com.