General Fertilization Guide
For any questions or suggestions regarding these this guide, please contact us at ediblelandscapers@gmail.com
These amendments can be purchased at our website in 5 gal reusable buckets. You can help us to prevent more plastic bags from going to the dump. We deliver once a week for $5 a delivery and our prices are more than competitive:
(www.ediblelandscapers.com)
Greensand
Worm Castings
Chicken Manure
Clay
Compost can be purchased by the yard and can be delivered for $5 per order.
When we generalize, we assume a good, basic soil mix has 20% clay, 60% sand and 20% organic matter in the top 6 to 10 inches of soil. While that rarely can be achieved due to finance and time constraints, that’s what we (we at A.E.L.) aim for. To achieve an approximate 1 lb or 2.5 quarts of 10-4.5-10 organic fertilizer, with an array of micronutrients, disease protection, and microbe activators, we use 1 part worm castings (2-0.5-1) to 1 part greensand (0-0-3) to 2 parts pelletized chicken manure (4-2-3).
For every lb of fertilizer (i.e. 10-4.5-10) we need:
4-2-3 - 2 lbs, 5 quarts Chicken Manure
0-0-3 - 1 lb, 2.5 quarts Greensand
2-0.5-1 - 1 lb, 2.5 quarts Worm Castings
Planting (From 1 to 7 gallon pots)
Step 1:
Dig a hole at least twice the width of the root ball and the depth of the exact height of the root ball.
Step 2:
Refill the hole with the native soil, so the top of the root ball would sit between ¼ and 1/3 of its own height above the soil surface. Mix 8 ounces or 2 hand-fulls of Worm Castings and 8 ounces or 2 hand-fulls of Greensand into the bottom of the hole.
Step 3:
Place the tree, shrub, vine or groundcover in the center of the hole and refill the rest of the hole with a mix of the native soil and compost. You want to continue to mound the compost mix until it’s flush with the top of the root ball, gently packing the soil to prevent from creating large air pockets, while also not creating an anaerobic soil environment. Mix 8 ounces or 2 hand-fulls of Worm Castings and 8 ounces or 2 hand-fulls of Greensand into the soil surface.
Step 4:
Lay Cardboard around the base of the plant, covering at least a 2 foot radius around the plant. Leave the diameter of the top of the root ball exposed (void of cardboard) to allow for water to penetrate the soil surface. Make sure to overlap the cardboard sections by at least a couple inches.
Step 5:
Mulch over the cardboard, creating a ring around the tree to guide rainwater to the root-ball and as the mulch breaks down it will create a well draining reservoir. Avoid using cypress mulch. Also recognize that pine bark and pine straw are acidic in nature, so try to use them appropriately (i.e. blueberries). Oak leaves are a wonderful mulch, our personal favorite, pre-bagged on the side of the road, and free! You can also use the free city mulch, but yes there is no telling what is in that mulch. We use it anyway and have yet to run into any major problems.
Step 6:
Water your plant well, while checking to make sure the compost mixture is not washing too deep into the hole. Continue to water the tree at least twice a week indefinitely, while checking the moisture content of the soil by squeezing it. If water comes gushing out when you squeeze the soil then it is staying too wet, while if the soil feels very dry and falls into many different particles, then it is too dry. The soil should hold together or at least break into large chunks and feel damp. Water accordingly.
Step 7:
In the spring (or if the plant was planted in the spring or early summer, one month from the planting) you should spread 16 ounces or 4 hand-fulls of our 4-2-3, pelletized chicken manure, evenly, around the base of the previously amended area (no further than 1 foot from the edge of the root-ball. Work the fertilizer into the top of the mulch or soil and avoid placing any soil or fertilizer up against the base of trunk.
Continued Maintenance
To maximize production, edible plants should be watered at least twice a week. While many fruit trees will survive and produce, they will in most cases not reach their maximum potential without consistent watering. Deep watering is always preferable to a little watering here and there. Pelletized chicken manure is a slow release fertilizer. Almost all perennial edible plants should be fertilized at least twice a year. This is a good example of a fertilizer schedule:
Planting
2-.5-1 Worm Castings 8 - 16oz or 2-4 hand-fulls
4-2-3 Chicken Manure 16 - 32oz or 4-8 hand-fulls
0-0-3 Greensand 8oz - 16oz or 2-4 hand-fulls
Applied as explained in the 7 steps above.
Year 2
2-.5-1 Worm Castings 16 - 32oz or 4-8 hand-fulls
4-2-3 Chicken Manure 32 - 64oz or 8-16 hand-fulls
Apply amendments evenly around the base of the tree (covering the area that the tree or small plants branches cover). Work the fertilizer into the top of the mulch or soil and avoid placing any soil or fertilizer up against the base of the trunk.
Apply half the amendments in February or March and the other half in April or May.
Cardboard and mulch the area to suppress weeds, increase moisture retention, and encourage microbial activity.
Year 3
2-.5-1 Worm Castings 32oz or 8 hand-fulls
4-2-3 Chicken Manure 64oz or 16 hand-fulls
0-0-3 Greensand 32oz – 64oz or 8 - 16 hand-fulls (apply every other year)
Apply amendments evenly around the base of the tree (covering the area that the tree or small plants branches cover). Work the fertilizer into the top of the mulch or soil and avoid placing any soil or fertilizer up against the base of the trunk.
Apply half the amendments in February or March and the other half in April or May.
Cardboard and mulch the area to suppress weeds, increase moisture retention, and encourage microbial activity.
As years pass, the amount you will need to fertilize will level off and depending on how consistently you have watered, fertilized, mulched, weeded, and your general soil make-up will determine how much you will need to continue fertilizing. Something to keep in mind is pest and disease issues generally become very apparent when you over fertilize and water or under fertilize and water and then all the sudden start feeding plants heavy doses of water and fertilizer. Just as a malnourished human can get very sick from over indulging in food rather than gradually eating a little more at each setting, a plant can react similarly to water and fertilizer applications.
Annual Garden Fertilizer Applications
Note: There are many different schools of thought on annual gardening and farming. If someone says that their way is the only way, they probably don’t know what they’re talking about.
When we generalize, we assume a good, basic soil mix has 20% clay, 60% sand and 20% organic matter in the top 6 to 10 inches of soil. While that rarely can be exactly achieved due to finance and time constraints, that’s what we (at A.E.L.) aim for. Any kind of compost is a great way to increase organic matter, but it should be understood that nutrient levels vary greatly in different compost mixes. One way to achieve a fertilizer application rate similar to 2 lbs of a 10-4.5-10 fertilizer, with an array of micronutrients, disease protection, and microbe activators, would be to use 2 lbs worm castings (2-0.5-1), 2 lbs greensand (0-0-3) and 4 lbs pelletized chicken manure (4-2-3).
4-2-3 - 4 lbs, 10 quarts
0-0-3 - 2 lb, 5 quarts
2-0.5-1 - 2 lb, 5 quarts
This would be a good general application rate for a 100 square foot garden area. Depending on what you’re growing, your additional applications would vary more. Many Gardeners and farmers fertilize multiple times in a season and if you want production, you’ll probably do the same. I would say that fertilizing at least twice in a season would be preferable, many do more. Soil tests are good for figuring out pH and nutrient availability in the soil, but soils vary drastically in a small yard and those tests also vary based on the season. Just something to keep in mind.
Annuals for Vegetative Production
Nitrogen and Potassium. A good assumption for how to spread fertilizer depends on the potential size of the root zone. So if you plan to plant mixed lettuce in a dense planting, it can probably be assumed that the entire soil area has the potential to be a dense matt of roots. Because the vegetative growth you want to eat is fueled mostly by nitrogen and potassium, you would want to use a higher nitrogen and potassium mix and spread it evenly over the soil surface area, mixing it in. Specifically with lettuce, you would only really want to fertilize once in the beginning, but if you are so inclined, worm castings would be a better fertilizer for greens that you are harvesting all the time. Remember that when plants for vegetative growth bolt (begin to stretch out and flower) the greens generally become more and more bitter in taste.
Annuals for Root Production
There are two main things to remember about root crops. One is to not use too much nitrogen when fertilizing. Root crops generally need more potassium to develop properly. Too much nitrogen and water can encourage plants to put too much energy into vegetative growth and increase the potential for pest and disease problems. While it is supposedly common knowledge that there is plenty of phosphorus being released in the soil in and around Gainesville, many question that supposed reality. If you have pretty healthy soil, particularly with a good amount of clay, then you may want to add some rock phosphate. Phosphorus will bind to clay and organic matter and will slowly become available to your plants and typically stay bound in your soil for years to come. Potassium works in a similar way, but is not as common in our soils naturally. You may consider growing daikon radishes for the first season to help aerate the soil. You could add your phosphorus and potassium the first season and it will likely be more available the following season for high nutrient dependant root crops.
The second thing to keep in mind is making sure your soil is free of debris (rocks, sticks, hard pan areas). Root crops are easily restricted by such obstructions, which can deform and stunt root development. Root crops typically do not transplant well and should be directly sown (via seed or slips) into the soil. They should also be thinned in a timely manner to minimize competition with each other.
Annuals for Fruit Production
Phosphorus mostly affects flowering and fruit development. While many annuals like tomatoes, peppers, and summer squash require nitrogen for initial growth, too much nitrogen in the ladder stages (flower and fruit development) can cause many disease and pest problems. Blossom-end-rot is a common disease caused by too much water and nitrogen during flowering. These annuals will need more phosphorus and potassium during flower and fruit development than nitrogen. We cannot stress it enough that too much nitrogen in the ladder stages of development will lower your production rates drastically.
In this situation again, the area you are applying fertilizer depends on the potential size of the root zone. You do not want to apply fertilizer to a 4 square inch area where you’re planting the tomato. You want to cover the entire potential root zone. A bush type tomato variety can easily grow to have a root zone with a radius of one foot from the trunk of the plant. If you’re planting transplants or seeds, you never want to use too much nitrogen right where the transplant or seed/s is being planted. Worm castings are great for initial development and can be used in the holes you plant in. Greensand and worm castings can be mixed into the top six inches of soil where the potential root zone is and a one time application of chicken manure can be scratched into the surface of the soil as your main, slow release, nitrogen application. If you plan to add additional applications of fertilizer, worm castings are great for disease resistance for soil applications and/or foliar feeds. Worm Castings do have nutrient value, and are low enough in nitrogen to where you aren’t likely to over fertilize.
Additional Notes and Recommendations
These are just general fertilizer recommendations, and it should be noted that many different edible plants will do better in different soil conditions and with different watering schedules. A key thing to understand is that most of them require and/or prefer good drainage, 6.5 - 7 pH and consistency.
These recommendations are for Gainesville and surrounding areas, with typically sandy soils. But even on the west side of Gainesville, there are areas of hard pan clay and limestone, which will require special attention to drainage and soil aeration. In these areas additional Greensand can be added to help loosen clay soils, but it should be understood that may not be enough.
Other variations may include soil acidity and special nutrient requirements. For example, blueberries and pomegranates like more acidic soil, while bananas need much more potassium than the typical plant.
For additional information on specific soil and plant needs, there are thousands of books you can refer to and the more questions we answer, the more questions we have. I’m happy to say, I think that’s what makes life interesting.