I have a large and never-fed garden. I wish to start feeding these plants. I’m composting now, but when and how often do I fertilize?
Has your garden been thriving in years past? If so, I don’t think you need to add fertilizers. There’s no single packaged fertilizer that will be universally beneficial to every plant in your garden. Different plants have different needs, and it’s never wise to add fertilizer without doing a soil test.
On the other hand, you mention you are tending a compost pile. You can apply compost once or twice a year and it will be helpful to all your plants.
Here is information from The Ann Lovejoy Handbook of Northwest Gardening (Sasquatch Press, 2007):
“When do we need to feed? For ornamental plants, including trees and shrubs, spring and fall are the traditional feeding times. Spring feeds are generally fast-acting, offering rapidly growing plants the nutrients they need for a strong summer performance. A feeding mulch of compost can be fortified with fast-acting alfalfa, which will release more nitrogen if combined with composted manures. Alfalfa comes in meal or pellets. I like the big pellets used to feed goats, which are easy to spread and are available without added medication [my note: some alfalfa is treated, for use as animal feed].
“In fall, most plants stop producing fresh top growth, even though our Northwest winters are generally mild. Fall is a good time to feed roots, which continue to stretch and grow underground despite low temperatures. Adding whole fish meal to your compost feeding mulch will fortify roots with phosphorus.”
Professor Sarah Reichard, director of UW Botanic Gardens, discusses fertilizers as sources of pollution in our water supply. In her book The Conscientious Gardener: Cultivating a Garden Ethic (University of California Press, 2011), she states:
“If water inevitably drains downhill, how do we stop fertilizers and pesticides from moving with it? The easiest way is not to use them. This needn’t come at the cost of your plants. Most woody plants and herbaceous perennials do not require much fertilizer. Mulching with well-aged manure, compost, or other easily broken-down organic materials will supply all the necessary nutrients.”