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.”
We plan to put in a vegetable garden next spring where we now have grass. It is a great sunny spot that we think would work well for this. The question is, after we cut out the sod this fall, someone has suggested we plant rye grass for the winter, is this a good solution? If not, what do we do to the soil this winter? (We plan to bring in some top soil after we take out the sod).
There are several approaches that you can use to get your new garden ready. One is from Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon. He
recommends removing the grass, covering it with no more than 1/2 inch of
completely rotted compost or 1 inch of raw ruminant manure, and spread
agricultural lime at 50 pounds per 1,000 square foot. Do this in early
October. Then scatter small-seeded fava bean seed at 6 to 8 pounds per
1,000 square feet. Rototill no more than 2 inches deep and relax until May.
In late May you rototill deeply and or spade in the overwintered garden
area. Then you can plant.
Another information source, Seattle Tilth’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide,
recommends using an annual winter cover crop to improve the soil. It
suggests using 85% legume and 15% grain for maximum nitrogen fixation. For
the legume, you can use Field peas, Crimson clover, Fava beans or vetch. For
the grain you can use cereal rye, winter wheat, spelt or barley. Most of
these are applied at about 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Again you would
rototill or turn under the cover crop in late April or May.
Solomon’s method will provide a better total approach. You also should
consider having your soil tested to find out what is missing and what your
pH level is.
Help! My clay soil is stunting the growth of my plants. I’ve amended the soil with compost and manure. Is there a another method of conditioning the soil that you can recommend?
First and most important, it appears mulching is the best organic solution for conditioning clay and heavy soils. Organic soil conditioners include compost, well-rotted animal manures, and natural fertilizers. Planting green manures such as clover, rye grass, or vetch are also effective for breaking up large clods in clay soil over time.
Sheet composting – laying compost over the entire area to be worked and using a fork (or rototiller) to work it into the soil to a depth of 2-4 inches – is cited by the resources listed below as an efficient method of soil conditioning. Both books listed below recommend repeating this process at least twice a year, in early spring and in late fall.
Secrets to Great Soil [by Elizabeth P. Stell, 1998, (pbk)] and
The Gardener’s Guide to Better Soil [by Gene Logsdon, 1975, (pbk)]
The Saving Water Partnership (the City of Seattle and other government entities) has a website full of information about improving soil.
The site includes Growing Healthy Soil.
Current thinking contradicts the notion of working compost or other amendments into the soil, as explained in a March 31, 2010 Garden Professors blog post by Professor Linda Chalker-Scott of Washington State University Extension Horticulture. She specifically takes issue with the “Growing Healthy Soil” information linked above. Here is an excerpt:
“Not only will extensive digging or rototilling destroy any soil structure you might have, it will also take out the roots of any desirable plants in the vicinity). […] improper soil amendment can cause serious problems such as soil subsidence, perched water tables, and nutrient overloads. This last point is especially important to anyone living near aquatic ecosystems, since excess nutrients always end up in the water.
Before you plant this year, find out what your soil needs before amending it. And remember that mulching is the natural (and sustainable) way to add organic matter to the soil.”