Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
known nutrient—and every unknown nutrient—finds its way
into your garden beds. Wood ashes should be used no more
often than once every three years because of the salts they can
put into the soil and because they can raise the soil pH.
Fertilizers should be added to the soil a couple of weeks
before planting and worked into the garden bed; any
additional fertilizer should then be added on top of the ground
as a side dressing, perhaps diluted 50/50 with some dried
compost.
The reason for dilution is that some organic fertilizers, such
as blood meal, are pretty powerful—as powerful as
synthetics—and if they touch crop foliage directly, they can
damage plants.
Liquid fertilizers are worth mentioning, particularly those
intended for application directly to leaves. These tend to be
extremely dilute so that they won't hurt the plants, and they
are a good choice for reducing transplant shock.
In some cases, liquid fertilizers can be a lifesaver. One year, I
planted out cabbage well before last frost in a newly prepared
bed. Having added one-third of the bed's volume in compost
of every sort imaginable, I made the mistake of assuming the
bed had adequate nutrients. What I had forgotten is that plants
can't use nitrogen when the soil is too cold. A couple of days
after the cabbage plants were planted, they turned yellow,
starting from the oldest leaves first, which is a classic
symptom of severe nitrogen deficiency.
