Applying Fertilizer: How Often Do I Need to Fertilize My Garden? (2024)

FAQs

Applying Fertilizer: How Often Do I Need to Fertilize My Garden? ›

Vegetable gardeners can fertilize their garden beds about once a month with a quick-release fertilizer or about once a season with a slow-release fertilizer. Some gardeners prefer to feed their flowers and plants with a liquid-soluble plant food once every one to two weeks.

Vegetables that are growing in well-drained, porous soil need to be fertilized about every three to four weeks throughout the plants' growing season. Continue to apply fertilizer to your plants even when you see fruit or veggies appearing. The fertilizer ensures the plants will continue to produce.

Using fertilizer

Use 2 to 3 pounds of fertilizer such as 10-20-10 for every 100 square feet of garden area. If the garden soil has not been tested, use 2 to 3 pounds of fertilizer such as 10-20- 10 for every 100 square feet of garden area.

All dry fertilizers should be worked or watered into the top 3 to 5 inches of soil with hoe or spade work after being applied to help the fertilizer leach down toward the plants' root zones. If your plants are already growing, cultivate them gently so that you do not damage any roots.

Soluble fertilizers, for instance, are applied every two weeks during the growing season. Granular fertilizers are generally applied about every six to eight weeks. Slow-release fertilizers work for months, so one application is generally all that is needed for a growing season.

Fertilizer root-burn

If you pull your plants out of the ground and the roots are blackened or brown and limp, it can be caused by either excess water or excess fertilizer. If the soil water content is not higher, then it is most likely a case of fertilizer root burn.

Tomatoes thrive when fertilized every 4 to 6 weeks during the growing season. Harvesting your first tomato signals the last fertilizer application of the season. When should I add fertilizer to my tomato plants? Fertilize tomatoes at planting time with a water-soluble fertilizer high in phosphorus.

There are several ways granular and powdered fertilizer can be applied. On our beds we amend with plenty of compost at the beginning of the planting season, work in, smooth out and sprinkle fertilizers over the surface and lightly work into the top 2" of soil.

Applying fertilizer in the wrong season can cause increased tender new growth that can be damaged, especially if applied in cold weather in late fall or in winter. So it is best to stop fertilizing during dormant seasons. Additionally, in zones that can be in danger of a late freeze, it's best to wait until mid-spring.

How soon after fertilizing can I fertilize again? ›

Once you've applied your first application in early March or late April, wait 6-8 weeks before giving your lawn a second feeding to avoid over-fertilizing and burning your lawn. This second feeding will ensure your lawn is adequately prepared to withstand the hot, summer months.

Late afternoon or early evening (when there's still light, of course) is the best time of day to apply lawn fertilizer. Applying it in the heat of a scorching afternoon can cause the sun's rays to burn your grass—and when your goal is "lush and green," burned grass blades simply won't cut it.

Most fertilizers usually begin showing results within one to five days once they've been thoroughly absorbed by your lawn. Slow-release formulas, while taking a bit longer, should still yield noticeable improvements in your lawn's health within a couple of weeks.

Light green foliage and yellowing mature foliage can be a sign that a plant needs nitrogen. Chlorosis (light green leaves with dark green veins) can be a signal that a plant needs potassium. If older leaves are turning purple at the base and other leaves are dull, dark-green, there could be a deficiency of phosphorous.

In addition to feeding your plants, it's important to give them a high quality soil environment—fertilizer and soil work together to provide your garden with what it needs to grow big and produce a great harvest.

A common recommendation for vegetables is to apply 1 pound of a 10-10-10 fertilizer or 2 pounds of a 5-10-5 (or 5-10-10) fertilizer per 100 feet of row.