"The moderator" wrote in message
. ..
I am building my first vegetable garden. I took some soil to be tested and
it was recommended that I put 8 pounds of 13-13-13 per 1000 sq ft.

My garden is only 160 square feet so I don't need very much. The Coop
suggested a small bag of 6-7-7 and using twice as much (2.5 pounds). This
makes sense, but thought I would check here for confirming advice.

A legitimate soil tester would have been concerned with PH values... there's
no point in adding fertilizer before knowing your soil PH. I wouldn't add
any fertilizer to a vegetable garden its first season anyway. It sounds
like wherever you went they were just trying to sell you a supply of
fertilizer, probably something you really don't need. You'd do better to
buy your own little soil test kit so you can check the PH, a basic kit costs
under $10. You can add some granular lime to lower acidity, add peat moss
to raise acidity... don't add too much or you will find yourself seesawing.
For fertilizing your size garden till/spade in like a half dozen 40lb bags
of composted cow manure, after the first growing season. Think about
composting... you'll never need to buy any additives.