Hello,
Newbie gardner here that is trying hard. I'm in North Florida and am
gardening in raised beds. Have a little bit of all the common stuff in and
up but it just doesnt seem to be "taking off".
May I ask the more experienced folks out there what a good "All-Round"
fertilizer to side dress my plants and rows might be? Maybe this is what I
might need to kick them into "gear"?
I bought a bag of 10-10-10 but have not used it yet. Thought I might ask
ya'll first. I dont think a liquid fertilizer would be my best bet because
most of our soil down here is a mix of clay and sand. Being I'm in raised
beds that drain well, I feel a liquid fertilizer would get "washed out"
before the plants have a chance to get to it.
Comments or suggestions?

Thank you in advance for you time.
Dave...Down in Florida

10-10-10 will work for most veggies if you use it sparingly. Really
good for corn and leafy vegetables ( cabbage family) too much nitrogen
for beans, southern peas etc. 5-10-10 or 5 -10 15 is better because
there is less chance of overdosing your plants on nitrogen. The foliar
feeds like Miracle Gro are good for jump starting, not so good for
regular feeding. Manures, blood meal, alfalfa meal, fish products also
work, but are expensive.

Why do you have raised beds if you already have good drainage and hot
weather?

"D.Reid" wrote in message
...
Hello,
Newbie gardner here that is trying hard. I'm in North Florida and am
gardening in raised beds. Have a little bit of all the common stuff in and
up but it just doesnt seem to be "taking off".
May I ask the more experienced folks out there what a good "All-Round"
fertilizer to side dress my plants and rows might be? Maybe this is what I
might need to kick them into "gear"?
I bought a bag of 10-10-10 but have not used it yet. Thought I might ask
ya'll first. I dont think a liquid fertilizer would be my best bet
because
most of our soil down here is a mix of clay and sand. Being I'm in raised
beds that drain well, I feel a liquid fertilizer would get "washed out"
before the plants have a chance to get to it.
Comments or suggestions?


I agree with FarmerDill about the high N. Be careful sidedressing you don't
it up against the plant stem or it'll burn/kill them. Too much N on some
plants will encourage lush growth and few flowers.

After transplanting, I water with a fish oil solution (5-0-0). Once the
plants are established about a week or two later, I sidedress with a small
handful of 5-10-10 on each side of the plant. The sidedressing is applied
about 4" away from the plant the day before rain is expected. Then I
lightly hoe it into the soil. Next time I hoe, I pull a little of the soil
up against the plant.

On Tue, 9 May 2006 19:28:14 -0400, "D.Reid"
wrote:

Hello,
Newbie gardner here that is trying hard. I'm in North Florida and am
gardening in raised beds. Have a little bit of all the common stuff in and
up but it just doesnt seem to be "taking off".
May I ask the more experienced folks out there what a good "All-Round"
fertilizer to side dress my plants and rows might be? Maybe this is what I
might need to kick them into "gear"?

That's an "It depends" question.

Did you have your soil tested? If you already have a nitrogen
heavy soil, putting 10-10-10 on it will probably give you plenty
of lush foliage, but not a lot of fruit. On the other hand, if
you have nitrogen deficient soils, 10-10-10 would probably be a
good thing.

But...

This early in the season it probably won't hurt. Later you might
want to try a veggie specific fertilize to encourage heavier
fruiting. I usually start mine off with a kelp fertilizer, but I
like to stay organic where I can.

You said your garden hasn't taken off. How long have the plants
been in the ground, and what have the nighttime temps been? It's
been alternating between unseasonably warm and unseasonably cool
here in South Carolina. On the warm weeks, you can almost watch
the basil grow, but on the cool weeks it just sits there looking
gloomy.

Penelope

Penelope

--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed"

D.Reid wrote:
Hello,
Newbie gardner here that is trying hard. I'm in North Florida and am
gardening in raised beds. Have a little bit of all the common stuff in and
up but it just doesnt seem to be "taking off".
May I ask the more experienced folks out there what a good "All-Round"
fertilizer to side dress my plants and rows might be? Maybe this is what I
might need to kick them into "gear"?
I bought a bag of 10-10-10 but have not used it yet. Thought I might ask
ya'll first. I dont think a liquid fertilizer would be my best bet because
most of our soil down here is a mix of clay and sand. Being I'm in raised
beds that drain well, I feel a liquid fertilizer would get "washed out"
before the plants have a chance to get to it.
Comments or suggestions?

Thank you in advance for you time.
Dave...Down in Florida




10-10-10 is OK. 10-20-10 or 12-24-12 is probably better for most crops.
15-5-9 or 20-3-3 is better for corn.

Fertilize lightly, except for the corn.

Best regards,
Bob