I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers but I am at a loss as to the type
of fertilizer to use and how much.
Every one sold in the gardening centers has a different ratio and they all
claim to be the best.

"Andy Petro" wrote in message
...
I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers but I am at a loss as to the type
of fertilizer to use and how much.
Every one sold in the gardening centers has a different ratio and they
all claim to be the best.

You likely don't need any commercial fertilizer for the home garden... a
little composted cow manure is probably as good as it gets. You'd be wise
to get yourelf a composter for your kitchen scraps.

In article ,
"brooklyn1" wrote:

"Andy Petro" wrote in message
...
I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers but I am at a loss as to the type
of fertilizer to use and how much.
Every one sold in the gardening centers has a different ratio and they
all claim to be the best.

You likely don't need any commercial fertilizer for the home garden... a
little composted cow manure is probably as good as it gets. You'd be wise
to get yourelf a composter for your kitchen scraps.

I've composted for 40 years without a composter .

http://tinyurl.com/d9czbc

Bill got one now however as the aeration aspect is easier.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

Not all who wander are lost.
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

In article ,
"Andy Petro" wrote:

I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers but I am at a loss as to the type
of fertilizer to use and how much.
Every one sold in the gardening centers has a different ratio and they all
claim to be the best.

For Tomatoes

100 - 180 lbs N per acre

Acre = 43,560 sq. ft.

http://www.maasnursery.com/organictechniques.htm
Table 2. Manure application rates.
To apply from 1/4 to 1/2 pound actual nitrogen, add one of the following:
50 to 100 lbs. undried cattle manure
20 to 50 lbs. undried poultry manure
12 to 25 lbs. dried cattle manure
5 to 10 lbs. dried poultry manure

There after, use fish emulsion every couple of weeks. Occasional banana
peels can't hurt either.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html

On Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:23:13 -0400, "Andy Petro"
wrote:

I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers but I am at a loss as to the type
of fertilizer to use and how much.
Every one sold in the gardening centers has a different ratio and they all
claim to be the best.


Some plants need more than others, peppers less. A soil test kit and
the cheap fertilizer works for me. I get better yields using both
organic (manure, compost, fish emulsion, seaweed) and inorganic
fertilizers. Or, consider a time-release fertilizer formulated for
vegetables and flowers. The plant doesn't care about brands, just
that you feed it.

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Andy Petro" wrote:

I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers but I am at a loss as to the type
of fertilizer to use and how much.
Every one sold in the gardening centers has a different ratio and they all
claim to be the best.

For Tomatoes

100 - 180 lbs N per acre

Acre = 43,560 sq. ft.

http://www.maasnursery.com/organictechniques.htm
Table 2. Manure application rates.
To apply from 1/4 to 1/2 pound actual nitrogen, add one of the following:
50 to 100 lbs. undried cattle manure
20 to 50 lbs. undried poultry manure
12 to 25 lbs. dried cattle manure
5 to 10 lbs. dried poultry manure

There after, use fish emulsion every couple of weeks. Occasional banana
peels can't hurt either.

With peppers you will want to add the equivalent of three to four tons
per acre of chicken manure.
http://www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/Research/chili.html

When should you fertilize your peppers? Take your choice -- either
before planting or throughout the growing season. Little or no
difference in yield was seen in a study that compared the effects of
slow-release fertilizer applied before planting to soluble nitrogen
fertilizer applied several times throughout the season.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...tables/peppers.
html

Careful with the Fertilizer
You also have to be careful when fertilizing. Sometimes pepper plants
will have lots of blossoms but not enough fruit. This could be due to
extremes of heat (temperatures above 90° F) or cold (below 55° F). Under
these conditions, blossoms will drop off the plant rather than set. A
lack of magnesium can contribute to the problem. To restore magnesium,
buy some Epsom salts at the drugstore and add about one tablespoon to an
empty spray bottle. Then fill the bottle with lukewarm water, shake it
up so the Epsom salts dissolve and spray the solution on the leaves and
blossoms of your pepper plants. If you do this a couple of times during
the blossom period, you should have plenty of peppers.
http://www.garden.org/foodguide/brow...plant_care/521

Organic fertilizer breaks down slowly, so it will provide nutriments
through the growing season.

Once flowering begins with any of your plants, don't give them any high
nitrogen fertilizers. Phosphate and potassium will help roots and
blooms. To this end, fish emulsion on a bi-monthly basis is a good idea
(low nitrogen), and add potassium magnesium sulfate (organic fertilizer:
0-0-22). If you didn't add rock phosphate to your soil before you
planted add steamed bone meal around your plant (at anytime) and cover
with mulch. The other choice would be to buy some Tomato-tone (4-7-10)
with 3.0% Ca, or Garden-tone (4-6-6) with 3.0% Ca for post flowering
feedings.

Also see:
http://www.plantstogrow.com/Botany/W...anic%20sources
%20of%20NPK.pdf
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html