5 Step Garden Fertilizing Program

A Better Way to Fertilize Your Gardens and Crops

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The basic life cycle of a plant can be broken down into four major stages:

1. An emergence from seed.

2. A growth stage.

3. A production stage where buds, flowers and fruit/seed form.

4. And finally, a maturation stage where fruits/seeds ripen.

Even perennials, berries and tree crops go through these cycles annually beginning each year with a growth stage. Aside from the need for appropriate temperature, sunlight and water, at each stage of its life cycle the plant will have different nutritional requirements.

If plants do not receive the right nutrients at these critical stages of it's development, they will produce less and quality will be poorer. They will also be more susceptible to diseases and insect attacks.

THE PROBLEM: Most growers and home gardeners apply fertilizer to the ground early in the season and hope it will all be absorbed by the plant roots as needed throughout the year. But poor soil quality (clay, compacted, sandy, sterile), lack or excess water, and temperature or climatic extremes all can reduce fertilizer availability in the root zone at critical times. Insufficient fertilizer uptake at these critical times will cause poor yields and weaker plants with lower survival rate.

THE SOLUTION: Begin Foliar Feeding your plants with the right nutrients for the stage of growth that they are in. Foliar Feeding inexpensively and immediately gives the crop the right nutrients at the time they are needed. That, combined with nutrients already in the root zone, will help your garden have better quality and much greater quantity than you've most likely ever experienced before.

Foliar Feeding is simply coating the leaves with a fine mist spray containing a light liquid solution of nutrients and water. You can use a simple plant mister or pump sprayer for foliar spraying. Plants have tiny breathing openings, mostly under the leaf, called the stomata. The stomata take in nutrients right into their vascular system where the plants can move them around quickly. Try to get the spray on the underside of the leave where possible.

Years ago, in research funded by the Atomic Energy Commission, the value of Foliar Feeding was brought to light. Tests proved that it was 8-10 times more effective to foliar feed a plant as far as the amount of nutrients required and the speed with which those nutrients were utilized. A healthy plant after a foliar spray will show that the nutrients have moved throughout the whole plant, from the uppermost leaves all the way into the roots tips.

In our 5 Step Garden Fertilizing Program below, you begin foliar feeding when plants are in the Growth Stage, which is Step 3.

5 STEP GARDEN FERTILIZING PROGRAM

1. BED PREPARATION

Mix in a nutrient-balanced granular or powdered Garden Fertilizer into your beds, tilling or spading well into where plant roots will grow. Try to distribute it evenly throughout the top 8 inches. Garden fertilizers generally contain more phosphorus than lawn fertilizers in order to help with fruit and flower formation and rooting too. Organic, or Organic-based fertilizers are preferred since they will not only feed the plants, but will help improve the soil quality as well.

Typically, the NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) numbers on a true organic fertilizer will be low, with something like 4-3-4 on the label and directions will be to apply anywhere from 3-10# per 100 sf. Do not skimp. If you are using a non-organic fertilizer, the numbers might be 10-10-10, and you will apply less of this type than the organic ones. Follow label directions for all fertilizers to avoid burning of plants.

Once your soil improves and you are confident in the results of foliar feeding you should be able to reduce the granular fertilizers by 1/3 or more.

Note: If you have clay or compacted soil you should also be treating regularly with Aerify PLUS. If you have sandy soil you should be adding Nature's Magic or Humic Acid regularly.

2. SEED and TRANSPLANT FERTILIZING

(P) PHOSPHORUS -Seed Stage + Nature's Magic

Newly sprouting seed will benefit from readily available PHOSPHORUS. If you apply plenty of balanced fertilizer in your bed preparation and mixed it so some is near the surface, you probably do not need to add any more. But if you feel you do, put on a light application of the bed fertilizer (or a high phosphorus starter fertilizer) and scratch in only down to 2 inches.

To improve the soil around the seed and encourage rooting and beneficial microbial activity, we recommend spraying Nature's Magic over the beds.

LIQUID STARTER FERTILZER. - If you want to be sure there is plenty of available Phosphorus for seed starting you can make up your own starter fertilizer using one of our high Phosphorus Fertilizers plus some Nature's Magic.

USE 3 parts 3-18-18 (or 6-14-6) to 1 part Nature's Magic.

RATES: In your vegetable garden or for lawn seeding use 1 cup 3-18-18 and 1/3 cup Nature's Magic per 1000 sf. For larger areas use 3 qts 3-18-18 + 1 qt Nature's Magic per acre.

TRANSPLANT FERTILIZING - Assuming the beds have been fertilized in advance, just use Nature's Magic at 2 oz per gallon of water. Spray over plants and generously wet the soil where new roots will grow.

3. GROWTH STAGE FERTILIZING

For any young or established plant that needs to grow more before flowering. For greens, or berries, vines and tree crops that leaf out and grow each year. In this stage the plant is in the growth mode, and it continues until the plant starts to bud or flower. Nitrogen is needed to aid the plant in this stage, along with a proportionate combination of Phosphorus and Potassium.

(N) NITROGEN –Growth Stage - Use 16-4-8, Fish Emulsion (5-1-1), 10-8-8

By supplying the plant with extra Nitrogen via foliar sprays every 7-10 days you are helping the plant grow faster move into the next stage more easily. Begin spraying transplants after they have been established for a week. For seeded plants, wait until they are hardy and actively growing before beginning to spray. .

You can also apply our Liquid Calcium / Liquid Lime (which also contains 6% Nitrogen) during this phase to help with stalk and stem strength and color. It will also help with fruit quality.

Other applications you can make at this stage and the next are Organic MicroNutrients and Seaweed, both of which supply a lot of secondary and trace nutrients.

4. PRODUCTION STAGE FERTILIZING

In this stage of the plant's life, it is ready to produce buds, flowers and fruit. Growth is usually slowing down or completed. This is where we change from a high Nitrogen fertilizer to a higher PHOSPHORUS fertilizer (along with the right type of nitrogen and potassium). Do not switch to these fertilizers for green leafy plants that you do not want to flower or go to seed.

(P) PHOSPHORUS – Production Stage - Use 6-14-6

Our 6-14-6 fertilizer, Bio-enhanced with Humic Acid and Kelp will help produce an enormous amount of buds and flowers, which will lead to more fruits/vegetables in the garden. Spray every 7-10 days.

Phosphorus, along with Calcium* , will also encourage the fruit cells that are being formed to fill in with body, giving more weight and mineral value.

(C) CALCIUM For firmer, healthier fruits and vegetables. When fruits are beginning to form, we recommend 1 or 2 foliar sprays of Liquid Calcium/Lime 1-2 weeks apart. Continue every 2 weeks for ever-bearing plants. This will help prevent soft or hollow fruits, cracked/deformed pits, and diseases like blossom-end rot in tomatoes.

5. MATURATION STAGE FERTILIZING

For FRUIT & FLOWER QUALITY

Once your plants have produced fruit and that fruit begins to mature, high POTASH with high PHOSPHORUS is needed with just the right combination of Nitrogen. This will “finish off” the crop and help build quality, including higher sugar and more dissolved solids. If you foliar spray the leaves it will get absorbed and move into the fruits.

(K) POTASH - Maturation Stage - Use 3-18-18

Switch to the 3-18-18 after fruits have formed and are beginning to change color or mature.

For FLOWER CROPS use the 6-14-6 to promote initial budding and flowering, then switch to the 3-18-18 for higher quality, longer lasting cut flowers.

No part of this may be copied without permission from Nature's Lawn & Garden, Inc.