Extreme gardening: This will help veggies through swings of cold to hot, wet to dry
How are your vegetables growing? I would say our “normal” spring was an abnormal spring. Cold, warm to cool, followed by dry to wet extremes. Plants got off to a slow start due to extended cool soil temps. Nutrients in the soil that are essential for healthy root development were leached out of the soil with all the rainfall. That means a little fertilizer may be just what the plants need for a productive season.
What fertilizer is needed?
Nitrogen is the nutrient most needed by plants. Use a fertilizer composed primarily of nitrogen, such as nitrate of soda (16-0-0). Apply this fertilizer at the rate of 2 pounds (equals 2 pints) per 100 feet of row. High nitrogen lawn fertilizers such as a 27-3-3, 30-3-4, 29-5-4 or something similar are good choices, but the rate should be 1 pound (1 pint) per 100 feet of row. Do not use lawn fertilizers that contain weed killers or weed preventers.
Only have a few plants and not 100-foot row? Then use these lower rates. When using the nitrate of soda, apply 2 tablespoons per plant. If using high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer, cut the application to 1 tablespoon per plant. Evenly spread any fertilizer application about 4 inches out and around the planting, away from the plant stems, rather than clumped in one spot. This is also referred to as side-dressing. Just as the roots go out in all directions, so should the fertilizer.
What vegetables need food?
The better question is what vegetables do not need food? Yes, some vegetables will produce lower yields if they receive excessive amounts of nitrogen. These include sweet potatoes, watermelons, carrots, beets, parsnips and lettuce. These crops are best left alone when you are ready to fertilize in the garden.
Tomatoes require the most food. Three additional fertilizer applications should be made during the growing season. The first application should be made one to two weeks before the first tomato ripens. For those of you that planted early, this first application should be made now. Dispense the second application about a month later, or two weeks after picking the first ripe tomato. Make the third application another month after the second.
Do you have cucumbers and cantaloupes? They will need a side-dressing of fertilizer one week after blossoms begin. Three weeks later, add another side-dressing of fertilizer to boost fruit production. Other vegetables that need fertilizing around bloom time are peas and beans since they develop their fruit soon after blooming.
Feed your other vegetables in the next few weeks as well. Peppers and eggplant should receive fertilizer after the first fruits began to set. Sweet corn requires two fertilizer applications — the first when plants are 8 to 10 inches tall and the second one about a week after the tassels appear.
For resources on more specific rates of application go to www.riley.k-state.edu/docs/lawnandgardenandother/sidedressing.pdf.
What about organic options?
Organic sources of fertilizers can be used with great success. These products generally have a lower percentage of nitrogen, usually somewhere between 5% to 10%. Based on the lower amount of nutrient per pound, you will want to slightly increase the application rates from the nitrate of soda rates for adequate fertilization.
Timely fertilization can help ensure a summer filled with a variety of fresh vegetables from the garden. I am looking forward to picking vine ripe tomatoes all season long.
Dennis Patton is a horticulture agent with Kansas State University Research and Extension. Have a question for him or other university extension experts? Email them to garden.help@jocogov.org.
