Best Organic All Purpose Fertilizer???

Hi all :) I just planted more than a few baby perennials in my front flower beds, and was wondering what the best fertilizer would be for a spring feeding? Fish emulsion?

Also, a handful of my perennials are heavy feeders, and although I've amended with organic matter, they'll likely need a boost again mid-summer. Suggestions?

Oops! One more thing! LOL -- I'll also be planting a few annuals and would like to know the organic equivalent of Miracle Gro :) This is my first year going organic and I'm going cold turkey, LOL. Any suggestions would be fantastic. It would be wonderful to find something that meets all of the needs I described :)

Thanks!
Huga

Hi Huga,
Composted manure! I think all organic gardeners sing the praises of its earthy goodness! Make yourself a mixture of composted manure, alfalfa meal or pellets, and good compost. Spread liberally. Just leave bit of space around the stem of the plant, like you would with compost anyway.
Then sit back and get yourself a big glass of tea! This will meet all of the needs you described. When your 'heavy feeders' need a boost, just use more of your mixture.
Between times, to keep your plants healthy and thriving, compost/alfalfa tea is the remedy. Lots of info on this thread about this. If you do this regularly, depending on what you grow, you probalby won't need the mid-season feed.
Have fun!
Pixy

I use composted manure and Espoma Plant -tone All Purpose Organic Fertilizer. It comes in assorted varieties for different plant needs and it works great. Last year was the first year I went WITHOUT Miracle Grow and used this stuff instead and it was my BEST year ever in the garden. Everything grew beautifully and healthy as can be.

Happy gardening!

Toni

Just received the Gardens Alive! catalog today with the $25 coupon, so I'm going to order a bag of worm castings. I also like the natural soil activator and liquid fertilizer from Medina Products in Hondo.

Second vote for Espoma Plant Tone! Please note that not ALL their products are organic, some are just "rich in organice ingredients", which is less than 10%. But Plant Tone IS ORGANIC. Tomato-Tone is NOT. Holly Tone isn't, but I use it on flowering shrubs and deciduous trees.

I also say Yea, Composted manure, compost tea, worm casting tea. But the one indispensable organic fertilizer we use is fish emulsion. We blend all of our own granulars because we use so much that buying pre-mixed organics are too expensive. Fish emulsion is our choice for perennials, roses and all other heavy feeders. During hot weather we hit (and we get a lot of it..lol) we use seaweed extracts (Maxicrop, Grow-More) to reduce transpiration difficulties and add micronutrients.

Hugahosta, good luck with your first year 'cold turkey', and remember that turkey feather meal...lol, (yes it's real) is 12% N and lasts for about 120 days.
So going cold turkey in the garden is a good thing..;-))

Composted manure, kelp (both powdered and foliar), and fish emulsion

m m good!

A double yes to the kelp and to the fish emulsion. I use powdered kelp in my tea sometimes.(also mushroom compost, worm castings, whatever I have on hand). But this year I am going to try to collect some kelp myself at the beaches around here. Fish emulsion is great, but I have to admit that when I use it my dogs go insane. They will not leave my garden alone. Ditto with blood meal. It makes me crazy.

I've not heard of Espoma Plant Tone. I'll have to give that a try.

Pixydish
What do you do to the seaweed before you use it as a fertilizer? I have wanted to collect seaweed for a while but I don't know what to do with it.I would think you need to soak it to get the salt out but for how long?

Downscale, I don't think you have to do anything at all to it. It lives in salt water, but doesn't contain more salt than other plants. Here's a link to a cool website about composting and compost tea. This is the page on kelp:
http://www.plantea.com/seaweed-kelp.htm

Surfside Beach, huh? Bet it's beautiful there!

Pixydish
Thanks for the website.
Surfside Beach is a small town south of Myrtle Beach which has been called the "Redneck Riviera" but yes Surfside Beach is very beautiful.I love living so close to the beach that I can walk there.During the off season months it is empty and wonderful to walk on the beach at times alone.In the summer it's another story.
I love the Pacific Northwest and would love to live there.Your garden's are so lush! Wow that was a great website.Thanks again.

This message was edited Apr 29, 2005 6:29 AM

Hey, you are welcome! FYI, the reason our gardens are so lush is because of so much RAIN! LOL Like today! It's just pouring outside. Doesn't it just figure that the one day I have the entire day ahead of me to get gardening stuff done and work on the pond, I'll be wearing a raincoat!

ALERT READERS: THE FOLLOWING IS TOTALLY OFF TOPIC!

Speaking of rain, here's a photo of me 'enjoying' the beach up here in WAshington last summer! Not an attractive photo, but one look says it all!

I remember the North Carolina beaches from my childhood. Probably not much different than yours. I remember a particular trip to the beach where my sister and I filled a bucket with shells and put it in the station wagon. We were riding in the back looking at our shells when the bucket turned over and all the shells began to walk around! They were all filled with hermit crabs. We thought it very, very cool, but mom pulled a u-turn and headed back to the beach to dump them out so they wouldn't 'stink', as she put it! Man, that mom never did let me keep my critters I found!

Anytime your want to travel this way, come on up and I'll give you the grand tour!