What does everyone do fertilizer wise in their gardens this time of the year. This thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/649327/ speaks about epsom salts and Alfalfa tea. What do you do for your bulbs, lillies, azaleas, lawn [god help that], etc. I've always used chemical styled fertilizers and such for everything, but it is starting to bother me that this all heads down to the aquifers where we get our drinking water. I've heard great things about Hollytone [?spelling?].
Fall Feeding
There are some things (like roses) that you are supposed to stop feeding because new growth could actually harm the plant. I don't fertilize much in Fall (except bulbs) for this reason & I guess it seemed counter-intuitive to me. But I'm glad to be educated.
Anita, I stopped using synthetic fertilizer a long time ago for the reasons you mentioned plus I had a well (no chemical pesticides either) Hollytone is great and made for acid loving plants but there are buches of alternatives from one that will help keep deer away (Milorganite) to fish emulsions to regular organic fertilizers even at Home Depot these days. The makers of hollytone make a fertilizer for non-acid loving plants too.
I have been using Bill's along with Spray & Grow (same maker)
I use Gardens Alive bulb food (Organic) in the Fall and early in the Spring before bulb blooming starts. This Fall I'm planning on doing a nitrogen-fixing cover crop on my neighbor's garden plot and my mountain of humus and any other place that has a couple of bare square feet. (Haven't decided what to use yet - better make up my mind soon!) I have picked up lots of worms, worm castings and half decomposed leaves off a local demolition site and I plan to use that to mulch for the winter. I will put some veggie scraps in with the mulch to make sure that the worms have food over the winter. If I can beg some wood chips I will mulch the blackberries and other berries with the chips. If I can't get any - I will rake up the acorns and twigs in the back yard to mulch them. (I feed the squirrels corn - so they won't miss the acorns.)
YCat what a good idea to use a cover crop. Do you have any suggestions I could use now for heavy acidic clay. There is a huge strip 3' wide and forty feet long I'd like to"plant " now just to hold the soil in place until spring.
I would suggest contacting your states ag extention service regarding timing for organic vs inorganic fertilizer and the soil temperature. You can very well be fertilizing too early with Holly/Plant/Ect tone too early and it would be a waste of time, money, and fertilizer. kt
Anita - without a soil test for your lawn I cannot give you any specific recomendations. In the absence of a test you generally can't go wrong with a scotts winterizer or winter formula. This will help your grass get ready for the winter by encouraging the growth of healthy roots. If you are going to seed, it should also be done now. Again without a test I cannot tell you to apply lime, but if you decide to apply it, use a calcitic lime. It costs more than a plain dolomitic lime product but is worth the extra money because the calcium will cause the grass to become stronger and more resistant to disease and winter damage caused by wind, ice and snow.
I know my suggesting a chemical fert. for your lawn may not help much. maybe your county ext. agency could steer you to an organic solution.
This message was edited Sep 13, 2006 6:53 PM
Sorry -no suggestions for a cover crop. I have to pull out my Seeds of Change catalog and see what they recommend. Or maybe google it? I'm really a novice gardener (despite the six pairs of overalls I own) and just a lot and try out everything.
I know somebody who uses winter rye grass for a cover crop... it grows quickly, dark green, and is easy to pull up in the spring
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.asp?item_no=PS11533
This message was edited Sep 13, 2006 9:56 PM
Thanks for those great suggestions everyone! I find it so interesting to hear what everyone else does.
Thanks claypa winter rye grass sounds perfect. My driveway will look like it has a Mohawk straight down the center where it was ripped up to put in utility lines. A quick fix until it's hardscaped next spring.
This message was edited Sep 15, 2006 5:07 AM
Semper, Can't remember which (mabe winter rye) but some cover crops are listed especially to help break-up clay. I will be using mammoth clover this year which I think is also good for clay soil.
This will be my 3rd year with a cover crop.
Dave47 - where do you get your clover seeds - I want to try the mammoth clover myself.
YC,
Territorial Seed Co http://www.territorial-seed.com/stores/1/index.cfm