Re: fertilizing

I second what Doug has written...very well put.  IMO, compost and
mulch are all most plants need.  Manure the roses.  Unless a plant is
looking off color or not growing (which, of course, could be due to
other factors) or you *know* from a soil test that your soil lacks
some particular element of NPK, you are best off not feeding.  Unless
plants are in active leaf growth, they can't use nitrogen anyway and
it just runs off to pollute the waterways.  So, save some
money.....buy a few bags of cow manure and mulch:-)...and, of course,
prepare your soil well before planting:-)

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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> From: Doug Green <flowers@simplegiftsfarm.com>
> Date: Friday, February 18, 2000 8:19 AM
> 
> At 07:34 PM 2/17/2000 -0500, you wrote:
> >Hi all-
> >One of my goals this year is to do a better job of fertilizing my
> >existing garden plants but honestly I am not the type to have 12
> >different types for various perennials/roses/shrubs etc.  Can
anyone
> >recommend a good as-close-to-all-purpose fertilizer as you can
get?
> 
> Compost.:-)
> 
> >Last year I used Osmocote (18-6-12) when planting perennials
> 
> Hmmm. In my experience, high Nitrogen fertilizers overstimulate
perennial
> flowers. Whether slow release like your Osmocote or simply regular
garden
> blends - the effect is the same.  The effect is shoot elongation
and floppy
> flowers. Oh, to be sure the garden looks like its growing like mad
with
> greenery everywhere but that greenery is often not tough enough to
support
> the weight of the blooms it produces.  Delphiniums (and Terry might
want to
> comment on this) are particularly easy to make shoot for the sky
with an
> extra dose of N - however, if you do this you had better make sure
you have
> a bundle of stakes handy 'cause you're going to need them.;-)
> 
> One of the nicest small perennial gardens in the Toronto area is
owned by
> David Tomlinson (about 1 acre) and all the feed his plants get are
the
> leaves he mulches with every fall. I remember well the gasps the
audience
> gave when David showed his gardens at one of our plant seminars (I
ran
> seminars when I ran my nursery) and told them to forget about
putting
> fertilizer on the plants. If they didn't have leaves - just use a
half inch
> of compost in the spring. (Over a beer afterwards we joked that he
just
> killed my retail garden centre fertilizer sales);-)
> 
> Several years of mulch/compost and you create a soil that will
support the
> luxuriant growth of perennials and create a much healthier garden
soil
> (hence healthier plants) as well.
> 
> >Do you have preferences of liquid v. granular?  Slow release v.
regular
> >feedings?  I'm starting from near-zero knowledge on this...all
help is
> >appreciated.
> 
> My book on old gardening methods is due to be released in April or
May and
> one of my favourite quotes from the book comes from an American
grower
> around NY city in the late 1800's when he's talking about all the
various
> fertilizer compounds - one for tomatoes - one for roses etc etc. 
He goes
> on to point out in his pithy terms that none of these differences
are
> recognized as being "more efficacious" in his trials. "Use
well-rotted
> manure and lots of it" says he.
> 
> Its hard to improve on the old masters when it comes to basic
gardening.:-)
> 
> Doug
> Doug Green,
> Your gardening questions answered in free weekly newsletter.
> http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com
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> 
>
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