You are a very good speaker. There's a trend of uptalk taking over the airwaves/podcasts where comma'd lists sound more like questions or unconfident suggestions. Your verbal lists are confident and decisive. You sound very professional. I'm going to ask more people to please talk like Jenna when I get annoyed with their uptalk XD.
I am constantly amazed by your depth of knowledge, but also how wonderfuly articulate you are! You are really quite an amazing teacher and gardener, Jenna! This is a fantastic presentation of a very complex subject!!
A little wood ash and gypsum every year. Miracle Gro at half dose weekly. I used to do organic for 15+ years. My mother had 2 boxes of MG she got from Costco. She has dementia so she forgets things. I figured I’d use it since it was free. I remember when I was young out of the Army I used MG. Things were simple and fun. I went back with MG and I love it. No smelly fish emulsion or expensive organic fertilizers for me. I do add fall leaves and till them in for organic material yearly.
Good morning Jenna. I finished a course earlier this year. The top extension agent at NC State visited our class and well....ironically she said they rarely need to recommend P and K in our area because it is already there and usually too much. Eye-opener as an economist. There is a LOT of money being made on balanced fertilizers, like 10-10-10, that are mostly not useful and like you said, potentially harmful to your garden and the general environment. I tested four different beds. Every single one was beyond the recommended range for P, K, which according to her, is STANDARD. Her general suggestion was til once, test to start, amend, and then roll with organic -decomposing- compost on top. At that point, for HERE, you basically feed nitrogen. Blood meal, etc. No more tilling. Just manage the top. My recommendation for each bed was only nitrogen. One bed included a lime recommendation to raise the Ph a tad. Excellent PSA, Jenna. TEST YOUR SOIL.
This really reinforces a lot of what I've been seeing in the research on the topic. And really interesting to hear your test results. You are spot on about the money to be made with 10-10-10... someone earlier in the comments said it should be illegal to buy fertilizer without having a soil test first.... I'm really starting to think that is true, especially for commercial operations. I feel like the chemical 'balanced' fertilizers are honestly causing more harm than good anymore... but there's money to be made so they're still being sold. (ok...rant over)... I appreciate you sharing your personal experience with this!
Thank you Jenna for your excellent learning video for this beginner gardener. I have been vegetable garden for only 1 and 1/2 years. Very quickly I discovered to be a successful kitchen gardener it takes as much research and knowledge I had to have for my PhD lol. Your video was simple to understand, very informative and presented with great techniques! I will be going through all your video's to learn because I trust your knowledge for everything you said was backed with evidence and scientific facts.
Yea! This is the video I really needed. I'm never sure about the "what and when". You've provided us with an excellent go-to reference video for soil 'health' and garden plant nutrition. I love the fact that it was a lot to take in. It will be easy to find the information again. It's all there. Many thanks. I should be even more successful with my gardens this year.
I'm looking forward to the day when my soil looks as good as yours. Very healthy looking soil...I can almost smell it. I heard the best plant nutrient is worm castings, so...like you said, it's best to think about feeding the soil first.
Thanks Jenna for covering this confusing topic for new gardeners as it can be overwhelming. I also use liquid low dose fertilizers for my seedlings and add granular at transplant. Very important to test your soil so you don't over feed the wrong nutrients. The first year I grew peppers, they were 4-5 feet tall as I was giving all my crops the same 10-10-10 fertilizer each time I watered them. LOL Working on getting my own composting bin from a trash can as I don't think the stuff in the stores is that good and God knows what's really in it!
Thank you Jenna, that was so useful and clear! Love to see your academic sources too. I switched all my seed starting to your seed starter mix recipe a month or so ago and I can't believe how gorgeous my seedlings are! They're so much bigger and greener than previous attempts.
I found your videos at the beginning of this garden season and I've watched most of them multiple times. I've learned so much and my energy for figuring out what works for me has been renewed! Anyways, i just wanted to drop in to say that last year my garden struggled through neglect and huge weeds (i had baby #4) and in a last ditch effort to remedy i used Trifecta+ from Migardener and was blown away by the results! Can't wait to get my order in the mail soon because my watermelons are struggling.
I have wanted to try trifecta but have like 300 pounds of various fertilizers right now cause I bought stuff to try and kept it and ended up with more than i ever need so im slowly working through it. Right now im using a few commercial farming fertilizers that are organic which work great. I use a organic granular and then add a liquid product from Purple Cow Organics for soil microbes and etc also helps keep my soil healthy so it can break down organic fertilizers as my soil is sand and its basically beach sand.
I make my own, 100% organic. A good compost ,a good soil technically can go without anything and produce better than anything. And agree the soil itself is the most important!
This video is incredibly informative and helpful for anyone who wants to learn more about fertilizing plants. Keep up the great work, and keep sharing your valuable insights with the world!😍😍👏👏
Hi Jenna, I noticed you use a Ho-Mi Korean garden tool. My in-laws introduced me to this tool many years ago and I have used it ever since. Great for weeding, breaking soil, etc. I have found Korean grocery stores often sell these for less than $10. Most gardeners have never heard of it. When I see someone using one I pay more attention to what they have to say. I enjoy your videos!
Excellent! I do really like to throw legumes around heavy feeders. I'll also sprinkle them on top of things that take a long time to grow. Like sweet potatoes. I can get 2, sometimes 3 rounds of bush type green beans in before I have to harvest the potatoes. The beans add nitrogen, which I don't mind at all with sweet potatoes because I feed the leaves and vines to the rabbits. I do give them a shot of 3-18-18 every few weeks for big tubers. I'm also a big fan of rabbit poo.
@@GrowfullywithJenna, I don't. For ease of harvesting, I plant them the same way I plant potatoes. Dig about 6 inches down Plop cardboard down on top of my awful red clay, put down bagged soil/compost/rabbit poo/red clay from the dig until it's level with the soil, and either put the starts or fingerling potatoes in the mix. I plant the first set (I really like the provider variety for this) of green beans with the sweet potatoes, and then cover with straw. As they start to vine out, I cut the vines to create more slips. The first flush of beans grow faster than the sweet potatoes because they can tolerate the cooler weather. As the weather warms up, I expand the area outwards, and continue planting new slips with beans until the middle of June. After the second flush of beans from the initial plant, I chop and drop the green bean plants. To plant new ones, I go to a different spots, and if necessary, cut a few leaves from that area, to allow the beans to sprout. At the end of June, I start clipping the ends to convince the potatoes to put on size. I feed the vines back to the rabbits, chickens and goats.
Since becoming a new subscriber I’ve checked out several of your videos, giving them a thumbs up. You are so knowledgeable, I’m so glad that I’ve found your channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with people like myself that need advice in the garden. ❤️
Jenna, that video must have taken a lot of work to prepare! It's the best video on soil I've seen since The Hobby Farm Guys excellent (but little watched) video on the same topic. One of the things I like about your channel is that you're more scientific and less married to theory than many other channels. Some people won't dig at all or use any fertilizer ever because of their theories.
You need to add back what you take out, no way around it. Your soil will die without adding fertilizer, also not digging is stupid and doesnt do any good.
Great video! I started gardening over 15 years ago, but only started soil testing the last few years. I was very surprised at how many nutrients my soil had optimal amounts of! I also learned I had too much of some things, like calcium. I had 605 & the optimal range is 80-320!
A vineyard I manage tests with a ppm of 6,900 for calcium I like to call that plot the calcium mine as a joke because its literally calcerous limestone and the ph is like perfectly in sync cause it buffers its own ph lol.
I know this is off topic, but are you planning on doing any videos about growing watermelons. I don't know how to do it and would love to see how you grow them!
Good video. Maybe one on fertilizing container plants would be good as well. I feed the soil the same ways as you mentioned. Recently, I have been researching JADAM methods for feeding the soil. It certainly is an affordable method.
What a well thought-out and informative video. Wish you made this 4 years ago when I started gardening. Like most, new and old gardeners, feeding your plants is a #1 concern. At 1st, I did a combo of synthetic and organic fertilizers, then organic and now concentrating on feeding the soil. Buying a microscope changed the way I garden. One example. I compared the biology of the castings from my natural bedding worm bin to a bag of purchased worm castings. The bagged product had no microarthropods, no nematodes, some flagellates, no fungi, some fungal spores, just bacteria, boring! My natural bedding castings had microarthropods, nematodes (good ones), amoebas, flagellates, a few ciliates (ciliates are a sign of anaerobic conditions), some beneficial fungi, a ton of fungal spores, pollen and of course, bacteria. These are the organisms that extract the nutrients from the soil to feed our plants. Unless you are using synthetic fertilizers, you need all these organisms to break down your organic fertilizers. I look at my leaf mold and compost under the scope as well, along with trying to monitoring my beds through the growing season. The only regret I have is, when I put in all my raised beds I did not incorporate a lot of my native clay soil. This year I will be doing that. Unfortunately, I discovered jumping worms last year and will have to either cook or solarize the soil. Anyone filling raised beds out there. Incorporate as much of your own native soil as possible. One method of fertilizing, is making comfrey tea. Comfrey, is what's called a dynamic accumulator, it's leaves are packed with nutrients. Ferment in a 5 gallon bucket for about a month and instant liquid fertilizer. I go the extra mile and aerate it before applying to the garden to knock down the anaerobic bacteria, they probably die off anyway. All I feed my seedlings is worm casting extract, everything seems to do well. Enjoy your videos!!! Stay well!!!
@@GrowfullywithJenna If you do, it will certainly give you a new perspective Dr. Elaine Ingham has a video on CZcams, explaining what kind of scope you need. Dr. Ingham also has some videos on how to set up soil samples. The only problem is, finding literature, and images of what you are looking at. Basically, I just watched a ton of CZcams videos, not all of them are worth looking at, and scoured the library for books on microbiology and zoology. My perspective is, I know if my soil is alive or not. The biggest thing lacking in my soils is fungi, that is my main focus this year. Stay Well!!!
Hi Jenna, Thank you for sharing all the useful fertilizer info it was very helpful! I have a question about squash. My squash gets big flowers and then they all fall off and I don't get any squash. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Sounds like your squash may be setting male flowers, but not female (needed for fruit production). This can happen for various reasons including: excessive heat or cold (weather stress), incorrect moisture levels (drought or excessive rain), disease or insect pressure, incorrect nutrient levels (excess nitrogen)... basically anything that stresses the plant!
Thanks for very interesting video. Very detailed. However, I don’t know if this also applies to container gardening since the nutrients can be drained out when watering or when it rains.
Your videos are always so helpful! I’m going to need to watch this one a few more times and take notes😆I have a question that I don’t think I’ve heard asked before: I only grow food in raised beds… Do you think I’m missing out on the natural soil nutrients of native soil gardening? Or do some crops do better in one or the other? (I’m in Zone 7b Georgia)
In case it helps with the note taking, you can find the video transcript here: www.growfullywithjenna.com/post/using-fertilizer-in-the-vegetable-garden Regarding native soil-- this is an excellent question and one I've been thinking about a lot in recent years. I have definitely found that a few crops grow better in my raised beds than my in-ground beds (carrots in particular- my native soil is too heavy, even after all the amending I've done) and I like my raised beds for very early season planting as they warm up more quickly than my in-ground beds. But in general I find that my native soil, after it's been properly amended is better for the vast majority of plants. When filling new raised beds, I now always try to dig up some of my native soil and add it to the fill mix. That being said- a lot would depend on one's own native soil and their goals/reasons for raised beds.
@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you, I so appreciate your quick response to my question. The information is very helpful. Like you I enjoy experimenting, but you have to be willing to lose a few things in the process lol. I try not to take it too seriously the process.
I've heard that granular fertilizer is terrible for the soil microbiome. I like to top dress w/ composted manure. I've also just started using powdered egg shells to increase available calcium. The Tomatoes and Zucchini love it.
Synthetic granular fertilizer, yes. Naturally derived granular fertilizer (from things like manure, bone & blood meal, kelp meal etc) is what I use and helps feed the microbiome .
You have such a great channel,,,Here is my question, I have many 30 gal pots with good soil and healthy vegatable plants,,,,what I do is I dont eat the egg yolks, so I put the yolks and the shells in a large bowl and mix it with water in the morning, go outside and water it in the plants, Do you see any issues with doing it this way as its not really composted, but watered in egg yolk AND how often can I feed like this if you feel its healthy for the plants? TY again
I’m sorry that I don’t really have an answer to this. Feeding with egg yolk is something I’ve never done. I’d suggest making an experiment out of it- carefully observe your plants and if it’s possible divide your plants up into groups- a control (no egg yolk) and then maybe one group with one yolk per week and one group with a yolk once a month (or whatever amount/frequency you’d like to test). I’d love to hear how it goes!
Wonderful Lesson! Thank you for sharing so much wisdom. When soil is left alone and no one disturb we Keeping Microbes 🦠 lives and this is key for successful gardening. When soil is destroy microbes are destroyed and this leads for us to keep buying fertilizers and pest control disease from keeping the plants getting ill.
Jenna great video! I'm a new gardener and I am using raised 12" beds that I filled with 1/3 peat, 1/3 coarse vermiculite and 1/3 good compost. I've planted my cooler season crops already but wish I saw this video earlier. I did add bone meal and a little espoma plant tone to my beds. I also topped off the beds with composted cow manure but now I'm thinking maybe that wasn't such a good idea especially in my carrot bed and onion bed. I did inoculate my peas as I heard in a new garden bed this is helpful. Should I still do a soil test? I'm thinking maybe I should before I plant out the rest of my warm season seedlings and direct sow plants.
I always recommend a soil test-- but you could also just keep an eye on your plants and gauge soil quality based on how they are performing. If they look healthy and give you great yields- that's probably the best indication that your soil is spot on 😀
I was given a couple packets of innoculent and just used it and we will see if there is a difference. I planted for kinds and soaked some and added some dry. It will be interesting to see if there is a difference.
Very timely video and informative as always. One aspect I'm still confused by in regard to fertilizer understanding the difference between higher NPK values vs. lower values. I get what each number stands for and what part of the growth process each supports, but it's the values that I find confusing. For example in the case of 2 very different balanced fertilizers one with 4-4-4 and the other being 10-10-10. I don't know if 4-4-4 tends to be longer lasting, or if the 10-10-10 is twice as strong thereby requiring less fertilizer, or if the 10-10-10 is more short-lived, or is one more applicable to top dressing over the other, or...??? (or am I over-analyzing this?). Are there any 'general guidelines' regarding the values?
The difference between, say, a 20-20-20 fertilizer and a 10-10-10 fertilizer is the just the strength. If you have a 20-20-20 fertilizer, and you need a 10-10-10, you can generally dilute the fertilizer down to half strength. If all other factors are the same, nothing else will be difference- shelf life will be the same, optimal application method will be the same etc. Now, when you're talking about a 20-20-20 versus a 4-4-4, generally we're looking at a synthetic fertilizer (20-20-20) versus an organic fertilizer (4-4-4), in which case we're not exactly comparing apples to apples. In theory if you dilute the 20-20-20 down to 20% you'll be approaching a similar strength to your 4-4-4, but how that fertilizer will interact will your plants depends a lot on the specific ingredients used in the organic fertilizer.
I added compost to my beds in the fall and covered them with leaves. Is that enough to keep the soil healthy for planting in the fall? I planted my veg a few weeks ago zone 4. Some are surviving not thriving. I added compost and worm castings to the hole. Advice from all gardeners appreciated
It's really hard to address this without knowing your soil's starting point. If your soil had high levels of nutrients and organic matter to begin with, adding leaves & compost in the fall would likely be sufficient. However, if your soil is nutrient depleted and low in organic matter, the measures you've taken may not be enough, and plants may benefit from some supplemental fertilizer. It also depends on which vegetables you're growing, and what the weather has been like. Having your soil tested at least once to see what you're working with is extremely beneficial.
Nice one Jenna, more fertiliser throwing please 😅 Do you ever use seaweed extract? I’m using it as a foliar spray, seems to work wonders for disease prevention.
😆 I typically don't- but this year, plants are so stressed from heat/drought that I'm using Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer as a foliar spray.
Excellent as always. For the beginners out there you perhaps should explain why you use natural fertilizers instead of say, Miracle Grow or other chemical fertilizers.
I actually started out intending to do just this. I quickly realized that the naturally derived versus synthetic fertilizer topic was going to have to be it's own separate video... there's a LOT to unpack there!
@@GrowfullywithJenna I actually wondered if you were going to make it a separate video. Although I would have put out a teaser in this one, saying something like, chemicals harm the life of the soil, in a video coming soon I will go into detail... ;-) Perhaps it would stop someone new from dumping Miracle Grow on their new garden. lol
We are dealing with root knot nematodes 😢 I’m planning to add crab meal, and adding beneficial nematodes among other things like planting marigolds and rotating crops better. I think the low productivity is due to the RKN and possibly residual Grazon from our meat rabbit’s manure and the hay they eat that we’ve added to our gardens. Something is definitely going on. Do you know anything about these issues?
Very helpful. Thank you. I had always thought that my raised beds with Mel's mix wouldn't need added fertilizer, but I found my tomatoes especially love some liquid fish fertilizer. Just wondering why that might be. Zone 9b, usually extremely hot, dry summers (100°-115°), though right now in April unusually cool and oh so wet.
With the Mel's mix, there can be a lot of variability in nutrient content based on the quality/composition of the compost used. Also- with your hot, dry summers this is likely causing the plants a fair amount of stress- so they will definitely benefit from a little extra boost of nutrition- especially in the form of liquid fish fertilizer, as it's easily absorbable.
Great videos however on this particular video, the obstacle I see for myself is finding a reasonably quality source of compost without buying it. I found a horse stable, but a lot of it has weed seeds in it and straw where does a person create enough compost to supply their garden season after season.
Dear Jenna, I am writing to you from Texas where I live. I would like to grow Roselle and other plants from seed. I have been reviewing seed starting videos and a many of the gardeners I've watched recommend using a sterilized planting medium to avoid fungus knats and other bugs and diseases. recommending The methods used for sterilization include microwaving the planting mix or pouring boiling water into the mix and stirring it in or baking the seed starting mix in the oven. What do you think about this? Thank you so much for you videos. I've learned so much from you. Your the best!
I know quite a few folks use these measures to sterilize planting media and it seems it works just fine. I personally do not, but do treat for fungus gnats using a natural bt product.
I would definitely apply at transplant time, or for direct-sown seed, when seedling are up several inches and have 1-2 sets of true leaves. I've read that after that, teas can be applied every 2-4 weeks during the growing season. I would opt for more frequent feedings (1 week intervals) during times when plants appear to be stressed.
Jenna, excellent video for many reasons. 1. Breaking down how a fertilizer is labeled and what the label means. 2. Informing people that good fertilization of plants is more than just putting down fertilizer. 3. Stressing the importance of a soil tests and proper ph for your type of plant. 4 Discussing how the percentage of organmic matter in the soil makes a difference on nutrient uptake. In North Carolina you can take your own soil samples and send in to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to get a soil report. It is free except during peak commercial growers soil testing which is from December to March. They will still do it but there is a small fee. The results are available online. The soil samples can either be mailed there or dropped off at each counties agriculteral extension offices. The results can also be based on what type of crop you are growing. One of the harder parts of home gardening is trying to get a proper ph with multiple types of plants. I find if you compromise the ph for a variety of plants, most vegetable are somewhat forgiving. The only plant family that can be sensitive to improper ph levels in my experience is the Solanaceae family which can result in poor fruit development due to lack of uptake of secondary nutrients like calcuim. I also tell people that I do have one rule of thumb (even though I am not big on rule of thumbs LOL) on fertilization is that it is better to underfertilize than overfertilize. Over fertilization especially nitrogen can ruin many vegetable crops for reasons you have already talked about. Great job, Jenna. You should become a commercial grower if you are already not one.
Thank you, Robert. It's awesome that N.C. does free soil tests! And I would absolutely agree with you on erring on the side of under-fertilization. I'm not exactly a commercial grower, but do run variety trials for vegetables, herbs and annual flowers 😀
This doesn't have anything to do with this video, and I love all your videos, however I have an important question. I have celiac disease. What grass/grain cover crops do you recommend? I am also Ohio zone 6a. Thank you. I love your channel!
Thank you so much for sharing and educating. You videos are so helpful. Do you mind sharing where I can get the grass bundles you used and where to get the bundles? 8:11 is that hay or grass bundles? Where can I get it? Thank you again
I have watched a few videos on making your own photosynthesis bacteria (PSB) fertilizer (with eggs, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and MSG). What are your thoughts in using in the garden? Pros and Cons? Thanks!
I would like to know why not use Feather Meal in your vegetable garden since it is high in nitrogen just like Blood Meal. I would like to know what is a good phosphate and potash. I am a very strong Organic Fertilizer?
Sometimes-- it depends on the particular fertilizer, if it's been opened and how it's been stored. Check out this article for more detail: www.bobvila.com/articles/does-fertilizer-go-bad/
Speaking of feeding the soil. Establishing a perennial cover crop of thyme and oregano has paid off in spades in my tomato, pepper and celery beds. Not only have the living roots supported the soil life through the winter and spring, but it also enabled me not to mulch with shredded leaves, no jumping worms. The soonest I can plant my warm weather crops is mid May to early June. In the meantime the thyme and oregano are reestablishing the microbial network below the soil. I only pulled a few tomato plants last fall, mainly to check for jumping worms, the rest I left the roots to decay in the soil. When time to replant my tomatoes, I will plant adjacent to last years plants as not to disturb the soil. I completely understand a vegetable garden is no way close to a natural ecosystem. I do believe I can create my own little ecosystem where fertilizers only need to come from my own garden, like comfrey, worm castings and LAB. I already placed some Organic fertilizers in my jumping worm infested bed, along with 2 doses of LAB, waiting for my soil sample results. Jumping worms make the nutrients unavailable to the plants, along with destroying the soil aggregates that keeps our soil together. This fall I will be doing a cover crop of wheat and hairy vetch, after I harvest my onions and potatoes, keeping the soil alive. I LOVE talking gardening. Stay Well!!!!
Ah, there's your fertilizer video. This year I'm doing a heavy dose of Nature Safe 8-5-5 pelletized at planting; Alaska 5-1-1 liquid Fish Emulsion - my nitrogen go-to fertilizer; Then AgroThrive 3-3-5 liquid when fruited. All OMRI certified organic, but not particularly cheap. They are all new to me. Quick, easy to apply. And seem to be working great. But they might be problematic for pets who might also like something about them. Time management seems to be an issue for you since you have way too much stuff with individual priorities and needs.
Agrothrive is my favorite organic liquid fertilizer it works better than anything else. I used it through this entire season on lettuce and everything really. Nature safe is great stuff as well.
@@pilsplease7561 Lazy Dog Farm just did video using it. He got me hooked. The liquids are immediate, but also slow release. Synthetics can burn. I built up my confidence this year to now maybe apply them full strength next year. 🤗
@@pilsplease7561 This YT video caught my eye. "The battle of the organic fertilizers!Testing 3 different fertilizers on seedlings." Just the root growth comparison looked revealing. 😳 It's a granular though. 🧐
I still use a lot of synthetics because they work better for my soil type for my inground stuff, mix of both in my beds and containers. But generally speaking I dont care which one I use neither is inherently better they are tools for a job. @@brianczuhai8909
Treadlite makes a broadfork that I love. It doesn’t have the rig on the back that you step on, rather you step on top of it. I’ve been using it in my clayey soil in establishing a new garden and it works like a dream!
Oh my! I'm the first viewer I think! It says no views as of yet, and yet, I am viewing. Which means I must be first. I don't think I've ever seen a video thus newly posted haha.
I been following Jp on CZcams and he has his own fertilizer which he calls his secret stuff and selling it for $64.99 for an 8 oz bag . That is extremely high .
Hi Jenna, that was some great detailed info! You are amazing and help me soooo much and I'm very envious of your garden. I struggle with compost? ugh! i got a load of aged horse manuer and a load of woodchips for my paths but what else do I need for my soil? I'm starting a new garden .... we moved ? I'm having it plowed this first time. it's currently turf. I really need help........ thank you soooo much ❤
Sounds like you're off to a good start- what you need really depends on the condition/makeup of your soil. As a general rule, I would just focus on continual addition of organic matter over time- anything you can get a hold of each season.
Finally all sprouted! The paper towel, pre-germed method were the very first seedlings to pop up. The homemade seed tapes & cornstarch gel were the last. Also- something I was not expecting- the 'control' group germinated more quickly than any of those I had covered with boards, burlap or cardboard. Now I just have to keep the darn squirrels out of that bed!
So here's a question that no one can answer. Why is it that I can only fertilize my soil based plants every 2 weeks or so, but I can fertilize my hydroponic plants every second of every day? It takes what it needs. My hydroponic plants do so much better than soil. Like what is it that causes nutrients burn in soil plants but not hydroponic plants?
I’d suggest looking at “gardening in Canada’s” she’s better informed, and a scientist. Hydroponic nutrients are designed not to burn, but it can if the ph levels go out of range. Different ph levels can change different nutrient uptakes, causing fertilizer burn in both soil and hydroponics. Sounds like u have good ph levels in ur water tho
There are a few factors at play here. First is the state of your soil prior to adding the manure. If it's very nutrient depleted, poor quality soil, you may need all the manure you can get. But if it's pretty good shape already, adding a huge amount all at once may be overkill. Next, I'm assuming you mean figuratively, not literally 'tons'? If you use all the rabbit manure you have, spread over all of your garden space, do you have an estimate on how thick that layer of manure might end up being? I generally figure that adding an inch or two layer of manure to the garden beds is a pretty safe bet.
You are a very good speaker. There's a trend of uptalk taking over the airwaves/podcasts where comma'd lists sound more like questions or unconfident suggestions. Your verbal lists are confident and decisive. You sound very professional. I'm going to ask more people to please talk like Jenna when I get annoyed with their uptalk XD.
Thank you so much!
Probably my favorite video you’ve ever done. So well explained and detailed.
Wow, thanks!
I am constantly amazed by your depth of knowledge, but also how wonderfuly articulate you are! You are really quite an amazing teacher and gardener, Jenna! This is a fantastic presentation of a very complex subject!!
Jenna, this is one of the best gardening videos on using fertilization I have watched. Thanks again for passing your knowledge along......
Thank you, Ted!
I’m gonna need to watch this one again, and take notes. Cover crops are something I really want to use. And a broadfork where necessary.
In case it helps with notes- the video transcript is here: www.growfullywithjenna.com/post/using-fertilizer-in-the-vegetable-garden
Oh awesome. I think I love you... in a strictly plutonic, you’re super-cool sort of way. 😁
A little wood ash and gypsum every year. Miracle Gro at half dose weekly. I used to do organic for 15+ years. My mother had 2 boxes of MG she got from Costco. She has dementia so she forgets things. I figured I’d use it since it was free. I remember when I was young out of the Army I used MG. Things were simple and fun. I went back with MG and I love it. No smelly fish emulsion or expensive organic fertilizers for me. I do add fall leaves and till them in for organic material yearly.
I purchased “The Market Gardener” because of this video. Great read and even better video! Thanks Jenna!
Oh good!!
Good morning Jenna. I finished a course earlier this year. The top extension agent at NC State visited our class and well....ironically she said they rarely need to recommend P and K in our area because it is already there and usually too much. Eye-opener as an economist. There is a LOT of money being made on balanced fertilizers, like 10-10-10, that are mostly not useful and like you said, potentially harmful to your garden and the general environment. I tested four different beds. Every single one was beyond the recommended range for P, K, which according to her, is STANDARD.
Her general suggestion was til once, test to start, amend, and then roll with organic -decomposing- compost on top. At that point, for HERE, you basically feed nitrogen. Blood meal, etc. No more tilling. Just manage the top.
My recommendation for each bed was only nitrogen. One bed included a lime recommendation to raise the Ph a tad.
Excellent PSA, Jenna. TEST YOUR SOIL.
This really reinforces a lot of what I've been seeing in the research on the topic. And really interesting to hear your test results.
You are spot on about the money to be made with 10-10-10... someone earlier in the comments said it should be illegal to buy fertilizer without having a soil test first.... I'm really starting to think that is true, especially for commercial operations. I feel like the chemical 'balanced' fertilizers are honestly causing more harm than good anymore... but there's money to be made so they're still being sold. (ok...rant over)...
I appreciate you sharing your personal experience with this!
Thank you Jenna for your excellent learning video for this beginner gardener. I have been vegetable garden for only 1 and 1/2 years. Very quickly I discovered to be a successful kitchen gardener it takes as much research and knowledge I had to have for my PhD lol. Your video was simple to understand, very informative and presented with great techniques! I will be going through all your video's to learn because I trust your knowledge for everything you said was backed with evidence and scientific facts.
Yea! This is the video I really needed. I'm never sure about the "what and when". You've provided us with an excellent go-to reference video for soil 'health' and garden plant nutrition. I love the fact that it was a lot to take in. It will be easy to find the information again. It's all there. Many thanks. I should be even more successful with my gardens this year.
I'm so glad to hear this, Linda!
WoW, what a detailed video. Thank you, Jenna!!
Happy to share!
@@GrowfullywithJenna
We appreciate it!
I'm looking forward to the day when my soil looks as good as yours. Very healthy looking soil...I can almost smell it.
I heard the best plant nutrient is worm castings, so...like you said, it's best to think about feeding the soil first.
Yes! Worm castings are gardening gold!
Another fantastic video!!! This helped a lot...Thank You, Jenna!!!
I'm glad to hear this!
Thanks Jenna for covering this confusing topic for new gardeners as it can be overwhelming. I also use liquid low dose fertilizers for my seedlings and add granular at transplant. Very important to test your soil so you don't over feed the wrong nutrients. The first year I grew peppers, they were 4-5 feet tall as I was giving all my crops the same 10-10-10 fertilizer each time I watered them. LOL Working on getting my own composting bin from a trash can as I don't think the stuff in the stores is that good and God knows what's really in it!
Yes!! I think a lot of folks end up having the same issue with using 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. It's really not ideal for most gardens.
Thank you Jenna, that was so useful and clear! Love to see your academic sources too. I switched all my seed starting to your seed starter mix recipe a month or so ago and I can't believe how gorgeous my seedlings are! They're so much bigger and greener than previous attempts.
Can you direct to the specific video you reference here? TIA
@Theresa O'Dwyer it's in this video, I used the full recipe with worm castings and myccorhizae:
czcams.com/video/6hWrdIg7nzQ/video.html
I'm so glad to hear this!!
I found your videos at the beginning of this garden season and I've watched most of them multiple times. I've learned so much and my energy for figuring out what works for me has been renewed!
Anyways, i just wanted to drop in to say that last year my garden struggled through neglect and huge weeds (i had baby #4) and in a last ditch effort to remedy i used Trifecta+ from Migardener and was blown away by the results!
Can't wait to get my order in the mail soon because my watermelons are struggling.
Glad to hear it! I may have to try Trifecta too.
I have wanted to try trifecta but have like 300 pounds of various fertilizers right now cause I bought stuff to try and kept it and ended up with more than i ever need so im slowly working through it. Right now im using a few commercial farming fertilizers that are organic which work great. I use a organic granular and then add a liquid product from Purple Cow Organics for soil microbes and etc also helps keep my soil healthy so it can break down organic fertilizers as my soil is sand and its basically beach sand.
I make my own, 100% organic. A good compost ,a good soil technically can go without anything and produce better than anything. And agree the soil itself is the most important!
Glad to hear you make your own!
Yep no chemicals or soil bags on my property
Thanks Jenna for "fertilizing" my brain with such great info!!
😄💚
Excellent info! A succinct summary of fertilizing. I will share this with my fellow Maryland Master Gardeners.
Thank you, Beth!
This video is incredibly informative and helpful for anyone who wants to learn more about fertilizing plants. Keep up the great work, and keep sharing your valuable insights with the world!😍😍👏👏
I'm so glad to hear this!
Hi Jenna,
I noticed you use a Ho-Mi Korean garden tool. My in-laws introduced me to this tool many years ago and I have used it ever since. Great for weeding, breaking soil, etc. I have found Korean grocery stores often sell these for less than $10. Most gardeners have never heard of it. When I see someone using one I pay more attention to what they have to say.
I enjoy your videos!
That is one of my favorite, most-used garden tools of all time. I'm glad to hear from a fellow fan of the ho-mi!
Excellent! I do really like to throw legumes around heavy feeders. I'll also sprinkle them on top of things that take a long time to grow. Like sweet potatoes. I can get 2, sometimes 3 rounds of bush type green beans in before I have to harvest the potatoes. The beans add nitrogen, which I don't mind at all with sweet potatoes because I feed the leaves and vines to the rabbits. I do give them a shot of 3-18-18 every few weeks for big tubers. I'm also a big fan of rabbit poo.
Interesting! Do you have any trouble with the vigorous sweet potato growth smothering out the beans later in the season?
@@GrowfullywithJenna, I don't. For ease of harvesting, I plant them the same way I plant potatoes. Dig about 6 inches down Plop cardboard down on top of my awful red clay, put down bagged soil/compost/rabbit poo/red clay from the dig until it's level with the soil, and either put the starts or fingerling potatoes in the mix. I plant the first set (I really like the provider variety for this) of green beans with the sweet potatoes, and then cover with straw. As they start to vine out, I cut the vines to create more slips. The first flush of beans grow faster than the sweet potatoes because they can tolerate the cooler weather. As the weather warms up, I expand the area outwards, and continue planting new slips with beans until the middle of June. After the second flush of beans from the initial plant, I chop and drop the green bean plants. To plant new ones, I go to a different spots, and if necessary, cut a few leaves from that area, to allow the beans to sprout. At the end of June, I start clipping the ends to convince the potatoes to put on size. I feed the vines back to the rabbits, chickens and goats.
Since becoming a new subscriber I’ve checked out several of your videos, giving them a thumbs up. You are so knowledgeable, I’m so glad that I’ve found your channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with people like myself that need advice in the garden. ❤️
Awesome, thank you!
I’m dying at the fertilizer throw. I have done this with fish bone meal….nothing like eating some fish food! 😜
Hahaha- glad I'm not the only one!
More nutrition in that than in the SAD. Im hopefully joking
@@SimonHaestoe only half joking on that one...
Jenna, that video must have taken a lot of work to prepare! It's the best video on soil I've seen since The Hobby Farm Guys excellent (but little watched) video on the same topic. One of the things I like about your channel is that you're more scientific and less married to theory than many other channels. Some people won't dig at all or use any fertilizer ever because of their theories.
Thanks! I'll have to check their video out!
You need to add back what you take out, no way around it. Your soil will die without adding fertilizer, also not digging is stupid and doesnt do any good.
Great video! I started gardening over 15 years ago, but only started soil testing the last few years. I was very surprised at how many nutrients my soil had optimal amounts of! I also learned I had too much of some things, like calcium. I had 605 & the optimal range is 80-320!
Glad to hear your soil is nutrient-rich!!
A vineyard I manage tests with a ppm of 6,900 for calcium I like to call that plot the calcium mine as a joke because its literally calcerous limestone and the ph is like perfectly in sync cause it buffers its own ph lol.
I know this is off topic, but are you planning on doing any videos about growing watermelons. I don't know how to do it and would love to see how you grow them!
I will try to!
Good video. Maybe one on fertilizing container plants would be good as well.
I feed the soil the same ways as you mentioned. Recently, I have been researching JADAM methods for feeding the soil. It certainly is an affordable method.
Thanks, Lynn. I will certainly try to do one on fertilizing containers as I do have to treat those a bit differently!
What a fabulous review concerning soils and fertilizers. Excellent in every way. Would love to talk to you concerning this.
I got some great information from you today ❤
Thank you
I'm glad to hear that, Kathy!
Wow this was very information dense. Perfect for people just learning how to plant. Do you have a similar video focused on pollinator friendly plants?
Wow, that was a lot of info! Good job. This type of knowledge is much needed and even more appreciated. Thank you for your enormous effort.
Thank you!!
GardenLikeAViking recommended your channel! Thanks for the great information!!
I'm excited to learn more about making my own fertilizer from him!
Thank you Jenna. This has helped me a lot.
I'm glad you found it helpful!
great video- very educational! I appreciate you, Jenna- one of few savvy woman youtube gardeners!
Thank you!!
What a well thought-out and informative video. Wish you made this 4 years ago when I started gardening.
Like most, new and old gardeners, feeding your plants is a #1 concern.
At 1st, I did a combo of synthetic and organic fertilizers, then organic and now concentrating on feeding the soil. Buying a microscope changed the way I garden.
One example. I compared the biology of the castings from my natural bedding worm bin to a bag of purchased worm castings. The bagged product had no microarthropods, no nematodes, some flagellates, no fungi, some fungal spores, just bacteria, boring! My natural bedding castings had microarthropods, nematodes (good ones), amoebas, flagellates, a few ciliates (ciliates are a sign of anaerobic conditions), some beneficial fungi, a ton of fungal spores, pollen and of course, bacteria.
These are the organisms that extract the nutrients from the soil to feed our plants. Unless you are using synthetic fertilizers, you need all these organisms to break down your organic fertilizers.
I look at my leaf mold and compost under the scope as well, along with trying to monitoring my beds through the growing season.
The only regret I have is, when I put in all my raised beds I did not incorporate a lot of my native clay soil. This year I will be doing that. Unfortunately, I discovered jumping worms last year and will have to either cook or solarize the soil.
Anyone filling raised beds out there. Incorporate as much of your own native soil as possible.
One method of fertilizing, is making comfrey tea. Comfrey, is what's called a dynamic accumulator, it's leaves are packed with nutrients. Ferment in a 5 gallon bucket for about a month and instant liquid fertilizer. I go the extra mile and aerate it before applying to the garden to knock down the anaerobic bacteria, they probably die off anyway.
All I feed my seedlings is worm casting extract, everything seems to do well.
Enjoy your videos!!! Stay well!!!
Excuse me... I'm off to buy a microscope now! How fun!!
@@GrowfullywithJenna If you do, it will certainly give you a new perspective
Dr. Elaine Ingham has a video on CZcams, explaining what kind of scope you need. Dr. Ingham also has some videos on how to set up soil samples. The only problem is, finding literature, and images of what you are looking at.
Basically, I just watched a ton of CZcams videos, not all of them are worth looking at, and scoured the library for books on microbiology and zoology.
My perspective is, I know if my soil is alive or not. The biggest thing lacking in my soils is fungi, that is my main focus this year.
Stay Well!!!
Wish you would take a moment and comment on one of my videos.
Hi Jenna, Thank you for sharing all the useful fertilizer info it was very helpful! I have a question about squash. My squash gets big flowers and then they all fall off and I don't get any squash. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Sounds like your squash may be setting male flowers, but not female (needed for fruit production). This can happen for various reasons including: excessive heat or cold (weather stress), incorrect moisture levels (drought or excessive rain), disease or insect pressure, incorrect nutrient levels (excess nitrogen)... basically anything that stresses the plant!
Thanks for very interesting video. Very detailed. However, I don’t know if this also applies to container gardening since the nutrients can be drained out when watering or when it rains.
The main difference I find is that container planting require more fertilizer than in-ground plantings.
Amazing video Jenna! Just hit subscribe.
Thanks!
Good to find Gurneys is the supplier for the Gardens Alive products. I'm adding their fertilizers to my seed wish list 2024. Thanks Jenna!
Your videos are always so helpful! I’m going to need to watch this one a few more times and take notes😆I have a question that I don’t think I’ve heard asked before: I only grow food in raised beds… Do you think I’m missing out on the natural soil nutrients of native soil gardening? Or do some crops do better in one or the other? (I’m in Zone 7b Georgia)
In case it helps with the note taking, you can find the video transcript here: www.growfullywithjenna.com/post/using-fertilizer-in-the-vegetable-garden Regarding native soil-- this is an excellent question and one I've been thinking about a lot in recent years. I have definitely found that a few crops grow better in my raised beds than my in-ground beds (carrots in particular- my native soil is too heavy, even after all the amending I've done) and I like my raised beds for very early season planting as they warm up more quickly than my in-ground beds. But in general I find that my native soil, after it's been properly amended is better for the vast majority of plants. When filling new raised beds, I now always try to dig up some of my native soil and add it to the fill mix. That being said- a lot would depend on one's own native soil and their goals/reasons for raised beds.
@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you, I so appreciate your quick response to my question. The information is very helpful. Like you I enjoy experimenting, but you have to be willing to lose a few things in the process lol. I try not to take it too seriously the process.
Well done and useful. I have learned and appreciate your help.
I've heard that granular fertilizer is terrible for the soil microbiome. I like to top dress w/ composted manure. I've also just started using powdered egg shells to increase available calcium. The Tomatoes and Zucchini love it.
Synthetic granular fertilizer, yes. Naturally derived granular fertilizer (from things like manure, bone & blood meal, kelp meal etc) is what I use and helps feed the microbiome .
You have such a great channel,,,Here is my question, I have many 30 gal pots with good soil and healthy vegatable plants,,,,what I do is I dont eat the egg yolks, so I put the yolks and the shells in a large bowl and mix it with water in the morning, go outside and water it in the plants, Do you see any issues with doing it this way as its not really composted, but watered in egg yolk AND how often can I feed like this if you feel its healthy for the plants? TY again
I’m sorry that I don’t really have an answer to this. Feeding with egg yolk is something I’ve never done. I’d suggest making an experiment out of it- carefully observe your plants and if it’s possible divide your plants up into groups- a control (no egg yolk) and then maybe one group with one yolk per week and one group with a yolk once a month (or whatever amount/frequency you’d like to test). I’d love to hear how it goes!
Wonderful Lesson! Thank you for sharing so much wisdom. When soil is left alone and no one disturb we Keeping Microbes 🦠 lives and this is key for successful gardening. When soil is destroy microbes are destroyed and this leads for us to keep buying fertilizers and pest control disease from keeping the plants getting ill.
So true!
Always want to know these things I was clueless about fertilizer application
I hope this video answered any questions you had!
Jenna great video! I'm a new gardener and I am using raised 12" beds that I filled with 1/3 peat, 1/3 coarse vermiculite and 1/3 good compost. I've planted my cooler season crops already but wish I saw this video earlier. I did add bone meal and a little espoma plant tone to my beds. I also topped off the beds with composted cow manure but now I'm thinking maybe that wasn't such a good idea especially in my carrot bed and onion bed. I did inoculate my peas as I heard in a new garden bed this is helpful. Should I still do a soil test? I'm thinking maybe I should before I plant out the rest of my warm season seedlings and direct sow plants.
I always recommend a soil test-- but you could also just keep an eye on your plants and gauge soil quality based on how they are performing. If they look healthy and give you great yields- that's probably the best indication that your soil is spot on 😀
I was given a couple packets of innoculent and just used it and we will see if there is a difference. I planted for kinds and soaked some and added some dry. It will be interesting to see if there is a difference.
Compost is always good, I make small amounts myself then buy the rest from a local producer mostly for my vineyard
Very timely video and informative as always. One aspect I'm still confused by in regard to fertilizer understanding the difference between higher NPK values vs. lower values. I get what each number stands for and what part of the growth process each supports, but it's the values that I find confusing.
For example in the case of 2 very different balanced fertilizers one with 4-4-4 and the other being 10-10-10. I don't know if 4-4-4 tends to be longer lasting, or if the 10-10-10 is twice as strong thereby requiring less fertilizer, or if the 10-10-10 is more short-lived, or is one more applicable to top dressing over the other, or...??? (or am I over-analyzing this?).
Are there any 'general guidelines' regarding the values?
I have the same question!
The difference between, say, a 20-20-20 fertilizer and a 10-10-10 fertilizer is the just the strength. If you have a 20-20-20 fertilizer, and you need a 10-10-10, you can generally dilute the fertilizer down to half strength. If all other factors are the same, nothing else will be difference- shelf life will be the same, optimal application method will be the same etc. Now, when you're talking about a 20-20-20 versus a 4-4-4, generally we're looking at a synthetic fertilizer (20-20-20) versus an organic fertilizer (4-4-4), in which case we're not exactly comparing apples to apples. In theory if you dilute the 20-20-20 down to 20% you'll be approaching a similar strength to your 4-4-4, but how that fertilizer will interact will your plants depends a lot on the specific ingredients used in the organic fertilizer.
love the little photoes to help know whats what! fab thanks so much
I'm glad they helped!
You are one smart cookie! Thanks a ton. 😀
😀💚
We love your voice
Thank you
Man those prices of soil testing are way too high! I’m sticking with UT NASHVILLE GIRL whew!
You are a great gardener and teacher though
You got so many agronomic knowlege. By the way, in arabic Jenna means Garden and it's because the plants hide the soil.
Oh! That is cool!
Very good
Awesome work! 👊🏻🌻👊🏻
I added compost to my beds in the fall and covered them with leaves. Is that enough to keep the soil healthy for planting in the fall? I planted my veg a few weeks ago zone 4. Some are surviving not thriving. I added compost and worm castings to the hole. Advice from all gardeners appreciated
I meant to write planting the following spring
It's really hard to address this without knowing your soil's starting point. If your soil had high levels of nutrients and organic matter to begin with, adding leaves & compost in the fall would likely be sufficient. However, if your soil is nutrient depleted and low in organic matter, the measures you've taken may not be enough, and plants may benefit from some supplemental fertilizer. It also depends on which vegetables you're growing, and what the weather has been like. Having your soil tested at least once to see what you're working with is extremely beneficial.
Thanks Jenna,very informative video
You're welcome!
Nice one Jenna, more fertiliser throwing please 😅 Do you ever use seaweed extract? I’m using it as a foliar spray, seems to work wonders for disease prevention.
😆 I typically don't- but this year, plants are so stressed from heat/drought that I'm using Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer as a foliar spray.
Agro thrive on my tomatoes every 2 weeks are kicking butt.
Glad to hear it!
Excellent as always. For the beginners out there you perhaps should explain why you use natural fertilizers instead of say, Miracle Grow or other chemical fertilizers.
I actually started out intending to do just this. I quickly realized that the naturally derived versus synthetic fertilizer topic was going to have to be it's own separate video... there's a LOT to unpack there!
@@GrowfullywithJenna I actually wondered if you were going to make it a separate video. Although I would have put out a teaser in this one, saying something like, chemicals harm the life of the soil, in a video coming soon I will go into detail... ;-)
Perhaps it would stop someone new from dumping Miracle Grow on their new garden. lol
Hi Jenna, green beans should be given nitrogen one time when the plants break thru the soil then no more after that, helpful tip.
Awesome information! Thank you so much
You are so welcome!
We are dealing with root knot nematodes 😢
I’m planning to add crab meal, and adding beneficial nematodes among other things like planting marigolds and rotating crops better. I think the low productivity is due to the RKN and possibly residual Grazon from our meat rabbit’s manure and the hay they eat that we’ve added to our gardens. Something is definitely going on.
Do you know anything about these issues?
Perfect timing! I needed this video
Oh good! I hope it helped!
Ordered soil test. Code did not work.
So much info! Thank you for sharing!
I'm sorry- did it just say 'code not valid'? I'll have to let Rx Soil know !
@@GrowfullywithJenna yes! Not a valid code.
Helpful video, thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
it’s interesting Jenna. Since plants need a lot of nitrogen initially, why not use diluted urine.
Just make sure you are not adding that when you are on medication. Used it many years to enhance the compost pile
You certainly can
Very helpful. Thank you. I had always thought that my raised beds with Mel's mix wouldn't need added fertilizer, but I found my tomatoes especially love some liquid fish fertilizer. Just wondering why that might be. Zone 9b, usually extremely hot, dry summers (100°-115°), though right now in April unusually cool and oh so wet.
With the Mel's mix, there can be a lot of variability in nutrient content based on the quality/composition of the compost used. Also- with your hot, dry summers this is likely causing the plants a fair amount of stress- so they will definitely benefit from a little extra boost of nutrition- especially in the form of liquid fish fertilizer, as it's easily absorbable.
@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you. That is very helpful. I appreciate all the info and great explanations you share.
Great videos however on this particular video, the obstacle I see for myself is finding a reasonably quality source of compost without buying it. I found a horse stable, but a lot of it has weed seeds in it and straw where does a person create enough compost to supply their garden season after season.
Another great video! Thanks!
Thank you, Sarah!
Dear Jenna, I am writing to you from Texas where I live. I would like to grow Roselle and other plants from seed.
I have been reviewing seed starting videos and a many of the gardeners I've watched recommend using a sterilized planting medium to avoid fungus knats and other bugs and diseases.
recommending
The methods used for sterilization include microwaving the planting mix or pouring boiling water into the mix and stirring it in or baking the seed starting mix in the oven.
What do you think about this? Thank you so much for you videos. I've learned so much from you. Your the best!
I know quite a few folks use these measures to sterilize planting media and it seems it works just fine. I personally do not, but do treat for fungus gnats using a natural bt product.
I'm working on creating healthier soil. Plant and manure teas are on hand but I never know when to apply them or how often.
I would definitely apply at transplant time, or for direct-sown seed, when seedling are up several inches and have 1-2 sets of true leaves. I've read that after that, teas can be applied every 2-4 weeks during the growing season. I would opt for more frequent feedings (1 week intervals) during times when plants appear to be stressed.
Thank you, great info!
You're welcome!
Thank you.
Jenna, excellent video for many reasons. 1. Breaking down how a fertilizer is labeled and what the label means. 2. Informing people that good fertilization of plants is more than just putting down fertilizer. 3. Stressing the importance of a soil tests and proper ph for your type of plant. 4 Discussing how the percentage of organmic matter in the soil makes a difference on nutrient uptake.
In North Carolina you can take your own soil samples and send in to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to get a soil report. It is free except during peak commercial growers soil testing which is from December to March. They will still do it but there is a small fee. The results are available online. The soil samples can either be mailed there or dropped off at each counties agriculteral extension offices.
The results can also be based on what type of crop you are growing.
One of the harder parts of home gardening is trying to get a proper ph with multiple types of plants. I find if you compromise the ph for a variety of plants, most vegetable are somewhat forgiving. The only plant family that can be sensitive to improper ph levels in my experience is the Solanaceae family which can result in poor fruit development due to lack of uptake of secondary nutrients like calcuim.
I also tell people that I do have one rule of thumb (even though I am not big on rule of thumbs LOL) on fertilization is that it is better to underfertilize than overfertilize. Over fertilization especially nitrogen can ruin many vegetable crops for reasons you have already talked about.
Great job, Jenna. You should become a commercial grower if you are already not one.
Thank you, Robert.
It's awesome that N.C. does free soil tests!
And I would absolutely agree with you on erring on the side of under-fertilization.
I'm not exactly a commercial grower, but do run variety trials for vegetables, herbs and annual flowers 😀
Great and informative video
Thanks!
Very good video!
Thanks!
This doesn't have anything to do with this video, and I love all your videos, however I have an important question. I have celiac disease. What grass/grain cover crops do you recommend? I am also Ohio zone 6a.
Thank you. I love your channel!
Oats, buckwheat, sorghum-sudangrass, and millet are some options.
@@GrowfullywithJenna Thank you
Thank you so much for sharing and educating. You videos are so helpful. Do you mind sharing where I can get the grass bundles you used and where to get the bundles? 8:11 is that hay or grass bundles? Where can I get it? Thank you again
That is alfalfa hay- I just buy the bales and then pull off 'flakes' or large chunks of the bale to put down. I purchase from local farmers.
I have watched a few videos on making your own photosynthesis bacteria (PSB) fertilizer (with eggs, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and MSG). What are your thoughts in using in the garden? Pros and Cons? Thanks!
I’ll have to give this a try. I’ve not done this myself yet!
I would like to know why not use Feather Meal in your vegetable garden since it is high in nitrogen just like Blood Meal. I would like to know what is a good phosphate and potash. I am a very strong Organic Fertilizer?
your a smart gardener .
Can fertilizer be too old to use? I have found some old liquid and powdered fertilizer while cleaning my parents house.
Sometimes-- it depends on the particular fertilizer, if it's been opened and how it's been stored. Check out this article for more detail: www.bobvila.com/articles/does-fertilizer-go-bad/
Speaking of feeding the soil.
Establishing a perennial cover crop of thyme and oregano has paid off in spades in my tomato, pepper and celery beds.
Not only have the living roots supported the soil life through the winter and spring, but it also enabled me not to mulch with shredded leaves, no jumping worms.
The soonest I can plant my warm weather crops is mid May to early June. In the meantime the thyme and oregano are reestablishing the microbial network below the soil.
I only pulled a few tomato plants last fall, mainly to check for jumping worms, the rest I left the roots to decay in the soil. When time to replant my tomatoes, I will plant adjacent to last years plants as not to disturb the soil.
I completely understand a vegetable garden is no way close to a natural ecosystem. I do believe I can create my own little ecosystem where fertilizers only need to come from my own garden, like comfrey, worm castings and LAB.
I already placed some Organic fertilizers in my jumping worm infested bed, along with 2 doses of LAB, waiting for my soil sample results. Jumping worms make the nutrients unavailable to the plants, along with destroying the soil aggregates that keeps our soil together.
This fall I will be doing a cover crop of wheat and hairy vetch, after I harvest my onions and potatoes, keeping the soil alive.
I LOVE talking gardening. Stay Well!!!!
Yes! Great idea on the perennial cover crops.
Rabbit poo is something we are trying this year. 👍🏼
Rabbit poo is great for the garden!!
New to channel, you are in the same zone as me…
Great to hear from a fellow Zone 6'er!
Ah, there's your fertilizer video.
This year I'm doing a heavy dose of Nature Safe 8-5-5 pelletized at planting; Alaska 5-1-1 liquid Fish Emulsion - my nitrogen go-to fertilizer; Then AgroThrive 3-3-5 liquid when fruited. All OMRI certified organic, but not particularly cheap. They are all new to me. Quick, easy to apply. And seem to be working great. But they might be problematic for pets who might also like something about them.
Time management seems to be an issue for you since you have way too much stuff with individual priorities and needs.
I just started using AgroThrive this year on my seedlings and am very happy with it! Thanks for sharing what you are using.
Agrothrive is my favorite organic liquid fertilizer it works better than anything else. I used it through this entire season on lettuce and everything really. Nature safe is great stuff as well.
@@pilsplease7561 Lazy Dog Farm just did video using it. He got me hooked. The liquids are immediate, but also slow release. Synthetics can burn. I built up my confidence this year to now maybe apply them full strength next year. 🤗
@@pilsplease7561 This YT video caught my eye. "The battle of the organic fertilizers!Testing 3 different fertilizers on seedlings." Just the root growth comparison looked revealing. 😳 It's a granular though. 🧐
I still use a lot of synthetics because they work better for my soil type for my inground stuff, mix of both in my beds and containers. But generally speaking I dont care which one I use neither is inherently better they are tools for a job. @@brianczuhai8909
Thank you ❤
You're welcome!
killed it, on point!
👊
Where did you get that broadfork? My balance isn’t that great and that one seems like it would be easier to use. TIA
My brother-in-law made it. I've had a lot of questions about it, and unfortunately I've not been able to find one similar for sale anywhere.
@@GrowfullywithJenna Cool! He should patent and sell them. Or at least sell his design.
Treadlite makes a broadfork that I love. It doesn’t have the rig on the back that you step on, rather you step on top of it. I’ve been using it in my clayey soil in establishing a new garden and it works like a dream!
Oh my! I'm the first viewer I think! It says no views as of yet, and yet, I am viewing. Which means I must be first. I don't think I've ever seen a video thus newly posted haha.
I been following Jp on CZcams and he has his own fertilizer which he calls his secret stuff and selling it for $64.99 for an 8 oz bag . That is extremely high .
At $64.99 for 8 oz that stuff better be growing solid gold zucchinis 😂
Hi Jenna, that was some great detailed info! You are amazing and help me soooo much and I'm very envious of your garden.
I struggle with compost? ugh! i got a load of aged horse manuer and a load of woodchips for my paths but what else do I need for my soil? I'm starting a new garden .... we moved ? I'm having it plowed this first time. it's currently turf. I really need help........ thank you soooo much ❤
Sounds like you're off to a good start- what you need really depends on the condition/makeup of your soil. As a general rule, I would just focus on continual addition of organic matter over time- anything you can get a hold of each season.
thank you! I will
Would you share where you get your tool you use for the no dig method??
My brother in law made it-- it's a modified broad fork. I've not been able to find anything like it for sale!
@@GrowfullywithJenna thank you ! I have been searching too so far nothing !
How are the carrots doing?
Finally all sprouted! The paper towel, pre-germed method were the very first seedlings to pop up. The homemade seed tapes & cornstarch gel were the last. Also- something I was not expecting- the 'control' group germinated more quickly than any of those I had covered with boards, burlap or cardboard. Now I just have to keep the darn squirrels out of that bed!
So here's a question that no one can answer. Why is it that I can only fertilize my soil based plants every 2 weeks or so, but I can fertilize my hydroponic plants every second of every day? It takes what it needs.
My hydroponic plants do so much better than soil. Like what is it that causes nutrients burn in soil plants but not hydroponic plants?
I’d suggest looking at “gardening in Canada’s” she’s better informed, and a scientist. Hydroponic nutrients are designed not to burn, but it can if the ph levels go out of range. Different ph levels can change different nutrient uptakes, causing fertilizer burn in both soil and hydroponics. Sounds like u have good ph levels in ur water tho
If I add tons of rabbit manure to my garden will that cause issues with too much nitrogen?
There are a few factors at play here. First is the state of your soil prior to adding the manure. If it's very nutrient depleted, poor quality soil, you may need all the manure you can get. But if it's pretty good shape already, adding a huge amount all at once may be overkill.
Next, I'm assuming you mean figuratively, not literally 'tons'? If you use all the rabbit manure you have, spread over all of your garden space, do you have an estimate on how thick that layer of manure might end up being? I generally figure that adding an inch or two layer of manure to the garden beds is a pretty safe bet.
Great vid. I'd give it 3 thumbs up if I could!
Thank you!!
👍👍👍👍thank you
Most welcome!
I just got my soil tested and the PH is 7.1 like yours. What do you do to make it more acidic?
Elemental sulphur is used to lower soil PH for blueberries, sidedressing a small amount once a year should help.