Plant Food Products?

[megan.kuhn@gmail.com]

Hi All - I'm about to start my first edible garden. A new years resolution sort of thing. I'm a novice gardener and I want to grow tomatoes and a few herbs. Should I use Scotts Miracle-Gro products? What do you all think about those?

[Mr Yan]

Where to start here? I started my gardening problem/habit with tomatoes and basil. In many ways there is a lot more than just fertilizer but then some people start to over complicate things and will quickly overwhelm a newbee.

Short answer is yes Miracle-Gro products can work for your garden. This is a large family of products and there are some specialized ones. You don't want to use general classic Miracle-Gro for tomatoes after the first month or two. This formulation is too high in nitrogen which the plant uses for green leafy growth. Using this fertilizer all season will cause the plant to grow green and not produce much fruit.

Some people think that my not fertilizing herbs they grow a more intense flavor.

If you start with a good mix of compost you will greatly reduce the amount of fertilizer you need.

I am not an organic nutcase but find that for my garden I don't need much fertilizer as I use a lot of compost.

How about some general questions about your new hobby.

What scope are you thinking about? Two or three large pots along the side of your patio or deck, a box of wood for a raised bed, or till up part of your yard for a traditional style garden with long neat rows of veg?

What part of the country are you in?

Have you found any general websites talking about veg gardening beyond this forum? Do you have a book to flip through as a reference?

Two general websites I like are:
http://www.vegetablegardener.com/
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/vegguide/default.cfm

[klevelyn]

Scotts products are not really made for large gardens. I like to use a nice 10-10-10 garden fertilizer in the spring when I till and start to work my soil.

Add some compost as well for organic matter and then sprinkle some fertilizer before tilling.

You can buy general garden fertilizer in your home and garden stores in 10 to 25 lb bags. Don't go crazy on the fertilizer follow the direction on the package. You just want to give the soil a little boost as the weather warms.

compost is your best bet to keep your plants happy!