You are attempting a garden for the first time and are excited to watch it grow and enjoy the bounty it produces. You have prepared your plot, selected your seeds and bought those cute little flowered fabric gardening gloves. You even went to the local farm and bought a bag of fertilizer, making it home without it stinking up your trunk too much. You are all ready to begin.
Reading the instructions on the back of the bags of seeds, you notice there are various ways describing how to apply the fertilizer. What? You mean you can’t just plug your nose and kick it in the general direction of your garden? Turns out the process is a tad bit more complicated than that . . . but just a little bit. Not to worry– a little research, and you’ll be good to go.
- Broadcasting: Broadcasting is one of the most common and effective ways to fertilize. No, unfortunately, this doesn’t mean standing on a box with a microphone and headset and shouting, “I’m dumping the poop!” (Though your neighbors may enjoy this). Broadcasting is spreading the fertilizer uniformly over the surface you plan to plant, hopefully mixing the fertilizer in evenly with the soil. There are a few disadvantages to broadcasting. The roots may not get the nutrients from the soil, but typically this is the best technique, and if the seed doesn’t specify, it is the one you should employ.
- Band: Again, not as cool as it sounds. No drums, guitars or microphones (though your neighbors may also enjoy this). Band application is putting the soil deeper than the seeds and also to the side of seeds, but not directly on top. This allows the roots of the plant to be fully permeated by the fertilizer.
- Sidedressing: Sounds like a dance step, or indecent exposure in the side yard, but fortunately for the neighbors, it’s not. This technique is putting the fertilizer in between the rows. This is good to really boost the life of young plants in high growth times.
So put on your cute flowered gloves, read up a bit on which technique your seeds may benefit most from and start fertilizing. Your neighbors will definitely enjoy your bountiful garden and your excess tomatoes and zucchini!
If you are looking to purchase fertilizer in Mooresville NC, visit us at Mills Family Farm. We also hold farm tours and educational seminars. Give us a call today for more information.