There are a crazy amount of products on the market to feed plants. Quite simply, most of it just a way for big ag to sell off their waste products and not much more than marketing hype. Not that they don’t have some use, but for the vast majority of products, the juice is not worth the squeeze.
In other words, they cost way more than the value they provide. Bone meal and fish emulsion are two examples that come to mind.
The first consideration is organic vs. synthetic. Many of us would prefer organic products, particularly for our edible gardens. The problem with this is that for plants there is no difference, they just need nutrients in a form that they can use. The end result is the same, organic products just need time to break down into chemical compounds plants can use.
This means that if you want to feed your plants during the current season, you need to use synthetic fertilizer that is available to plants immediately. There isn’t much of an option. If you add manure or compost or similar, those are great for soil development and future gardens but do almost nothing for the current season’s growth.
Already that narrows things down significantly. For immediate and current season results the choice must be synthetic fertilizer.
To be clear, there is tremendous value in building up your topsoil with organic aggregate like compost or manure. It’s just a long game and takes more than the current season to see results.
Even going synthetic, there are a lot of options and marketing to wade through. Do you need tomato fertilizer for tomatoes? Do you need a bloom booster fertilizer later in the season and root fertilizer when planting?
The clay we have up here in Asheville and Western North Carolina is rich in nutrients, but not so much nitrogen. It’s the most volatile nutrient in the soil and the one plants need the most, both in quantity and consistently.
Nitrogen is the key during the growing season. You can pretty much sleep on all the others. It’s not worth worrying about all the rest unless you have a persistent problem that shows up. If you focus on adding nitrogen, you really don’t need to concern yourself with any “plant specific” fertilizer
If you have a lot of ground to cover and don’t mind a few applications, you can use the cheapest nitrogen-rich fertilizer you can find. For most people that’s the generic white bags of 10-10-10 or similar at the box stores. These types are the most readily available because of the marketing that says you need a “balanced” fertilizer (like we need a “balanced” diet.)
It’s not true. If you can find a bag that’s all nitrogen, go for it. Just be careful not to overload with the fast-release stuff, go easy and follow the instructions on the bag.
Liquid fertilizers like Miracle Grow are another way to fertilize. We like the hose end sprayer for applying those products in larger areas, and these can be the best option for perking up slow movers during the season.
Saving the best for last, we have the slow-release pellets like Ozmocote.
This is the one-size-fits-all answer. Just one application and the plant gets the nitrogen that it needs all season long. It’s much less likely that you’ll burn the plant as well.
The catch? It’s much more expensive and probably impractical for large landscapes. We recommend this fertilizer for plants you want to baby, that struggled the previous season, or as a kick-start the year after planting to get them good and established.
The reason to use it the year after planting is because nursery stock is almost exclusively treated with slow-release fertilizer, so you should be good that first year. You might want to check with your supplier though to be sure.
In Conclusion
Feeding plants isn’t nearly as complex as it seems to be. For most of us in Asheville and Western North Carolina with our rich heavy clay, the only nutrient you need to concern yourself with is nitrogen. For the current season’s growth, a synthetic source is necessary: Granular, liquid, or slow release.
Slow release is the easiest to use and only requires one application.
A couple of points about timing:
- Do not fertilize with nitrogen in the fall. You don’t want to encourage fragile new growth right before frost sets in. This can damage or kill the plant.
- Fertilize new perennials, trees, and shrubs lightly in spring or early summer. Nursery stock usually has slow release already added to the pot.
- Annuals and veggies are big feeders and will need a good dose within a few weeks of planting.
How We Fertilize
We typically use all three types of fertilizer- liquid, granular, and slow release. For potted plants we use slow release during the main growing season and supplement a little with liquid in the early spring months. For primary shrub and perennial beds, especially that are less than 3 years we use Ozmocote slow release in March or April. For large applications like a row of screening trees we use a spreader with whatever generic triple 10 or 13 we can find that year. IF we get around to it we’ll re-apply about 6 weeks later in early summer. That usually doesn’t happen honestly and another reason that we like the slow release better. Set it and forget it.
Hot Garden Tip
For a stellar harvest, try slow-release Ozmocote in your veggie garden this year. If you’ve struggled to grow tomatoes in the past, you won’t believe the difference. We like to create rows, plant and sprinkle fertilizer, then mulch with triple ground bark or thick straw.