How many of you are giving your plants food/fertilizer?

timmysgal1

My BIL gives his tomatoes a little organic plant food each week and they are FIVE FEET TALL.

I'm starting this today and seeing how it affects our plants.  They can't possibly look worse, and they obviously need a boost!

kastle

I only amend the soil with compost and kelp meal before I plant.

Sometimes (rarely) I may feed them with fish emulsion/kelp meal, but certainly not EVERY WEEK.  That sounds like overkill.  You don't need a 5 ft tall tomato plants to get a crapload of tomatoes.  In fact, over fertilizing (especially if the fertilizer is high in nitrogen) will actually reduce crop yields (plant will favor growing leaves & stems instead of fruit)

doneatquattro

i only use compost when I plant too... and my tomatoes are taller than I am 5'8" and I have a crazy amount of green tomatoes currently

nitaw

Ditto to the others - there is no need to fertilize plants every week. I add fertilizer to my plants if they look like they need it (yellow leaves that aren't "typical") or if they just look plain pitiful although they are getting sufficient water.

BonsoirLune

I give them a dose of organic veggie/herb food about once a week - once every ten days.  I gave them milk when they were little and tossed some crushed up eggshells in the soil before I planted them.  My tomatoes are ~ 5 feet tall and have a ton of flowers and green fruit.  I just picked my first sungolds and my first green zebra this morning.

~NB~

I give them only water. Keep in mind I do not grow food and only have a few containers full of flowers, and no lawn. Most everything I have is a shrub or a tree. My soil is high in organic matter, so I do not amend it. I use more organic compost for mulching (which is how my soil became so rich).

kylara111

I plant with compost and nothing else but water.  My plants still grow like a jungle and I get plenty of veggies.

schoolsoutbride

I do compost tea once a month or so.

curlydoglover

I don't do anything.  Not compost, not fertilizer, nothing.  I plant them, water when needed (haven't had to do that in 2 weeks now, thanks to all the rain), and weed.  That's the extent of my "assistance".

My corn is knee-high already.  My tomatoes are probably 4' (tomatillos are taller), but they only got planted 3 weeks ago.

This is part of the reason my garden scares me.

junebride060306

I use compost and some fish oil stuff. smells bad but works great!