When I put fertilizer in the row before planting. I scratch it in with the hoe then put the seeds down. I've never had burned roots. I try to put composted horse manure on my veggie beds in the spring but getting it depends on how wet a spring we are having. One year I planted my spinach before we put down the composted manure then I planted another small patch after manure was added. What a difference. The second patch had much larger leaves. It was a great harvest. I find free composted manure on Craigslist.

It depend how much granular fertilizer you spread.
I usually add the granular fertz. when I am preparing the beds in the spring. Later On I top dress. But with the small greens You can do that before planting, water it let it sit a week or so.

BTW, i feed leafy greens mostly "N"itrogen. Some potassium is fine. All you want lush green foliage not flowers and fruits and Nitrogen will do. Most established garden soils, after years of fertilizing, have already excessive amounts of "P"hosphorus. Because it bonds to soil and stay around for a long time. Nitrogen, on the other hand, has a short life, either it is used up or leached down. That is why you have to keep adding it as time goes on, in small amounts.

Thanks for the info. My husband visited a farm yesterday that grew large amounts of beautiful greens and he used the 10-10-10. I knew about the phosphorus buildup in Florida, but I guess I needed a reminder.

There are better All Purpose Fertilizers than 10-10-10( = 1-1-1 ratio). which they are formulated as 3N-1P-2K. for example MG's liquid All Purpose Fertilized is: 12- 4 - 8. So the "P" is17% of the total, K is 33% and N is 50%.. This is a much better ALL PURPOSE fertilizer IMO.
I am going to look for a granular version close to that , for the next season.

4-1-2 is best for greens, depending on your soil. for me, having above optimum P and K, 4-0-0 is best.

It sounds good if I can find it.

I've never tried burying seeds or seedlings root with synthetic ferts because I assumed that the ferts will burn my young seedlings root. I think I will give it a try next year after reading this thread.

I prefer a strategy using targeted applications, as such I have been sprinkling granular ferts in with seeds for years, works fine. I also do it when planting garlic cloves and bulbils, onion plants, and onion, multiplier onion, and shallot sets.

The catch of course is not to overapply. I learned by experimentation and now I have a set amount figured per vegetable type per ten feet of row. When starting anew, on the first row I measure out ten feet and apply the set amount of fertilizer in that ten feet so that I can recalibrate myself, and I eyeball it from then on. My foolproof method has been to have the set amount of fertilizer for the length of row, sprinkle it in lightly on the first pass, and then use the remaining up on the way back. It all sounds complicated but it does not really take up much time or thought once you are used to doing it.

The only time I overapplied and killed anything was when I was first learning how much to apply, and it has never happened since. That might be luck but I always prefer to err on the side of caution - always better to underapply than overapply.

I also combine granular fert with compost and use that mix in the holes when planting seed potatoes and veggie starter plants.

If you want to see wonderful improvements, it also works very well to hoe deep trenches (say four inches or so) then backfill with a granular fert/compost/soil mix to the proper seed planting depth, and then sow the seeds on top of that mix. Cover the seeds as usual with the existing soil. I think that this is a better, safer way to use granular ferts with seeds, but this method takes more effort. The advantage is that the mix is going exactly and only where it is needed.

Do whatever you want, but I strongly urge folks not to rely solely on chemical ferts in their gardens - it is a shortcut that works in the short term, but you will pay for it eventually. Get that compost in the soil.

We are composting alot this year and had our first hugel. I want to get away from chemical fertilizers too.

I really don't know your situation, but i would probably just throw a nice layer of compost and plant in that. If the plants shows signs of deficiency, use some organic fertilizer, and or more compost..

"Do whatever you want, but I strongly urge folks not to rely solely on chemical ferts in their gardens - it is a shortcut that works in the short term, but you will pay for it eventually. Get that compost in the soil."

I'm truly with this line of thought. I wouldnt even use synthetics this year. Get the soil alive, compost, organic matter, mulch. If you want to fertilizer, i advise organic...

I don't have a lot of space for a garden so I want to use the space that I have efficiently. I get composted leaves from our transfer center in Fairfax, VA. It is beautiful compost, dark and loamy. I spread about a four inch layer over my garden in the late winter/very early spring. I then broadcast some granular ferts. ussually 10-10-10 or whatever I have on hand, over the compost. I then till the soil mixing it all up. After the next rain I till the soil again and prepare the beds for planting. We plant swiss chards, mustard greens, bush beans, yard-long beans, zucchini, egg plant, hot and sweet peppers, tomatoes and lettuce. I have also prepared a raised bed where I hope to have artichokes, if they survive the winter. Here is a picture of the chokes.

Your garden looks nice Charlie and I hope you are successful with whatever crops you are growing in there. The bricks border is nice.