Here's when I fertilize in San Antonio, TX. Washington's Birthday Memorial Day 4th of July Labor Day Thanksgiving I start on Washington's BD because it is 3 weeks prior to our last frost date. I pick the other dates because they are easy to remember and they seem to be the times when my lawn would have turned yellowish. I usually fertilize with corn meal. There is no problem with what you want to do. Really, anything is acceptable. The total poundage needed is 10-20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can use much more but the benefit might not be apparent. It will cost you more to use more (duh!).

You've opened a door that many want to chime in on. According to many, organics will not work in a container grow. I am hardheaded, and proceeded to do what many won't or can't do to make it work. Last year, i grew 40 some pepper plants, and some other stuff in my containers and was quite successful. If you are looking for more than one season, I reccomend using Al's mix - see the container gardening forum. If you are not going to try and grow more than one season with organics - you can do it, it will work, but it is more costly and time consuming than most gardners wish to stick with. As I said, I am hard headed and want challenges, and was able to do extremely well. Still here, OK here goes some of my .025 I mix my soil mix in two stages now. One is for first transplant, second is for fruiting and final transplant. Both are mixed well in advance - as much as 6 months or as few as 6 weeks depending on time availability and funds hee hee. I mix into huge totes and keep them around 68-74 degrees to let the microlife grow and develop. The containers I grow in are *mostly 8-14 gallon plastic nursery stock. With the weight of the containers while growing, they tend to settle into the ground quite a bit over the summer, and thats exactly what i want. I also do not really do more than trim the grass at the top level of the containers to prevent the sun from cooking the soillife and roots inside. I do use some 5 gallon buckets too, but those plants are severly root bound by seasons end. I use a blend of fertiloams red label, a very "woody and chunky" potting soil that is locally available for both of my mixes. For a 50 gallon batch I add the following. first mix 15 lbs of worm castings. 2 lbs green sand 2 lbs cottonseed meal 1 lbs blood meal 5 lbs bone meal - either steamed or not. 1 lbs kelp meal 5 lbs pelletized dolomite lime 1 bag composted cow manure Alot of folks stay away from the worm castings, but to introduce microlife, it's important. After mixing thoroughly, I make a "tea" from 1 gallon of spring water, 1/2 cup worm castings, 4 tablespoons of liquid fish ferts (alaska), and 2 tablespoons of non sulfured molasses. I put an air pump (aquarium) and stone in this, and bubble it until it foams hard - usually 12 to 16 hours. I mix this with another 4 gallons of either rain water or spring water and 1/4 cup molasses. This I add to the mix in the totes to lightly moisten, and mix thoroughly. I then cover the totes, and store them, turning lightly weekly and monitoring so that they do not go anaerobic on me. "hot mix" 5 lbs greensand 30 lbs worm castings 10 lbs bone meal 7 lbs cottonseed meal 5 lbs blood meal 5 lbs bat guano high pk 2 bage composted cow manure 3 lbs kelp meal 6 lbs pelletized dolomite lime 2 lbs grain limestone the mix part and tea is the same. first mix is for 1st transplant into 1 gallon containers, before this I use straight red label, second mix is for final transplant into large container. I add a few teas during growth, water daily unless rain, and put a mix of chunky shredded bark and alfalfa pellets on top to mulch with. Once a month or so, I water with a 2 table spoon molasses to 1 gallon water mix to enrich microlife. i have changed this mix several times, and will probably continue to do so. You don't have to get this involved, but without the microlife, the nutrients are not that available to the plant, and it will not flourish. I had mature peppers - even Bhuts in late June, early July. My garden planted peppers didn't really yield till later like mid August or so. I harvested over and over and over. Continously. it will work, but like I said, is expensive, and time consuming. My tomatoes and basil were enormous and yielded well into October. Next post I will attach some late season photos. Good luck. TiMo One added benefit is the use of the old seasons mix into my vegetable garden. In January, I could scrape off the leaf covering in the garden and still find enourmous amounts of worms at work breaking this down. This year, my garden should really rock. The greensand and bonemeal last well into the future, more so the greensand.

Now is the best time to start an organic lawn care program. Water properly and mulch mow as high as you can, since the more grass blade you leave exposed to the sun the more nutrients that leaf can manufacture to feed the crown where more grass will grow producing a thick turf that will aid in suppressing "weed" growth. Contact your county office of the Michigan State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done so you know what your soils pH and nutrient levels are and what might need to be done to correct any deficiencies and dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what else you might need do to make that soil into a good, healthy soil that will grow a good, healthy turf for you. Keep in mind that making the transition from "conventional' to organic is not simply switching which "fertilizers" you use. Here is a link that might be useful: MSU CES

Hooray to msmaggie38! I applaud you for speaking from one's experience and success, rather than being zero-experience-naysayers. Thank you, msmaggie38, for speaking the truth from ACTUAL EXPERIENCE. You are right, Maggie, that Rock phosphate and Granite dust has important trace elements besides phosphorus and potassium respectively. From the link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0375674209000909 "Some phosphate rocks are rich in selenium ... In this paper 19 trace element concentrations are reported. In decreasing order of mean abundance (mg kgâ 1) are: Sr (1117) > Cr (134) > B (76.8) > Zn (65.4) > V (49.2) > U (44.9) > Mo (30.4) > Cd (17.3) > Cu (17.0) > Ni (16.8) > Co (15.4) > As (14.3) > Pb (5.8) > Se (2.4) > Th (2.2) > Sn (0.81) > Sb (0.63) > Tl (0.43) > Ag (0.22)." *** From Straw: B, or Boron, is at 76.8. Boron deficiency is common in soil, so are copper (Cu) and zinc. From the above values, strontium (Sr) and chromium (Cr) are also high in rock phosphate. According to wiki.answers.com, granite dust is composed of "Oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, and smaller amounts of others.". According to gardensalive.com, "Granite dust, for instance, contains lots of potassium��"the K in the NPK fertilizer ratio. Rock phosphate, a âÂÂsingle dustâ thatâÂÂs available in packages at most garden centers, just supplies phosphorus. But ground basalt (pronounced âÂÂba-saltâÂÂ) contains a nicer mix��"phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. **** From Straw: The below link has NPK values of organic materials. NPK of rock phosphate is 0-3-0, but it contains 11 trace elements !! Crushed granite, has NPK of 0-0-5, with 67% silicas and 19 trace minerals. Slow release over a long period of time. Silica is known to strengthen plant's cell-wall, and potassium silicate is tested effective against black spots. So, Maggie, you are right about trace elements to defend plants against bugs & diseases. One of the reasons for naysayers is that rock phosphate is NOT utilized nor available at soil pH above 7. So for those with alkaline soil like mine, neither rock phosphate nor bone meal can be utilized, according to U. of Colorado Extension. But I use bone meal anyway, thanks to the rain here, pH of rain is 5.6, compared to my soil pH of 7.7. Bone meal also has many trace elements which enhance the color of my roses. Here is a link that might be useful: NPK chart of Organic fertilizers This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Thu, May 15, 14 at 10:18