Why don't you just purchase a complete organic granular fertilizer & follow the application directions on the package? Because it's balanced you wouldn't get too much nitrogen which makes for large tomato plants, but few fruits. Beans don't need much nitrogen either, but actually can improve your soil for the tomatoes next year if you alternate the rows. Too much of any one thing with individual soil amendments could cause a problem for your garden and you might not have time to correct & replant before your summer crops planting window is over. Like joel_bc amending the row or planting holes for tomatoes, but not the entire garden is reasonable & cost effective. I've lasagna gardened for our new mixed perennial beds, but not in the vegetable beds. It's amazing how much it composts down from where you mounded it all up. I have used a lot of sheet mulch of various ingredients over the years with great conditioning. I've used alfalfa pellets as a topdressing around flowering shrubs & heavy feeding perennials, but not in the vegetable garden. I also have put them in a watering can to dissolve in the sun warmed water in summer, but it really smelled after a few days. Plus where I piled it up & didn't mix into the soil around the hostas it attracted a stray dog that broke all sorts of plant stems getting into the flower garden. I used the diluted liquid for recent transplants to get them off to a good start when planted in our summer dry season & was only a light green not a dark green color. I would be careful about mixing it into the root zone soil of young plants, but should be safe as a diluted tea mixture. Since I prefer to use soaker hoses for summer watering of vegetable beds, mixing a complete fertilizer into the soil prior to seeding or transplanting is less labor than side dressing or watering with anything additional than tap water. Find out what the organic gardeners in your area add to soils. You don't always have time or money for a good soil test, but they can give you a good idea of the condition of local soils whether usually acidic or alkaline. For example in my area with 60+ inches of rain 9 months of the year we have acidic soils that need yearly fall lime + nutrients even in manure enriched soils. It simply washes out, so I follow the recommended application rate in the spring and use organic mulches as well. Nothing seems overgrown or out of the ordinary, but grows more quickly now than in years when I only used poultry & rabbit manures from our backyard animals. It's worth the extra $ to buy the complete organic fertilizer for me. The brands in my area are Dr. Earth or Whitney Farms and the application rate is different for each, so I just read and follow the directions each time I use it. Hope that helps~ Corrine

Well, notwithstanding the comics above, good work guys, it is always good to water it in well. A good soaking rain can do that. Of course, a hard washing one might wash some away. Of course, on fertilizing in general, you want to have a good schedule. I usually try to apply fertilizer in mid May, Sept, Oct Nov, with the Nov app being a urea after the first hard freeze. Most recommend against fertilizing cool season grasses before or during hot weather months. Around some trees that seem to compete with the grass, I've been adding a little more. Never a perfectly clear answer in lawn care. ;)

Short answer is no. 14.4 lbs per 1000 sq ft yealds 1 lb N per 1000. 20 lbs is a little heavy. If there were little piles of SBM here and there then you may see some mold and smell some stink until it is more fully decomposed. Do nothing but sharpen the blades on your mower. You are going to have a thick green grass to mow soon. Bill Hill

Keep in mind that most all soybeans grown in the USA are genetically engineered to be resistant to glyphosate products and there is more and more evidence that this is haarmful to humans long term. Since the concept of genetic engineering is anathema to an organic gardener/farmer the use of those products probably should be also. Usually zone 6 grasses are cool season grasses, Kemtuky Bluegrass, Perennial Rye, one or more of the Fescues, although people do seed other species. Possibly your state universities Cooperative Extension Service people couild help you identify what you have. Sometimes those that do soil tests do give organic matter levels, often, lately, they do not. These simple soil tests can help you determine that, and some other soil related information. 1) Soil test for organic matter. 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. For example, 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 your 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. Here is a link that might be useful: Genetic Engineering