Pre-Plant Fertilizer

Pre-Plant Fertilizer             
10 cups (5 lbs) lime
2 level tablespoons borox (20 Mule Team Borax laundry detergent)
1/2 cup Epsom salt (in the Pharmacy department)


Mix together and store in a container with a tight lid.

To apply: sprinkle 1 ounce per linear foot

TIP: If your garden is 16 inches long, find a can of vegetables that's 16 oz. and use it to measure the fertilizer.

Rows are 18 inches wide.  How much fertilizer is determined by how many feet long the row is.

Mix the fertilizer into the soil each time a new crop is planted.  (If you have a Spring and Fall crop in one year - apply in the Spring and again in the Fall before planting.)

Reapply this if you see any signs of bloom end rot.  Bloom end rot is actually a calcium deficiency.  This fertilizer will supply the needed calcium.  Where I live we receive 56 inches of rain each year.  That much rain washes the calcium out of the soil.  I reapply this once a month to prevent bloom end rot.
To apply: sprinkle 1 ounce per linear foot 

When reapplying, the fertilizer doesn't need to be worked into the soil.  Sprinkle it about 6 inches from the plants and where the water will run over it each time the garden gets watered.    

You only need a little of this in the fertilizer but keep it handy, it is great for killing ants in the garden.  Just sprinkle it on the mound and leave it.

Weekly-Feed Fertilizer

Most soils are lacking in vital nutrients.  It's complicated to get a soil test and then know what to do with it once you get it.  It's easier to give the soil everything the plants need in measured amounts over the growing season.  This has been proven to replace what the plants take out of the soil so there is no need to rotate crops.  That's good news for most home gardeners.  This recipe is better, but comparable to MiracleGro but much cheaper per application.    

Weekly feed Fertilizer 

25 pounds 13-13-13 Fertilizer (Buy 50 pounds and use half)

4 pounds Epson Salt
10 oz. packet Mittleider Magic Micro-Mix
5 cups powdered lime 

Mix in a wheel barrel, tossing together with a shovel.  Shovel into a 5-gallon bucket with tight fitting, screw off lid.  Store in a cool place.

For the garden:
Once a week sprinkle 1/2 ounce per foot which works out to be:
10 foot row (5 oz.)
20 foot row (10 oz.)
30 foot row (15 ounces)*

Sprinkle the fertilizer on the soil where the water can wash over it and carry it to the plants.  Keep the fertilizer about 4 inches away from the plants. 

*Tip: If your garden rows are 30 feet long, divide that number in half (15).  Then look in your pantry for a can of veggies that's 15 oz. and have that for lunch.  Wash the can and dry it good and put it with your fertilizer.  Then just sprinkle one can of fertilizer down each row.

For transplants begin fertilizing the day you plant or within three days.  

TIP: Have your first application be the most convenient day to fertilize all summer.  Continue until the plants are nearing the end of their growing season.  Don't fertilize seeds until they are a couple of inches tall and have several leaves.  Then begin feeding them once a week.

$$ Just a note $$
In 2014 I did the math for the fertilizer as it applies to fertilizing tomato plants.  It works out to be about .20 cents a plant for the ENTIRE summer.  Considering each plant has the potential to produce about 20-35 tomatoes (35 in Alabama!) Each of my tomato plants, if pruned, watered and fertilized, can produce about $50.00 worth of tomatoes!  The fertilizer is a good value.  This fertilizer is better, but comparable to MircleGro but cheaper per application.  *This recipe makes 50 cups.
Using the whole bag and both packs of Micro Nutrients (Micro-Mix comes in a pack of 2) will make just a little over 100 cups.

Notice that plants in the garden do not all get fertilized the same number of applications.  Tomatoes get the most applications of fertilizer.

If you have bedding plants that can't be planted in the garden right away, dissolve 2 tsp Weekly Feed in 1 gallon water. Use each time you water.  This is called Constant Feed solution.

"The Constant Feed (liquid) solution is NOT for feeding potted plants and trees. It would be stronger than needed if used each time you water. We recommend you apply the fertilizer dry at the rate of 1 ounce of Pre-plant and ½ ounce of Weekly Feed per cubic foot of soil in your pots, and water it in. The Pre-Plant is applied only one time per year, and the Weekly Feed is applied three times..." Jim Kennard at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MittleiderGardening/222455361219630/