As your vegetable plants grow, they naturally absorb nutrients from the soil to produce healthy vegetables for you to eat. You must add fertilizer to your vegetable garden plot each year to replenish these nutrients for best results. You can do this in the early spring when you till the ground before planting or in the fall after you have finished with your vegetable garden for the year. Does this Spark an idea?
Manure
Manure from different animals is some of the best fertilizer you can add to your garden soil. You can use the manure from cows, horses, chickens or a combination of these. If you want to add manure into your vegetable garden soil, it is best to till it in after your garden has stopped producing for the year. Remove all the weeds and spent vegetable plants, spread the manure over as much of the garden as you can, and till the soil. Adding the manure in the fall allows it to decompose so the soil can absorb it before planting time. If you want to use manure in the spring, it is best to add it to your compost pile and let it break down before adding it to your garden soil; composting manure prior to use also reduces the chances of introducing disease-causing bacteria to your garden.
Compost
Composting is a way for you to recycle yard and kitchen waste into something usable instead of simply throwing it away. If you want to use compost as a fertilizer to your soil, you will want to add a variety of ingredients to your compost pile or bin. Some of the things you can add to compost include coffee grounds, egg shells, fruit and vegetable peels and cores, grass clippings, hair (from the barber shop), shredded newspaper and other yard waste. Chop or grind up any large pieces so that it will decompose faster. Have two or three compost piles going at all times, at different stages of decomposition, so that you always have fertilizer to add to your garden and always have a fresh pile to add your scraps to. Add compost whenever you need it.
Leaves
Leaves are probably one of the cheapest things that you can add to your soil as a fertilizer. However, it is a good idea to send the leaves through a chipper or a shredder to break them up a little bit before adding them to your garden. Spread the leaf mulch over your garden soil in the fall, and then till the leaves in. Let them sit all through the winter months so that the leaves can break down and be absorbed by the soil. You may want to till the soil again in the spring just to make sure the leaves are well mixed into the soil.
Chemical
There are a variety of chemical fertilizers on the market at hardware and garden stores. You can find any number of them that are suitable for a vegetable garden. This is a good option for those who have tested their soil and know that there is a deficiency in one or more nutrients. Choose one of the chemical fertilizers that has the nutrient you need, spread it over the topsoil of your vegetable garden, and then till it in. You can add the chemical fertilizers just before planting your vegetables or after the growing season is over. Read all the package instructions before using since some directions may require watering and others do not.
