The Grass Doctor

What is a good and cheap all purpose fertilizer.

it has to cover about half an acre using a broadcast spreader. is manure a good choice?

Public Comments

1. You can never go wrong with aged manure. Make sure it's aged...the only fresh manure you can add w/o burning is rabbit manure. It's called black gold for a good reason!
2. Where ever you shop for yourself in regards to the projects, they will usually have a well know brand name(Scotts) and then their own brand at a lesser price. When you look at the formula on the back side, you will see the difference in the contents of the 3 main ingredients. You then will have to decide if this is a good and cheap product. I truely hate to say this, but at the big orange stores, there off-brand isn't too bad. good luck.
3. I did mine with free horse manure from a local stables. Any manure will work but should be applied in the fall for planting in the spring unless you know it is last years and has been exposed to the weather. I added 3" and tilled it in.
4. Aged manure is great, but it depends on what you are growing next year. Too much manure can create an overabundance of nitrogen. Too much nitrogen is not particularly good for tomatoes, peppers and some other vegies. It promotes foliage growth at the expense of fruit. Also, manure can result in a lot of weeds depending on what the animal ate. Mix the manure with dry organic material; shredded oak leaves, straw, shredded newspaper or cardboard. Any organic material will do. Layer it on thick and til it in in the spring. Avoid chemical fertilizers, there's more than enough of that around already.
5. aged or composted manure is the best.
6. Walmart always gets rid of it large bages of manure this time of year for cheap prices as clearence. I always buy bags to put on my garden before winter.