The Grass Doctor

How much fertilizer should I give to a seed and when?

I'm doing an Investigatory Project for Biology and it involves growing plants and using 3 kinds of organic fertilizers. I'm going to use manure, compost and coffee grounds as the organic fertilizers and a Chinese Cabbage as the plant. How much organic fertilizer should I give to the seeds and when? Also, how much water should I give it and when?

Public Comments

1. seeds carry with them all the fertilizer they need to get started.... since you're using solids, you can incorporate them into the seed's starting soil and that will do it.... water is to keep the soil moist at all times so that tiny little new roots can push thru easily... never soggy... just moist....
2. There is no reason to fertilize a seed. Fertilizing is done after the seed has germinated and the little plant has produced at least one set of true leaves. Water the potting medium only when necessary. The medium should be kept moist, but not soggy. By the way, coffee grounds are not a fertilizer. They add negligible amounts of nutrients, but they will increase the soil acidity.
3. Seeds need no fertilizers. Seedlings need light amounts of fertilizer the first 2 to 3 weeks of life. Manure, if raw, will kill the seeds, if it is aged it is pretty much like compost. Coffee grounds are not considered a fertilizer. You might want to consider kelp, fish emulsion and/or sea solids (www.oceangrown.com/index.htm for more info on sea solids) as other types of organic fertilizers in this project.
4. Let the seeds grow for 2 weeks. Use little amount of fertilizer for seedlings