The Grass Doctor

fertilizer questions?

i have a garden, approximately 15X20 ft. i want to grow -tomato green beans peppers squash and zuchinni, garlic, and in between strawberries, cilantro, chives, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, and dill. maybe not all of them questions. what grows best together out of all of those? what extras will i need? (for example, poles for my green beans, fence to keep my dogs out) how much fertilizer do i need? what kind of fertilizer is best? any thing else i should know?

Public Comments

1. Slow release fertilizer are good and you will not have to fertilize again for several months. Read the directions on the containers. You need one for vegetables, not for flowers, and not for grass. A clerk can help you choose the correct one. Go to this website and scroll way down the screen, click the veggie that you want to find out about: http://www.gardenersnet.com/veggies.htm
2. First congrats on the garden :) Not knowing the area you live some things can vary when it comes to fertilizer and growing habits. You have a nice selection of veggies many of which I grow every year as well! For these particular varieties you have choosen I use miracle grow moisture control. However prior to putting down the fert I till the ground up nicely then spread the fert on top and re-till. Good drainage is important so tilling helps to achieve this process especially during those first few nice rain storms :) Tomatoes and Basil grow nice together as Basil enjoys part sun and shade, also the tomatoes help keep the soil cool since should the soil become to hot it could damage or kill the basil plant. Rosemary enjoys good drainage, I would use regular potting soil for these in a ceramic pot during summer plenty of sunlight and watering when potting medium becomes dry. Since rosemary is an evergreen it can handle becoming dry in between watering during winter months. I bring mine in for the winter and it keeps very well, year round beauty that flowers! I keep all my herbs in pots this way including all the ones you have listed :) If your concerned about when to water just use wooden skewers like the ones you buy in the food store for shish kabobs. place in soil when watered, remove and check if it's moist or dry! You will find that the selected herbs you have grow very easily as long as they have sunlight and water. As for the peppers squash and zuchinni: keep 2 ft apart, full sun and plenty of water depending on daytime sunlight conditions and heat. Zuchinini can get pretty big so it likes a little space, plus the flowers are just beautiful. Also with potting soil it says"will feed up to 4 / 6 months... after this duration has past just use a neutral fertilizer every month or so according to directions. Good Luck!!!! and congrats again!
3. A single squash or zucchini plant will easily take over 15x20 feet. It will smother everything else in its path. Plant separately. garlic, leeks, shallots and onions go very well with everything EXCEPT the legumes (peas, beans, etc.). If it's an allium, keep it away from a legume. Herbs might want a small corner for themselves, preferrably on the south side, so they're not shadowed by taller plants (tomato) Toward that line of thinking, plant taller plants on the north end of the garden. General all-purpose fertilizer would be best (miracle grow). Only very light sprinkle, otherwise it will become runoff pollution. Extras = 4 ft fence, for starters...8 ft preferable to keep deer out. Plant the pole beans along the fence line, so they can climb it.
4. You will want to have a plot specially for the strawberries, since they are perennials and will still be there next year. You don't want to have to till them up in order to plant anything else. Most all of the others on your list will grow together or in close proximity except that the two squashes need lots of room and the vines cover the ground densely enough that not much else will grow through them. If you plant bush beans you will need nothing more than a possible stake here and there to support them. In addition to the dogs, you will want to fence out deer, rabbits, raccoons, etc. if they cause problems. Most of the plants you listed do best with a balanced fertilizer blend and you can best determine the amounts by purchasing a little home soil test kit from the garden store. It will tell you how to test and what to do (how much of each element you need to add). If you have access to some compost or rotted farm animal manure, by all means work as much as you can get into the soil prior to planting. About the only thing I can add is all those plants like plenty of sun and water and none of them like weeds, so while it's not necessary, mulch can help. Enjoy.