Most vegetables, especially fast-growing leafy ones that are harvested again and again, need fertilizer to replace nutrients.
Plants grow using energy from the sun combined with nutrients taken from the soil. Because the organic matter in soil holds nutrients like a sponge until they are needed by plants, soil that is fertile, well drained, and regularly enriched with compost often holds a reasonable supply of plant nutrients. Unimproved, newly cultivated soil is usually low in organic matter, so it is also low in nutrients.
All edible plants remove some nutrients from the soil, and some have such huge appetites that they quickly exhaust the soil (and then produce a poor crop) without the help of fertilizer. Fertilizer is especially helpful early on, when plants are making fast new growth. You can mix fertilizer into individual planting holes, work it into furrows, or use a turning fork to mix it into beds. You also can use liquid fertilizers, but granular products last longer in vegetable gardens.
Always follow the rates given on the fertilizer label when deciding how much to use. Too much fertilizer can be worse than too little! Overfed plants often grow huge, yet bear a light crop late in the season.
With experience, you will learn how to match fertilizer amounts with plants’ needs for your climate and soil. Onions, tomatoes, sweet corn, and vegetables grown in containers respond to special fertilizing techniques, but most crops grow well if you simply mix a balanced fertilizer into the soil as you set out the plants. Use the lists below to help estimate the fertilizer needs of your favorite crops.
Light feeders often benefit from a small amount of starter fertilizer but require no additional feeding when grown in soil that has been enriched with compost:
- Bush beans
- Mustard greens
- Peas
- Southern peas
- Turnips
Moderate feeders often need good drainage and moisture-holding mulch more than they need fertilizer. Avoid using organic fertilizers made primarily from processed manure when preparing the soil for beets, carrots, and other root crops. Manure can contribute to scabby patches on potato skins and forked roots in carrots and parsnips.
- Beets
- Carrots
- Okra
- Pole beans
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
Mixing fertilizer into the planting holes as you set out tomatoes and the transplants of other heavy feeders helps ensure that the plants will find the nutrients they need at every stage of growth.
Heavy feeders are often highly productive plants, so a few minutes spent mixing in fertilizer before you set out plants is time well spent. Just don’t go overboard by applying too much! Plants often grow slowly in cool spring weather, so wait until the weather warms to decide that the application rate given on a fertilizer’s label was not enough. Some heavy feeders also respond to second helpings later in the season.
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cantaloupe
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Onions
- Peppers
- Rhubarb
- Squash
- Tomatoes
- Watermelon
Would like to know about when you start shipping sweet potatoe slips to your distributors? Also what are the different names of the varieties you raise?
Hi Johnnie,
We offer one sweet potato variety, which is the Beauregard Sweet Potato. Our Bonnie Plants growing stations throughout the country will starting selling sweet potato plants at different times depending on the weather and climate. Sweet potato is a heat-loving plant, so look for it in your local stores when summer items start to fill the Bonnie Plants racks.
Kelly, Bonnie Plants
I would like to add fertilizer to my tomatoes plant via a mixture of water and fertilizer. What ratio and how much for each plant on a weekly diet.
thanks
Frank Gardner
Hi Frank,
Sounds like our Bonnie Herb & Vegetable Plant Food is just what you’re looking for! You can find our plant food in the Little Green Jug on the rack where you find our plants. Mix using the instructions on the bottle. For any fertilizer, you should always apply using the amounts and instructions given on the packaging.
Best of luck with your tomatoes!
Kelly, Bonnie Plants
Can you use Bonnie Herb & Vegetable Plant food on raspberries and strawberrys? And if so how much?
Hi Cindy,
Yes. Just use the same amount specified on the Little Green Jug: one capful per gallon of water.
Happy gardening!
Kelly, Bonnie Plants
Hello, I planted a garden at the end of March. I used miracle grow fertilized soil. My plants look like they are growing, but I have a lot of brown on the cantaloupes and cucumbers. The Okra turned yellow at first, but are looking better. The bell-peppers and watermelon are just there with the peppers looking higher in statue. I bought a miracle gro fertilizer, but it says only to use when planting. The plants are from you guys stock. Any recommendations on fertilizer or any advice at all would be nice. Thanks, April
Hi April,
Brown leaves might be a sign of lacking water, and yellow okra leaves might be a sign of nutrition deficiency. Try using our Bonnie Little Green Jug of natural plant food; dilute the liquid according to the label and apply using the instructions. You might find this explanation of our natural fertilizer useful. Sounds like they need a little boost! Let us know how it grows. ~Mary Beth, Bonnie Plants
Thanks, will keep you updated
Can’t seem to grow zucchini. I have two plants growing and doing well but they are not setting fruit. I had two zucchini starting pretty well and discovered yesterday they both have end rot. I have very few blossoms and they don’t seem to setting fruit. I have tomatoes, collards and jalopena peppers in the same area and they seem to be ding pretty well.
Any ideas? Thanks, Bob
Hi Bob,
The biggest challenge with growing summer squash, including zucchini, is preventing squash vine borers from destroying the plants. If you see the plant rotting, that’s likely the problem. Do you also see a sawdust-like material on the stem? You can read more in our article “Surgery for Squash Vine Borers.” Unfortunately, other than the “surgery” approach, it’s difficult to prevent these pests.
I am happy to hear that your peppers, greens, and tomatoes are doing well! If you have more problems, be sure to try our Ask an Expert service for answers.
Happy growing!
Kelly, Bonnie Plants