Is Fertilizer Necessary To Have A Successful Garden? 

When I was little back in '77, we tilled up the turf for a big garden. In about '88 we had super hot summer with a drought and the lake froze out that year. We picked up a few loader buckets of dead fish off the beach and that was the first fertilizer it got in over a decade. About 15 years ago, my Dad got a load of turkey manure from the neighbors. That's basically the only fertilizer it's gotten in 40 years. All the vegetables keep on growing. The onions are kinda small and the broccoli could be bigger, but my 80+ year old Dad keeps all his siblings' families in free vegetables and he donates tons to neighbors and the food shelf. Some people obsess too much over fertilizer.

If you need bulk compost make sure you look into local options rather than buying 100 bags from a store. Our municipal facility basically gives it away. Its $2 per bag for 100lb+ bags (fill as full as you can lift), first 5 are free in the spring except for this year because of hurricane damage. For bulk delivery there are a number of guys you can hire to bring as big of load as you want, when I built a bunch of new beds I got 5 yards for $150, which was mostly the delivery fee. While I tend to use fertilizers in my grow bags, I stick with yearly compost top up for my beds.

i been fertilizing for free all my life,,, my grandfather taught me way back in the 70's to bury my fish heads and scraps in my veggie garden,,,, i am an avid fisherman and put at least 30-40 fish heads in it a year.. just gotta burry deep enough so cats dont smell them/dig up

Something doesn't add up. I followed a similar path in the past until I delved deeper into life in the soil. As Charles Dowding and a bunch of lab reports amply demonstrate. Most of the results from soil samples, where both composting and supplementary fertilization are carried out, show that there is a considerable excess of elements in the soil. Irrespective of crop rotation. The condition is living soil with a specific percentage of organic matter (at least 5%). And we know very well what an excess of nitrogen (or elements out of balance) in the soil means. In our raised beds, we switched years ago to adding only homemade compost in autumn and partly in spring, while the rest of the "fertilization" is provided by the huge amount of earthworms and other life in the soil. In the raised beds, we carry out mixed and sequential plant cultivation. The compost is conditioned by the diversity of its raw materials and its maturity. If anything, the soil is usually enriched with one of the slow-acting organic fertilizers in briquettes. Shaking whole bags/buckets is neither economical and usually brings more problems than benefits. As with most things, small amounts go a long way. In short, healthy, living soil that is regularly enriched with rich, homemade compost, in quantities that are not at all overwhelming, will take care of your crops without any problems. You don't need to cover your garden bed with huge, thick layers. Two inches in autumn, one inch in spring and you are ready to go. One more important point, if your soil is barren, or dead, fertilizers will not solve your problem. You will be doing with them what modern, industrial agriculture does.

I placed an order yesterday! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I'm from MI, but now live in FL which has been challenging to get the hang of gardening here. I follow some amazing local gardening RU-vidrs as well. All of my seeds that I've purchased from you in the past are thriving and I can't wait to get my new order. I'm most excited about Mulato Isleno Peppers as I'm a big Poblano fan!! Thank you again for all you do

We love your products and how they help build the soil structure and feed the soil structure. 💚

I alwasy smile when I see Luke, especiallu when he smiles, his eyes smiles too, and there's somethinf about him, he has this kind of power or maybe positive vibe that gives off.❤

I’ve been wondering about this for sometime. Have a good sized compost pile going; thanks in part for getting chickens last summer and doing deep litter method. This is going to be a good growing season. We’re in North Idaho and started my peas, radishes, lettuce and spinach and carrots a couple month sago and they are doing well. It’s been a trial knowing what a when to grow because of our short growing season but very excited what we’ll be harvesting this year.

I think bulk compost might be a better way to go....I buy a yard at my garden store, they load it into my pick-up. That's honestly plenty of compost to amend my garden every year. There's a lot of ways to amend soil and make it healthy that can grow on my property, granted. I use comfrey, and comfrey tea, weed tea, and I use water pumped from my river, a source of fish emulsion. I don't have lots of money, but I have a lot of free amendments. My soil is very healthy, full of worms and life, fluffy, and this is how my dad taught me to garden more than 60 years ago, by building soil in a very natural way. Once in a while, I luck upon a truckload of horse manure or something, but mostly I amend my soil without those things. I live in Vermont, which is a farming state. But good luck to you, Luke!

Your videos just get more and more amazing and helpful with each passing year, Luke. :)

Red gardener made a great experiment with potatoes. Essentially, municipal compost does not have enough available nitrogen and soluble fertilizer is the way to go. Compost tea, urine, and soluble store-bought fertilizers did well.

My municipality provides compost free if you load yourself, $6/cu./yd. If they load it. However they use solid waste from the local treatment facility and manure from local stables. Lots of potential for nasty chemicals. I avoid using it in my vegetable garden but do apply it to my lawn and flower beds. Last fall I did change from in ground beds to deep raised beds and used it for bulk fill in the new beds and filled the last 6 inches with soil from my old beds. I’m excited to see how everything does this year, anticipating abundant growth.

Thanks Luke! I could never afford that much compost, and I couldn't physically move it. I appreciate your videos!

Thank you for the cost/labor breakdown for the comparison!

I’m just reluctant to buy compost (and soil) because I then don’t know what’s in it. And I definitely agree most people can only generate so much of it. Fortunately, I have small bins for square foot gardening in a greenhouse so I can get by with whatever I have- some of my own compost, old potting soil, organic manure from a friend’s cattle ranch. I make my own organic fertilizer. There are a lot of ways to make it work depending on what you have around.

Where I live in Europe, most lawns don't contain that much grass, so when it gets cut I'm able to harvest up a combination of grass, clover, dandelion, deadnettle etc etc. I mix that with the fallen leaves collected from the trees, and that makes quite a bit of free compost over the year. I don't have raised beds, and the soil is clay (although not too bad after many years of growing). I tend to bury the compost with the soil and mix it together in the specific areas I'm growing. No dig is great for some, but my beds are too large, and the amount of compost I would require would be enormous. I later ferment nettles in covered buckets of water, or do the same with old chicken poo, and give the occasional feed to certain plants at certain times in their growing cycle, and this way the whole process doesn't cost a dime.

Thanks, Luke! Great info, as always!

Great perspective! Ty

Really good video with a ton of useful information! Thank you for posting!

Humanure? Bokashi.... Grass Clippings, neighbor's leaves, free woodchips (after being composted), chop and drop, farmer's manure (from known sources), composted bedding and chicken manure from your back yard chickens, get a fishing license and compost some fish.

I wonder if you ever planted a cover crop? This year I planted clover. It also adds nutrients.

Luke, I recognize that bag of compost. I went into Lowe’s the other day, and I got a bunch of ripped open bags for 50% off. 👍

I've been using the Glacial Bay Soils composted cow manure for years now. Although the price has gone from $2 to $3 over the last few years, it's not only cheaper than Black Kow, it's also better quality and gives better results from my experience.

I agree Luke... over time your soil quality will improve and less NPK is needed. Some plants need a booster now and then. Also have a soil test done by the ag school in your area. Last year it cost $16 for the entire panel of tests.

Thanks again! Another great video!

My local transfer station lets you take leaf mulch that others in the area drop off in fall for free. I take 2-3 truckloads each spring. Its poor quality so I compost my chicken manure and other table scraps down with it over than summer. Its free and is plenty to top off most of my raised beds. I use very little fertilizer. Really just a handful of bone and blood meal in the hole the plants go in.

This episode was very exciting.

As always. Great vid ❤

I agree with you. I use a small amount of my compost because my bin is small. I’d rather have more garden space than a large bin. I also use fertilizer, and last fall I planted a cover crop for the first time.

I’d like a video on when and how to transplant my seedlings. Love your content, love that you’re in Michigan!

I started small and just picked up all the clippings all the weeds I would let cover crop grow and pull them cut them in pieces even took bags of clippings from random people on trash day and over the years I kept a critical mass and would only take 20%-30% of my pile and level the lawn and fill containers then I would use the compost to smother beds and continued to add to it and have it grow until I had multiple beds and fixed 12,000 square foot lawn

great info... i'm in zone 4b going to start amending the soil soon. 1 month to my last frost date to go

Love it man.

I purchased that same coast of Maine composted manure and it is filled with some type of seeds 😭 at least I know it's fertile...but holy smokes I'm pulling hundreds of red sprouts every day and trying to figure out what's a beet and swiss chard sproud and what's a unknown compost sprout

i seldom fertilize, i will use some of the blue stuff for a shot of nitrogen in an emergency, but i use compost, and no you don't need to add nearly as much as you suggest, now i don't know your situation but i make my own and add about one inch of compost in the fall when the beds are at rest. i do this every year . As far as making compost, you don't need to turn compost, just throw it in a pile and wait. what i pile up now i'll use in a year. BUT.... all that being said, you do you, love the vid's keep up the great work.

In addition to what others have suggested, I would suggest Chip Drop woodchips + mushroom spawn. If you have native fungi that will readily colonize and break down the woodchips, that works well too. It will take 6-12 months for the woodchips to finish breaking down, but this is a long term investment, and the layer of woodchip mulch that touches the soil can be providing nutrients while it decomposes.

I started small and just picked up all the clippings all the weeds I would let cover crop grow and pull them cut them in pieces even took bags of clippings from random people on trash day and over the years I kept a critical mass and would only take 20%-30% of my pile and level the lawn and fill containers then I would use the compost to smother beds and continued to add to it and have it grow until I had multiple beds and fixed 12,000 square foot lawn oh and all the leaves I have ditches and the grass grew into them and I collected all the leaves instead of leaving them for the city

Check around where you live, there are places like mushroom farms that give free compost away that's still full of nutrients 😊

Thank you

Been watching many videos about a perfect & free nitrogen fertilizer: urine (unless you’re taking pharmaceuticals). Fascinating!

I used tea made of grass clippings and chicken manure last year and fed the beds in the fall with seaweed and leaves. Cheating a bit this year with a bit of bone meal and granules to try and double production. But better if you can get away without paying for anything in my opinion.

I live in the netherlands... .and at our local recyclingstation i can get free compost (made over the years by localgovernemnt by collecting kitchenscraps filled containers and ground from our local farms ... .so compost is a nice mixture of cow, horse and alot of chicken manure topped with a nice amount of green waste.... (and my garden loves it!) ...we can grab max 1m3 a time... last year i went 16 times ... each time arround 0.7m3 ...so 10m3 in total ;) this year i dont need as much , but i already made 3 trips and that amount will last me well into the summer. Ow and i started last year in making my own as well ... but i want it to have a good amoutn to work with so i think it will take me 2 more years till i have a good enough mount to keep it going so i dont need to haul in anymore.

My bigger concern is "what if" I can't get bagged anything. I have a substantial raised bed garden. I'm reconfiguring now to make it more accessible, 32" high for 8 12' beds, and increase square footage of growing space. It's hella expensive but who needs "retirement" right? I need to eat. So, I've done a lot of exploration and experimentation in this area. Vermaculture is a must, IMHO. I can't grow comfrey so I'm remineralizing experimenting with bloody dock this year. I have chickens which provide a huge yield of nitrogen rich composted manure... and they're part-time free rangers so I get the enormous benefits of bug protein rich manure and egg shells. Also, I companion plant and rotate crops primarily to take advantage of biofumigation, and soil remineralization. Recently added is growing my own mycilium for mushroom production and compost. But when Halloween comes around and the garden centers turn into Christmas villages ..I buy up all their organic fertilizers and Vermacompost for pennies on the dollar. That said... I need to call that alpaca farm I saw in the next county over. Alpaca dung is (from what I hear) better than rabbit pellets!

I've got some rabbits that make fertilizer for me.

Thanks

I have been trying to save as much money as I can on fertilizer It has gotten so expensive I was able to find fertilizer at walmart to where you only need to fertilizer every month anyway thanks for sharing that I allways wondering if fertilizer was Necessary when growing a garden

This is my first year with raised beds. I filled one with compost added and the other without. However I have fertilized both beds, but I want to see what results I get.

What about soil testing, Luke? I test my soil every 4 -5 years and fertilize based on recommendations for the crops I plan to grow. . different plants have different needs.and not all soils have the same nutrients. I started with a ph of 4.5 and very low nutrients. With specific recommendations over the years m,y soil is now 6.8 pH and higher nutrient levels.

Fertilizer feeds the plant, while compost feeds the soil which in turn feeds your plants. I used 240 litres of compost with 1 tonne of soil to fill my raised beds. Over the year I have made more than enough compost to cover these beds and maintain fertility. Soil life can make nutrients which are normally unavailable for plants available but you need compost to feed the soil (break the organic into inorganic that plants ca use)

To use fertilizer, or not, certainly is a debate 😄 I am currently reading a soil science book, it is so interesting to me.

I want to see you lump bags of compost all day 😃Kool video. Thank You.

Is compost a fertilizer? Good question. I would say, "Yes." Compost is organic material but it depends on what the organic material is. Composted leaves, manure, grass clippings etc.? To me most compost acts as a slow released fertilizer. In addition, products like alfalfa or cotton seed pellets/meal are sold as fertilizers. (Alfalfa meal has an NPK of 3-1-2.) I have heard of people using dried dog for as a fertilizer.

we buy 3-8 yards of compost a year, depending on needs; only a couple hundred$, but we still fertilize. building soil is different than feeding plants.

Charles Dowding would like a word... :)

In my observation the degree of amendment needed every year depends on the starting quality and the intensity of growth. Personally, I am improving depleted/barren soil to fertile ground and in growing very intensively. Because of starting quality, I need to amend for texture (compost, greensand, cover crops), add Iong-acting fertilizers (NPK, Ca, azomite), and use short-acting fertilizers (more P) during fruiting or if a plant is lagging. As my soil improves year on year, it needs less of each of these things. If I grew at a more moderate intensity (eg square foot method) and avoided heavy feeders (e.g. tomatoes), I might not need the short-acting boost in fruiting season. If I started with really excellent soil instead of 3 inches of topsoil dumped over hard clay, I might not need the texture or basic fertility amendments. And one point Luke missed is that if the soil doesn't compact enough to add bulky amendments but does need a nutrient boost, a fertilizer mix can resolve deficiencies without overflowing the garden borders. It comes down to knowing your own situation and how is best to feed the soil in your location. In some places, there might be a good municipal, farm, or landscaping supply source for compost suitable for growing edible crops. That's usually a much more affordable approach than buying bags, though it can still be a lot of physical work to haul it around. AND bulk compost may still need more time resting to finish. So unless you're sure your source is always fully ready-to-use, it's usually best to get/apply the compost in the fall so it's finished by spring planting.

Hi, nice vlogs, but I do not agree on this matter. Feed the soil and your crop will be fine. Once a year add compost or you can use any organic matter to feed the soil. There are so many examples out there, how it can be done. Nice regards

I’ve watched your videos for years and I’ve always wondered why your neighbors aren’t ever out in their yards while you’re filming?? Haha

Luke, you should write a book. I would be first in line to buy! You’ve taught me so much already and I’m so grateful.

I started my raised beds last year and totally forgot to add compost before I planted my lettuce, kale, spinach etc. in the one bed. I really hope they’ll be ok. The soil looks great still. I suppose I’ll have to add that fertilizer sauce when I water them occasionally.

Does fertilizer expire?

Are you familiar with Charles dowding? He’s a pioneer of only using compost since the 70s He applies 1 inch each year and makes his own, adds worms and it’s all he uses. Runs a profitable market garden aswell, I think it’s the cheapest and most profitable options

Have you tried Electro culture? I am tis year and I understand the natural static electricity in the air can draw up water and nutrients from the natural soil.. I have heard you can double or more increase in productivity.

Can I use the plants I rake from my pond?

Yes, buying compost by the bag is extremely expensive. You can have it delivered by the yards, by a local landscaping company. It’s even cheaper if have trailer and go pick up the yards of compost yourself 👍 We have a trailer that has the leaning dump mechanism, it works great. I also fertilize too though.

Interesting video, I add a few bags of mushroom compost each year and mix in fertilizer. Do you need to dig that in or can you have "No dig, No till" system? Did I see a new 2-wheel wheelbarrow in your garden?

How does this compare to tilled land?

I definitely love gardening to get much tastier vegetables. With the amount of compost and fertilizer you buy, does that end up more costly than buying the vegetables at the store?

I have an issue with Wire Worm, "click beetle larvae". They say crop rotation with brown mustard will get rid of them, is this true, and do you sell the seeds in your store? Not seeing them listed,,, any help is appreciated!

My understanding is you only need to put in what you took out with your crop. Love your channel, Luke, but for me, your math isn't adding up. Hypothetically, if you composted down a whole crop of beets, how much compost would that make? Logically (I mean, unless I'm missing something), that's about how much you'd need to add back to the soil. 25% if the bed volume per year seems really extreme. Charles Dowding doesn't apply anywhere near that to his beds -- he adds about an inch-- and his only fertility is compost and sometimes a mulch.

I don’t fertilize in general I use composted manure horse manure the only thing I add bone meal to is my onion

Should I robotill 10% compost/manure mix first then sprinkle concentrated fertilizer and work into the top 1”-2” (this is before I plant anything for the season)???

I have a 210m2 greenhouse. I do not use any fertilizer, I only use my homemade (very good) hot compost(no manure), leaf mulch and green grass. I grow chilis, tomatos and cucumbers en masse. But my plants grow in the native mineral soil witch now has 5-10% organic matter mixed inn or on top. And yes, my plants do not perform as well as at a comercial food "factory" but that is not the goal either, healthy plants with good taste is the goal. So what is your opinion on native soil and why do you not use it? Kind regards Per in Norway.

Thank you for this. Now I will go fertilize my strawberry patch!

What fertilizer do you suggest for strawberry plants with HUGE green leaves in abundance with it itzee bitzy strawberries? Love your channel💕

That's a nice the intro 👍

What do you fill your bed with when the soil level gets low? Is it all compost once a year? I'm running into that problem as I put in 4 new beds this year and it feels like every time it rains I loose an inch! But I don't have my own compost ready yet, and bagged compost is expensive...

Luke, have you ever grown Oca? ive decided to try this year to see how it goes and wondered if you have any tips for it?

Appreciate any help anybody can give me this is gonna be my first year ever gardening how often should I fertilize I heard once a month is that true and I’m gonna be gardening and raised beds

I make my own compost. The only method I've had really work is making 18 day compost. Have you made a cauliflower growing guide? I cannot find one in search. Thanks!

I would add weird things like ground up eggshells sand old baking supplies like flower old wine milk just throw it all in there

Good video, and it helped me realize I can stop buying bagged compost. Im going into my 5th year of gardening in a large container garden (20'x100'). I make my own compost and leaf mold. The soil in my containers is my own mix with now years of adding compost and leaf mold. I will use the 10% rule and use a good organic fertilizer. It was the plan anyway because of buying tainted compost last year. I ran out of my own and had to buy a couple bags to finish. 5 containers had twisted curled stunted tomatoes, the last ones. But now I know it will be enough to fertilize and top off with my own.

I'm confused how do you get more soil in the beds? If at first we were talking about needing a half yard of compose to replace lost soil then how will 10% help with soil retention? Do I need to still be adding more soil throughout season or once a year?

Luke i love your channel. I'm curious why you didn't fertilize with trifecta+?

Hey luke

Several comments have mentioned the city/municipality services, and Los Angeles is no different. We have an awesome waste management service that gives away varying grades of mulch and compost FOR FREE! All the green bins and green trash are burned to sterilize, then are mulched/composted in piles throughout the city, available to all residents. We have everything from black gold to red wood chips to cedar and eucalyptus mulch. Really it's whatever the city has been pruning (or during the rainy season, all the fell trees). Additionally, for arts and crafts and living walls, I was able to get large sections of trees (like whole rounds to make table tops, stumps for stools, and even the bark facades in large pieces to affix epiphytes and moss). I think this service as well as natural nitrogen fixers are better for the environment than the chemical-bought additives.

Fertilize your pots/containers and compost for everything else.

At what point would you just say lets fill the beds to the very top? I have some compost but not enough to make a dent at filling up the beds and the soil is eventually going to continue to decline in volume.

Nope just good compost

Hey. Thought you were not supposed to leave those beds bare? Thought that is why you plant cover crops?

Great topic. Great explanation. I agree it’s a holistic solution.

What kind of fertilizer do you suggest? I have heard you talk about Trifecta. Is there only one kind of Trifecta?

The research has been done before. Chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and compost. The fertilizers resulted in the most nutrient density in the finished vegetables. The compost did not. The researchers suspected it is due to the time factor of compost. Takes multiple years to build up the soil and receive benefits comparable to fertilizers. So long as you provide enough nutrients to the vegetables, the vegetables will have the maximum nutrient density

👍

My neighbor gives me the manure from their rabbits, chickens, goats and occasionally pigs. It is mixed with the straw bedding. I mix this with the weeds from my garden and let it rot for two years. Would you consider this compost or fertilizer?

Luke, what is the difference between trifecta and vegagrow?

What about compost tea or worm tea? Isn't the point of which to cover more area with a given amount of compost or worm castings?

Isn't Trifecta for that? I'm confused

All I use is my own compost and my urine, my plants do just fine.😊

Feeding our new chickens instead of buying fertilizer this year. 👍

How much fertilizer for a 1000 sq ft garden