DDC's Vegetable Garden - Page 22 of 41 - A Midwest Vegetable Garden experience

vegetable fertilizer

I was asked the other day about fertilize schedules for vegetables. There is plenty of fertilize information but not all in one place so I decided to create a vegetable fertilizer chart. Once the vegetables are planted, it is weed and feed (hopefully not feed the weeds) time until harvest.

Definitions

Side-dress – apply fertilizer 6 inches or so from center of plant. If one plant is involved, apply around entire plant. If a row of plants are involved, apply in a straight line on both sides of the row.

Vegetable Fertilizer Table

Vegetable	Dosage	Amt per plant	Notes
New Asparagus	10-10-10	4 cups per 100 sq ft	Early Spring
Established Asparagus	10-10-10	4 cups per 100 sq ft	After harvest (June or July)
Carrots	10-10-10	2 TBL per 10 feet	Side-dress when 3 inches tall
Cucumbers	10-10-10	1 TBL	Side-dress when plants vines are 10 inches long and after flowers begin to bloom. Do not dig down with a hoe more than 1 inch because this will damage the shallow feeder roots. The main roots go down 5 feet.
Green Beans	0-10-10		Side-dress. Generally do not need fertilizer in decent soil. Do not give fertilizer that contains nitrogen.
Lettuce	10-0-0 or 10-10-10	1 cup per 10 feet	Side-dress when 2 to 3 inches high.
Peppers	5-10-10	1 tsp	When blossoms show
Potatoes	10-10-10	2 LB per 100 sq ft	Side-dress when flowers appear
Pumpkins	10-20-10 10-10-10	2 TBL	While vine is growing. Once fruit is set.
Radishes	10-10-10	1 cup per 10 ft	Work fertilizer in soil just before planting.
Spinach	10-10-10	1 cup per 100 sq. feet	Side-dress when 2 to 3 inches tall.
Sweet Corn	10-10-10	9 LB per 1000 sq ft	Side-dress when plant is 1 foot tall and when tassels appear.
Tomatoes	10-10-10	1 TBL	Side-dress 8 inches from plant in a circle every 3 weeks
Zucchini	10-20-10 or 10-20-20	1 TBL	They need higher phosphorus than nitrogen. Side-dress fertilize when fruits form.

2 cups = 1 pound fertilizer, TBL = tablespoon, LB = pound

garden.dougthecook.com

Click to download the chart in PDF format.

Green beans, aka snap beans or string beans, are pretty easy to grow in the Midwest. They are a very popular warm season vegetable.

Types

There are two groups of beans: bush and pole. Bush beans grow as a bush and require no support while pole beans need a framework to hold them up. We have had great luck with Blue Lake 274 bush beans. They take 58 days to harvest and are plump with good yield. Also, they are bean mosaic resistant.
A good pole bean is Blue Lake which takes 65 days to harvest and are stringless.

Planting

Plant after the last frost (May 15th in Peoria area) has subsided. We have always grown beans from a seed which you can get in packets from a nearby supply store. Space out planting 2 weeks so a plentiful supply is available through August. Do not plant beans in the same spot as last year since disease and/or pests may have wintered over. It is best to get new bean seeds every year.

Depth

Beans are planted at a depth of 1 inch. Bush beans are spaced out 4 inches between beans and 18 to 24 inches between rows. Pole beans are planted 6 inches apart in rows of 30 inches. Water after planting. Do not soak beans in water before planting as they tend to crack.

Care

Beans have a shallow root system so cultivating nearby with a hoe can damage them. We recommend hand-picking weeds within 1 foot of the plant after a rain if possible. We have had good luck mulching bean plants as it keeps the ground at a more stable temperature and holds moisture in.

Fertilizer

Since beans are legumes, they require no additional nitrogen. A 0-10-10 fertilizer will work well but can be hard to find.

Harvest

Pick beans after they are thoroughly dried (i.e. do not pick in the morning). The beans should be plump and long. Bean plants are brittle and easy to break so be careful. You can use a small scissors and snip the bean off or carefully yank on it. The plants will continue to generate new beans after they are harvested. We usually get 3 or 4 pickings in a season.
Toss the beans in a plastic bucket as they are harvested. Store unwashed until ready for use. Remember, the best tasting beans are immature ones; that is they do not have full seeds in them. The longer they linger on the plant, the tougher they become.

Problems

Bean mosaic disease turns leaves yellow and reduces yield.
Bacterial bean blight causes bright yellow or brown spots on the leaves. Avoid contact with wet plants and use disease-free seeds.

Storage

Beans can be stored, unwashed, for up to 3 days in a plastic bag in the vegetable crisper part of the refrigerator. The bag prevents moisture loss and wilting. Green beans are excellent candidates for canning. We have canned them nearly every year. Beans dated 2004 are still being used in our soups or casseroles. Before freezing, the beans need to be blanched.

Doug

Very Handy Vegetable Fertilizer Chart