The Pre-Plant Mix

This mix gives your garden "the foundation of a good fertilizing program" – calcium, supplemented with magnesium and boron. (lime, epsom salts & borax)

Mix together in a clean wheelbarrow or large container:

10 pounds of agricultural (dolomite) lime or gypsum

2 ounces boron

8 ounces magnesium sulfate

Garden shops (nurseries), farm supply stores, and chemical shops usually carry packaged fertilizers, including gypsum and/or agricultural lime. Use lime if you receive more than 20” of rain per year, and gypsum of you receive less than 20” of annual rainfall.

Boron and magnesium sulfate are frequently sold in supermarkets under the following names: Twenty Mule Team Borax (a detergent) and Epsom Salt (a laxative).

Apply Pre-Plant Mix at the rate of 1 ounce per running foot before planting. The above mixture will effectively treat 150 running feet of raised garden bed (or five Soil Beds measuring 18 inches by 30 feet each). For best results apply the Pre-Plant Mix and Weekly Feed Mix (see below) in a 2:1 ratio before planting. Thoroughly mix into the soil.

Above amount treats  225 sq ft of garden.

The Weekly Feed Mix

This mix compares very favorably with Miracle-Gro™ plant food and costs a lot less. If you have a large garden and want to mix it from scratch, here’s the recipe for 26 pounds of Weekly Feed Mix.

Mix together thoroughly in a clean wheelbarrow:

Calcium Nitrate—CaNO3 10 pounds

Ammonium Nitrate—AmNO3 (34-0-0) 3 pounds 8 ounces

Phosphorus—P (0-45-0) 3 pounds 12 ounces

Magnesium Sulfate—MgSO4 (Epsom Salt) 2 pounds 12 ounces

Potassium—K (0-0-60) 4 pounds 12 ounces

Boron—B (Borax) 3 ounces

Manganese—MnSO4 2 ounces

Zinc—ZnSO4 3 ounces

Iron(Fe) Chelate #330 ½ ounce

Copper Sulfate—CuSO4 ¼ ounce

Molybdenum—Mo ¼ ounce

Gypsum—CaSO4 1 pound

Feed your plants weekly from the time they become visible by applying 16 ounces of Weekly Feed Mix down the middle of a 18 inch by 30 foot Soil Bed – or ½ ounce per running foot of raised garden bed, and continue until 3 weeks before harvest.

Rate is 16 oz per 45 sq ft of garden or 2 lbs per 100 sq ft. (2 cups = 1 pound)

Micro mix

$11 of micro mix makes 47 pounds of weekly feed (need to add fertilizer cost)

The micro-nutrients are pre-packaged, so the only other things you have to buy are Epsom Salts at your pharmacy and a bag of 16-16-16 or similar N,P,K blend at your garden shop or nursery. Then mix according to the simple instructions, and you have a good Weekly Feed mix! And for a simple Pre-Plant mix, just add proper amounts of lime or gypsum, Epsom Salts, and 20 Mule Team Borax in a ratio of 80-4-1 (see Fertilizing in the Learn section).

Mix one 8.5 oz. package of Micro-Nutrients with 3 lbs. of Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) and 20 lbs. of 16-8-16, 20-10-20, or even 16-16-16 to make your own Weekly-Feed.

This makes 23.5 pounds of weekly feed fertilizer.

Using 5-3-4, I would need to use 60 pounds of fertilizer to get a 15-9-12 blend. This would change the application rate from 32 oz to 6 lbs per 100 sq ft.

a package of Micro-Nutrients ($10.95 on the www.growfood.com website in Materials - get your now!) includes 2 10 ounce packets.  Each packet is mixed with 25# of NPK and 4# of Epsom Salt, and therefore makes about 30# of Weekly Feed fertilizer.  This gives you 60# of WF for the whole package.

You will use one pound (16 ounces) for feeding a 30'-long soil-bed or Grow-Box one time.

If you are growing cabbage that 60# will last you for 12 CROPS of cabbage, since you only feed a maximum of 5 times for cabbage.

Pro-Gro organic fertilizer 5-3-4