As plants enter their peak vegetative growth phase in June their nutrient requirements increase so they can get bigger and prepare for fruiting (tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, etc.) or storage (carrots, beets, onions, etc.).  We’ve had some badly needed rains and things should start to look good out there.  Also, this can be when plants in deficient soils run short of essential nutrients and show signs of poor health.  In order to promote strong growth and avoid nutrient shortages now is a good time to provide the nutrients your plants will need over the next couple months.  Most importantly, healthy plants (like people) have a better resistance to diseases & bugs and will produce more nutritious, flavorful, bountiful yield for us. 

Water is the most important nutrient for plants and the rains have helped but keep your hoses and watering cans handy.  A wilted plant is unable to grow so steady moisture is vital.  The last article about mulching is worth recalling and I hope everyone has mulched as much as possible.  Our next step is to feed the soil, not the plants.  The soil is the plants “stomach” and that is where plants digest and absorb their nutrients.  But what is the best soil amendment (fertilizer) to use?

Compost is, in general, the best soil amendment you can use on a garden, fruits, or lawn.  Compost provide rich organic matter that feeds the soil microbes and worms that make the essential nutrients available for plants as they need them.  That’s unlike chemical fertilizers that force feed the plant directly with little, if any, benefit to the soil. Compost also boosts the population of beneficial soil microbes that reduce plant diseases and it buffers the soil pH (acidity) so nutrients are available to the plants. 

You can buy bags of ready-made compost such as Vermont Compost, bulk compost, or best of all, make your own.  In another article I’ll discuss more about home composting since Vermont will soon require that we avoid adding food wastes to the solid waste stream.  A quick video to help you get started right now is available here or you can read more about home composting here.

The great thing about compost is that it can be applied at anytime of the year.  June is excellent because it doubles as a mulch and promotes a slow release of nutrients as the plants need them.  A simple method is to “side-dress” your plants with compost.  Using a shovel or trowel just surround your individual plants or rows of plants with about an inch of compost.  The compost does not need to be mixed into the soil as it will naturally feed down to the roots.

Despite all the benefits of adding compost, it is not very high in major nutrients like Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potassium, or Calcium, all needed by plants.  If your soil is low in any of these “macronutrients” they can be supplemented using organic fertilizers such as a fish fertilizer made from fish byproducts or organic granular fertilizers such as Pro-Gro.  All are available at local garden centers or online.   I like liquid fish emulsion fertilizers because they can be applied as a foliar spray for rapid uptake plus the fish odor (yes, it smells!) seems to effectively repel deer, rabbits, and wood chucks.  Watering plants with a solution of fish fertilizer at transplant time gives them a boost and it is an excellent fertilizer for container plants. 

Finally, every gardener should have a basic soil test done every year or two to know what, if anything, is needed.  Without a test report you are guessing and maybe not doing the best things for your plants, or just wasting your time & money on unhelpful things.  For example, liming a soil that has a neutral pH would be counter-productive and wasteful. The University of Vermont Testing Lab provides good soil analysis and results for only $15.  All they need is ½ cup of your garden soil in a clean plastic bag mailed into their lab.  I recommend that you collect at least five 1 cup scoops of soil (without surface debris, stones or worms) from around your garden, mix them all together, air dry for a couple days, and then send in ½ cup for testing.  You should provide a separate sample for your vegetable garden and for a lawn as their recommendations will be different.

Seasonal Tips:

Farmers markets and farm stands are opening now and it’s a great way to get fresh, local produce.  Here are some local farmer markets listed online.  The Mount Holly Farmers Market has re-started on Saturdays from 9 am – 1 pm on the Belmont Green.  If you received a Pandemic-EBT’ (P-EBT) card, many market vendors can accept them. 

Did you know this is National Pollinator Week?  It’s a great time to plant some more pollinator friendly plants, build a home for native pollinators, and enjoy the benefits of all the pollinators already out there.

Gardeners are all thankful for the recent rains, and so are the slugs & snails!  They have been hiding during the hot, dry spell but are now moving up to feast on our young plants.  Look for extensive foliage damage combined with slime trails over remaining leaves.  Beer traps (small plastic cups recessed in the soil & ½ filled with beer are a simple way to collect & dispatch them (they drown).  Even simpler is just a board laid on the ground provides them with a dark, moist hiding place that will collect them for you.  (You get to decide how you dispatch them.)  An effective control is some form of iron phosphate such as Sluggo©.  It’s an organic bait that is toxic to them but not us or our pets and will eliminate large numbers.  Ducks, snakes, & toads love to eat slugs so encourage them.  A good review of slug control is here.   Do you have a favorite way to control slugs?