Planting Tomorrow - Need A Granular Fertilizer that Doesn't Smell
 

Last year I posted pictures of my garden that was dug up TWICE immediately after planting. The fertilizer smell was like ringing the dinner bell for a woodchuck or something similar.

I usually use products like Jobes Organics and Tomato Tone. Until I get a proper fence system, I need to use something less smelly.

I am not familiar with big box type granular fertilizers. Has anyone used a granular fertilizer that doesn't attract creatures that I can walk in and buy in a Lowes type store for just this once. The soil has enough old compost for conditioning but not fertilizing. I don't have access to any fresh products like rabbit poo.

- Lisa

Miracle grow organic slow release is good. I use it.
KarenO

I see this has chicken manure and feather meal. I can't see any other components. Nothing that gives it a huge smell that attracts animals?

- Lisa

It seems I remember Cole Robbie mentioning he uses Osmocote. I may be mistaken as my memory isn't as good as it once was. Maybe he will chime in or you might message him and ask.

13-13-13.

Worth

Row cover is working for me. Animals are suspicious of it and they don't dig or try to get under it. Mind you I haven't tried burying fish under it as yet. :?

Chicken manure compost makes a fertilizer smells more. Ecoscraps still have a light pleasant smell, but still easily detected by keen animal noses.

You might have to go with water soluble synthetic if you need smell free. Or just compost alone.

Osmocote is great, but pricey. Schultz makes a time release that is a lot cheaper. It may have a bit of organics in it, though. A basic npk chem fertilizer like worth mentioned would work, too, just don't get it too close to your plants, a foot or two away would be ok, i think.

We use 12-12-12 or 10-10-10 from the box stores (Menards in Omaha, Home Depot or Lowes) It is not stinky.

In my 40 gallon tubs I put in whatever one hand will hold walking from the garage.
About 1/4 cup would be my guess spread out all over the soil even closet to the plants.

Osmocote is pricey if you're planting a zillion plants. I put osmocote in my potting-up soil, then water a couple times after plant out with Miracle Grow Tomato food. That's it. No smell.

Nan

Well, I had a jar of Osmocote that I was saving for indoor growing but never used it soI took it out of storage. I scraped some in about half an inch in a band next to my onions and added it to the single row of tomato holes that were planted on Friday. I also applied some to the cabbage that I had finally planted last week.

Time is short this week as I am on rotation at work. I still have a few garlic beds that weren't fertilized this season so that is next on the list, and a miracle grow liquid gets the job. The two garlic beds that I did fertilize with an 8-8-8 organic seem to be left untouched.

I wonder what the soil criteria is for how long it will take for those chemical beds to become sodic. My neighbor has fertilized liberally with mg all his life and in the past two years his beds look like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Breaking open a bag of Tomato Tone for my backyard tonight!

- Lisa

You might try adding a deterrent immediately after plant out. Deer and rabbit repellent spray does the trick for me.

for deer my smelly work socks has worked great.

I even put socks over the tomatoes to hide them.:lol:
If you have a prized tomato you dont want pecked by a bird it works big time.
Anyone that has grown tomatoes for any time at all has lost the prized tomato.:(

Worth

[QUOTE=greenthumbomaha;698669]

I wonder what the soil criteria is for how long it will take for those chemical beds to become sodic. My neighbor has fertilized liberally with mg all his life and in the past two years his beds look like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.
[/QUOTE]

I'm not familiar with the expression. Does it mean they look bad or it's the colour, or?

In any case, your soil should not be able to become sodic since commercial fertilizes don't contain sodium (or at least they shouldn't), I would buy the things that are fully soluble (sometimes called for drip, hydro, etc), who knows what waste is in the other parts (even the hydro ones still have some deposits).