I know it is hard to wait for Spring but there is four inches of snow on the ground and the night temperatures are still in the single digits, spring is coming right around the corner but it is not quite time to start outside gardening. If your fingers just can’t wait to dig in the dirt now is a good time to start some of those early seedlings.
As far as when is the best time to put fertilizer on your plants it is when the plants are just starting to grow. With canes raspberries, grapes, roses and other established plants I recommend to have about 1 inch of new growth on the plant. It is in the growing stage and will be ready to take on more nutrition and readily able to use it. If you put your fertilizer on top of the snow it will most likely run off with the spring melt and end up in the neighbors yard or pooled in one area of the garden or lawn causing a dark green area of growth and not be where you need it.
After your first fertilizing be sure and mark it on your calendar to fertilize again in about six weeks. For healthy plants fertilize every six weeks stopping at the end of August to allow the plants to rest before winter comes on.
Keep your hands in the dirt and start some wonderful, organic home grown veggies. Happy waiting for Spring!
