Inside of a greenhouse

Sidedressing Vegetables with Fertilizer


The Green People Are Your Gardening Experts!

With vegetable gardens in full swing, we often forget that many vegetables need lots of food to keep growing their best. A fertile, well-drained soil is great to get your vegetables off to a quick start, but even for the best soil, a little midsummer fertilization will help keep the plants growing and producing strong. Sidedressing is a fertilizing term that describes adding fertilizer in summer as an extra boost. You can generally add a granular fertilizer any time during summer. It’s also good to add it after one crop is finished and before you plant another in that soil. A balanced fertilizer such as 5-5-5 is usually best for most vegetables. However, to get the most from your fertilizing, time the application with the growth stage of the specific vegetable. Here’s a guide on when to sidedress:

Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant: Sidedress these nightshade-family crops when they start to flower and then again one month later.

Melons, Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers: Fertilize these vining plants when they start to form vines and again when the first fruits start to set.

Lettuce, Kale, Swiss Chard, Collards: These nitrogen lovers grow fast, so sidedress once after the greens are up and have at least four leaves. Instead of a granular fertilizer, consider using a liquid compost tea that’s high in soluble nitrogen and can be absorbed through the plant leaves.

Beans and Peas: These legumes fix their own nitrogen and generally don’t need any additional fertilizer during the growing season.

Carrots, Beets, and Parsnips: Fertilize these root crops after thinning and again one month later for good root development.

Onions and Garlic: Sidedress onions once the bulbs start to form. Fertilize garlic in spring once the leaves start to grow.

Sweet Corn: Sweet corn is actually in the grass family and grows quickly. Sidedress every three weeks after the corn starts growing until the ears start to form.


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