Container Gardening Tips
Vegetable Garden Fertilizer

Vegetable garden fertilizer is very important to keep your plants nourished, most especially in container gardening.  Soil in pots does not retain water and moisture as do soil in ground gardening.  You need to take care of your vegetables by giving your plants frequent water to prevent dehydration.  Because of this, nutrients are being washed out from the soil.  Part of the soil’s nourishment flows along with the draining water beneath the plants each time you water.  Experts in container gardening will tell you that you have must have those drainage holes to prevent drowning your plants.  It becomes therefore important to ensure that your plants have an adequate supply of new nutrients.
Vegetable garden fertilizer comes in two types: organic and non-organic.  Each type of fertilizer has its own way of giving nutrients to the soil.  We will discuss both ways in which you can add nutrients to your container vegetable garden so that you can judge which will be the most convenient for you.

Non-organic Fertilizer

Non-organic fertilizer is used by many to fertilize vegetable garden because it is easy to get buy and provides a quick fix for plants that are in dire need of nutrients.  When preparing your container vegetable garden, the ideal setting is to apply fertilizer to the soil a few days before planting.  This is to prevent any burning of the roots when they come in contact with the rich nitrogen content of the fertilizer.  You can add fertilizer when you are planting your crops, but you will be exposing your crops to the risk of root burn.  The entire plant should not come in contact with the fertilizer, and that includes the leaves especially during re-application.  Always use the fertilizer according to package instructions to prevent damaging your crops.
Non-organic fertilizers often come complete with the needed nutrients of your crops.  Each granule of the fertilizer contains three important elements: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). 

• Nitrogen: this element is needed for promoting lush foliage in plants.  Green, leafy vegetables such as lettuce and Swiss chard need this nutrient as they are mainly leaf-growing plants.  Do not be tempted to add too much nitrogen as vegetable garden fertilizer in the belief that it will make your crops develop some extra leaves.  Too much of this nutrient can kill your plant and will also lessen the yield your vegetables will produce.
• Phosphorus:  it is highly essential for developing healthy roots.  Phosphorus also promotes development of flowers and fruits.  Flowering ornamental plants and vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and squash will definitely thrive when given fertilizers rich in phosphorus. 
• Potassium: if you wish to have your plants develop study stem and have over-all health, go for a fertilizer that rich in potassium.  It helps the plant resist stress from changing temperatures, and disease.  Root crops such as carrots, beets, and potatoes will benefit from this nutrient.

The numbers shown in your non-organic vegetable garden fertilizer description represents the nutrients it holds.  A fertilizer that has a label of 15-15-15 will mean that it has 15% of nitrogen, 15%of phosphorus, and 15% of potassium.  The rest would be just fillers to create the bulk. 
Other nutrient-specific fertilizers are:

• Sodium Nitrates:  These are also known as Chilates or Chilean Nitrate.  It has about 16% nitrogen that is  immediately available to plants.  Commonly, it is applied as a top-dressing or side-dressing when used to fertilize vegetable garden.
• Ammonium Sulphate:  A white crystalline salt form, this fertilizer for vegetable garden contains about 20%-21% ammoniacal nitrogen.  Stores well, but lumps together during rainy season.  Lumps can be ground into a powdered form before use.  It also has the side effect of adding an acidic effect on your soil.
• Rock Phosphate:  during rainy periods, this fertilizer can give your crops a long growing period.  If your soil is acidic, you can add this to your soil to increase the pH and correct phosphorus deficiency.  Still, it contains about 35% of phosphoric acid, which cannot be dissolved in water.  It is best to use superphosphate, which is water soluble.
• Muriate of Potash: this contains about 50%-60% of potassium.  It is a great form of fertilizer for plants in need of potassium for it is water soluble.  It is ideal for container gardening as it does not leach out from the pot for it is absorbed in colloidal surfaces.

Organic Fertilizer

Organic fertilizers are preferred as vegetable garden fertilizer other than non-organic fertilizers.  This is mostly considered when gardeners choose to eat the crops produced from the garden.  The most common and most popular form of organic fertilizers is compost.  Unlike their non-organic counterparts, organic fertilizers also help improve the soil condition for your plants.  Other types of organic fertilizers that can be used to fertilize vegetable garden are the following. 

• Chicken manure pellets: these fertilizers are perfect for vegetable gardening.  A little goes a long way with this fertilizer for they are in concentrated form.
• Fresh chicken manure: you can either buy these in gardening stores or get some from a nearby chicken coop.  Be careful in giving your plants chicken manure for it is very high in nitrogen and can cause plant burn.  You can either incorporate this in your existing compost heap to help “cure” the manure, or mix it with grass clippings or mulch about 4 weeks before planting to help break it down a bit.
• Cow manure: is also a good form of organic fertilizer for vegetable garden as it will not burn your plants.  It contains about 10-7.5-2.7 percentage of N-P-K respectively and contains large amounts of undigested organic material.  This will be a valuable addition to your potting mix.  This is a perfect side-dress for your container gardening.
• Fish emulsion: is a common organic fertilizer that is high in nitrogen, an also has soluble P and K.  This is very good for side dressing plants and also helps promote foliage growth. 
• Stable horse manure: readily available in stables, this vegetable garden fertilizer has large amounts of bedding straw.  It has 18% nitrogen, 4.5 % phosphorus, and 13.2% potassium.  You can either add this immediately into your potting mix, or have it mixed in your compost heap.  Adding it to compost will ensure that any medications that the horse is taking will be broken down so they will not be absorbed by your plants.
• Seaweed: a great fertilizer for vegetable garden, seaweed also helps build the soil and can be used as a compost activator.  The complex carbohydrates found in the seaweed will help stimulate growth of beneficial fungi in the soil that will help plants take in much-needed nutrients. 

Other Related Organic Fertilizer Topics

Organic Liquid Fertilizer - Learn how to make organic liquid fertilizer for your garden.

Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer - Treat your plants to home made organic nitrogen fertilizer.

Seaweed Organic Fertilizer - Give your garden the secret of the ancients.

Biofertilizer - Learn how to use biofertilizer micro-organisms effectively

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