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Originally Posted by SarahBeth
Thanks for all the responses. That's too bad about horses. We have friends with horses and I was thinking of adding manure to our (new) compost, as we have an overabundance of browns. Dh built us a huge 3 bin composter last summer, but we have only just started to add to it.
I may have to stay away from blood meal if it attracts skunks.
Regarding the cottonseed meal, about how much do you think should I add to each 4'x9'x1' bed? Will the nutrients release fast enough to affect this years crop? If not, ought I add synthetic fertilizer as well, just this year? I'd like to buy just one gallon of TTF this year, and last year, that was not enough due to the under-nourished soil.
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For that size bed I would probably add 10 to 14 lbs per bed. I have a lot of worms to feed in my beds so I can add quite a bit because they begin feeding on it immediately so there is little danger of it souring. In my 30 to 40 foot by 4 foot beds I usually add almost 50 pounds per bed; but I do add it a week or two before I plan to plant in it. After I work it into the top 3 to 4 inches of soil I make sure to wet the bed down good every day for a few days to speed up the breakdown of the cottonseed meal. If you are going to plant right after adding the meal it is best to give the soil a little extra nitrogen to counter the loss of nitrogen as the cottonseed meal breaks down that first week or so. I usually add a little calcium nitrate, ammonium nitrate or better yet some chicken manure if I am going to plant in it immediately and I make sure to wet it down good so the nitrogen will be released quickly.
To increase the consistency of your soil moisture you can heavily mulch the beds before you plant. This will keep the beds from drying out too fast and also keep them cooler which is a major help in the summer down here. I like to use the plain old cypress mulch because it does such a good job of keeping the beds cool and moist and it can be used over and over. I just rake it off when I need to work the soil and of course some of it breaks down and gets mixed in which only helps the soil.
Even with the addition of cottonseed meal and chicken manure I begin feeding my tomatoes and peppers with TTF or the Vegetable formula every week to 10 days after the plants have had time to establish their roots well. I absolutely love TTF for tomatoes. I get so much more fruit set and the plants remain so much more healthy than before I started using it and in my opinion it improves the flavor of the tomatoes. I like the Vegetable formula for my peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons, and most other veggies because of the higher nitrogen amounts in it. TTF is good for almost anything but I like it best on tomatoes especially after they start blooming.
Bill
Bill