How and When to Fertilize your Garden in Oklahoma
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Knowing how and when to fertilize your garden can make a big difference in your growing success whether you are a beginning gardener or a seasoned pro.
Timing your fertilizer applications according to the season and soil type ensures your plants receive the right nutrients at the right time. Whether you’re growing vegetables, flowers, or shrubs, understanding the best practices for fertilizing can help you achieve a thriving, productive garden all year round.
Oklahoma growing zones are quite diverse. Check out how to garden in Oklahoma here.
What is fertilizer?
Fertilizer is a substance that provides essential nutrients to plants, helping them grow and thrive. It contains key elements like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), which are vital for plant development. Fertilizers can be natural (organic), such as compost or manure, or synthetic (inorganic), created through chemical processes.
They are used to enrich the soil, boost plant health, improve yields, and correct nutrient deficiencies. Fertilizers are typically applied to the soil or directly to plants, ensuring they receive the nutrients necessary for strong roots, healthy leaves, and productive blooms or fruits.
At Little Sprouts, we love au natural. We prefer to use compost, manure tea, and other natural methods to keep our plants strong and healthy so we don’t further degrade the soil for the future or kill off our plants with a build up of too much salt that’s leftover from synthetic fertilizers.
Homemade plant fertilizer
Homemade plant foods are a natural, cost-effective way to nourish your plants. It just takes a few ingredients you may already have to make a small batch of food for your plants.
For the garden, creating your own fertilizer can provide essential nutrients to your plants without relying on synthetic chemicals. Ingredients like eggshells, coffee grounds, banana peels, and grass clippings can all be repurposed to boost soil health and encourage plant growth.
Homemade ways to fertilizer your garden are not only eco-friendly but also a great way to recycle organic waste while keeping your garden thriving. Compost is not only easy to make, it’s really interesting and fun. And it saves a ton of space in the landfill by keeping much of your trash at home. You can also make compost with worms and kids absolutely LOVE that!
Manure tea fertilizer
Manure tea fertilizer is a nutrient-rich liquid made by steeping animal manure in water, creating a natural and powerful fertilizer for plants. This organic fertilizer boosts soil health, enhances plant growth, and improves crop yields by providing essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Easy to make and use to fertilize your garden, manure tea is a sustainable way to give your garden a nutrient boost while promoting healthy, vibrant plants.
When to fertilize your garden
Your vegetable garden can thrive with healthy garden soil full of organic materials. Some plants are heavy feeders and some are light feeders, but it’s a good idea to add natural organic matter to all plants to help crop yield.
The type of soil you have makes a difference in how much nutrient availability you have, so consider adding more nutrients to clay soils than you will need with sandy soils. Excessive amounts of even the best fertilizers are unnecessary. You can get great results with much smaller amounts.
Knowing when to fertilize your garden is key to promoting healthy plant growth and maximizing yields. Generally, it’s best to fertilize at key stages of plant development:
- Early Spring: Just before planting or when new growth begins, to give plants a nutrient boost as they start to grow.
- Mid-Growing Season: About halfway through the growing season, applying a second round of fertilizer helps replenish soil nutrients.
- Before Flowering or Fruiting: For fruiting or flowering plants, fertilizing just before these stages ensures they have enough energy to produce strong blooms and fruits.
- Fall (for perennials): Lightly fertilize in early fall to strengthen roots for the winter season.
Avoid fertilizing during the hottest part of summer or late fall, as this can cause stress to plants.
Oklahoma fertilizer schedule
In Oklahoma, following a well-timed fertilizer schedule is essential for maintaining healthy gardens, lawns, and crops. Here’s a general fertilizer schedule for Oklahoma’s climate:
1. Early Spring (March – April)
- Apply a balanced fertilizer before planting. This helps support new growth as the growing season begins.
2. Late Spring to Early Summer (May – June)
- Side-dress with additional fertilizer when plants begin setting fruit (tomatoes, peppers) or producing leafy greens. Compost or manure tea can also be used.
3. Mid-Summer (July – August)
- Fertilize summer-blooming plants as they prepare to flower to encourage blooms.
4. Fall (September – October)
- Apply fertilizer before planting cool-season crops like lettuce, spinach, or broccoli.
5. Late Fall (November)
- A light application of fertilizer around the base of perennials and trees in fall can help promote strong root growth before winter dormancy.
General Tips:
- Always test your soil to determine the exact nutrient needs of your garden or lawn.
- Avoid fertilizing during the hottest months (July and August) or after the first frost.
- Water thoroughly after applying fertilizer to prevent nutrient burn and promote absorption.
Tailoring your fertilizer schedule to Oklahoma’s seasons will help ensure your garden and lawn thrive throughout the year.
