What Kind Of Worms Are Good For Vegetable Garden Boxes

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If you're new to gardening, it may come as a surprise that just putting a seed or plant in soil and having it grow beautifully is not exactly how it works. Plants require complex nutrients that are sometimes found in the soil, but it's rare that you have the perfect combination in your backyard.

Most likely, the soil you are working with is missing some key things that your plants need to do their best. One way to supply these is to add fertilizer, preferably organic.

The 6 Best Organic Fertilizers

Neptune's Harvest Organic Hydrolized Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer
Jobe's Organics Vegetable & Tomato Fertilizer Spikes
Humboldts Secret Golden Tree: Best Plant Food for Plants & Trees
SEA-90 Organic Fertilizer for Hydroponics
Fox Farm FX14049 Liquid Nutrient Trio Soil Formula
Unco Industries Worm Castings Organic Fertilizer (Our Top Pick)

Our Top Pick for the Best Organic Fertilizer

Our top pick for the best organic fertilizer is the Unco Industries Worm Castings Organic Fertilizer.

Earthworm castings are a great all-around organic fertilizer. It will definitely work for most plants without direct negative side effects. Unco's fertilizer will also improve your soil condition.

Check the price on Amazon

How to Choose Fertilizer

There are a lot of choices for fertilizers, including non-organic options. Organic fertilizers are better than non-organic because they aren't made with things like petroleum products that will harm the health of your soilin the long run.

To choose the right organic fertilizer for your needs, there are a few considerations you have to make.

Soil type

First, what type of soil do you have? Is it clay, sand, or loam? Loam is considered the holy grail of soil types, but most of us have a combination of all three, with either clay or sand featured more prominently.

Sandy soils are great with drainage, almost too great, but have difficulty holding nutrients in. Clay soils are heavily fertile but have drainage issues.

The fertilizer you use should account for the type of soil that you have so that your fertilizer isn't washed away in sandy soil by the first rain. Or cause calcium deposits in your clay soil due to lack of drainage.

If you have a loam, congratulations! You just need a basic fertilizer formulated for the type of plant life you have.

Needed Nutrients

The second thing to consider is what your soil is actually missing. The best way to determine this is through abasic soil test. They don't cost much and are usually done through your local horticulture extension, but it is possible to buy home tests.

After the soil test is done, your report will give you the composition of nutrients in your soil, and you can match your fertilizer to what is missing.

What do the numbers mean?

Organic fertilizers are labeled with the percentage concentration of nutrients. These are referred to as the NPK ratio, which stands forNitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium. In a 6-12-0 formula, for example, there is 6% Nitrogen, 12% Phosphorous, and 0% Potassium.

It's also a good idea to consider other types of nutrients that you may need. Fertilizers have all sorts of micronutrients and minerals that can replenish other missing pieces of your soil.

Fertilizer Form

Fertilizers come in either liquid or dry forms. Dry fertilizers are slower to release and last over a longer period. They are good when you need general plant maintenance and are rebuilding nutrients directly in the soil.

Liquid fertilizers are faster acting and are better when your plants need a boost. For example, in late summer when the taxing heat and in-optimum water conditions take their toll on your blooming plants or veggies, a shot of liquid fertilizer can be just the right pick-me-up to get them through the rest of the season.

6 Best Organic Fertilizers – Reviews

1. Neptune's Harvest Organic Hydrolized Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer

Neptune's Harvest combines both fish and seaweed to give you the best of both products in an easy to use formula.

Both fish emulsion and seaweed build the natural sugars in plant leaves, helping them grow stronger even in dry or excessive heat conditions. Flowers, fruit, and foliage are stronger and more productive, with fruit reported to have a longer shelf life.

The product is easy to use. Simply dilute in water as the instructions say and use to water plants, or use as a foliar spray.

Pros

Liquid is easier to apply than dry fertilizers
Works best with flowers (also great for some vegetables)

Cons

Fish-seaweed is hit and miss with different plants
If improperly mixed or stored, this fertilizer may get smelly
Dogs and cats love the smell

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2. Jobe's Organics Vegetable & Tomato Fertilizer Spikes

Jobe's has made fertilization super easy by putting it in the form of spikes to be buried in the ground near the plant's root system. There's no mixing involved, they are easy to carry and store, and simple to apply.

This particular formula contains 2-7-4 combination, with nitrogen, phosphate, potash, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. The spikes are driven into the ground near the root system so that the plant can begin to take in the nutrients as soon as possible, but you don't have the inconvenience of dilution as you do with liquid fertilizers.

One problem with the spikes that is often reported is that animals love to dig them up. If you have dogs or other animals, put down some kind of barrier until the spike is dissolved enough that your plants benefit.

Pros

Complete active ingredients
Easy to use and store
OMRI listed

Cons

Your pet may dig the plants after applying the fertilizer
Gets expensive for large garden

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3. Humboldts Secret Golden Tree: Best Plant Food for Plants & Trees

Humboldts Secret Golden Tree: Best Plant Food for Plants & Trees is a professional quality fertilizer that works on a variety of plant types. It activates enzymes in the root system that encourage growth and production, as well as improved photosynthesis. It also provides nutrients for veggies, flowers, and even roses.

It's easy to store. It comes in a 2-ounce bottle that makes 28-gallons of fertilizer, though larger sizes are available if you are doing some serious fertilizing. Simply follow the directions on the label with the following cautions.

With this product, it's good to do a small test with smaller amounts than what is recommended to see how your plants react. There may be some issues with fertilizer burn when adding at full strength for the first time, but most people should see positive results with the recommended amounts.

Pros

Highly potent, professional fertilizer
Concentrated, so it's easy to store
Very affordable
Works really well for almost any kind of plant

Cons

May cause fertilizer burn, test first
Container is low quality
Mainly advertised for cannabis

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4. SEA-90 Organic Fertilizer for Hydroponics

SEA-90 is an all-purpose fertilizer that can be used even for hydroponics. It's harvested from mineral deposits in the ocean and is odor-free.

It's water-soluble, and so works great in a sprayer. SEA-90 is also rated as a livestock additive because of the natural minerals, so if you do both gardening and animal husbandry, this product will take care of both things at once.

One caveat of this product is that it tends to raise the acidity of the soil, so if your soil tends to be on the alkaline side, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Quick home soil testing should help you regulate ph levels for plants that have a harder time in acidic conditions, though plenty of common shrubs, trees, and flowers prefer an acidic ph.

Pros

Odor-free
Can also be used as a mineral additive for livestock
OMRI certified

Cons

Can raise the soil ph
Just OK

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5. Fox Farm FX14049 Liquid Nutrient Trio Soil Formula

Fox Farm is well known in gardening forums and although a little pricey, produces results. This particular fertilizer is actually a three-part fertilizer for each stage of plant life.

The first bottle is Grow Big Hydro to support abundant foliage growth. The second bottle is Tiger Bloom and is for the first signs of blooms and flowers. The third bottle, Big Bloom, can be used all throughout the growing cycle to continually heal root systems and encourage nutrient cycling. It is also ideal for late-season flowers and veggies.

One drawback besides the price is that it may raise the ph of the soil. Periodic soil testing should help you keep the ph in balance. It also comes in the same trio of hydroponic growers; just look for the correct formulation on the label.

Pros

Easy to use
3-in-1 solution for different stages of growth
Comes with feeding schedule and guide

Cons

Initial price is high. No options to choose different sizes

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6. Unco Industries Worm Castings Organic Fertilizer

Of all the fertilizers listed, one particular type of fertilizer is ideally made directly into your soil with a creature nature uses to condition soil, break down nutrients, and redeposit beneficial microbes: the worm. Worm Castings are a great all-around fertilizer because of its ability to provide both quick and long-term feeding without changing the ph of the soil.

It's difficult to mismeasure this particular fertilizer and using it should actually attract more worms to your garden as the health of your soil continues to improve.

Unco's Industries Worm Castings is a great all-around fertilizer and soil conditioner. Earthworms process the soil and the resulting castings redeposit broken down nutrients in a form that is easy for your plants to process. Other types of fertilizers require the plant to expend energy breaking down nutrients into a form the plant can use.

The nutrients are actually in two forms. One can be quickly and directly absorbed, giving plants a boost in the late season, or when just putting out leaves. The other provides a long-term, rich environment for plants to grow. And since only small amounts are needed to see big results, investing in this particular fertilizer is cost-effective.

Castings also improve overall soil structure because the composition of the castings increases airflow, and with steady continual use allows the plant to grow dense, fibrous root systems with minimal effort. Plants that grow in dense, compacted soils cannot put as much energy into foliage or fruit production, so worm castings relieve them of laboring to push roots into the soil.

Microbes in the worm's gut actually provide other needed micronutrients to the plant as well, further improving soil conditions and supporting plant growth.

Pros

Great overall fertilizer for almost all types of plant life
Provides easy to use nutrients for plants in two forms: quick and long-term feeding
Earthworm castings loaded with beneficial biologicals
Non-toxic and odor-free

Cons

Package has a shelf life
If you already have earthworm in your compost bin, this product will only add small benefit

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Our Top Pick for the Best Organic Fertilizer

Our top pick for the best organic fertilizer is the Unco Industries Worm Castings Organic Fertilizer.

Earthworm castings are a great all-around organic fertilizer. It will definitely work for most plants without direct negative side effects. Unco's fertilizer will also improve your soil condition.

Check the price on Amazon

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