[MittleiderMethodGardening] getting my garden boxes started
Hello,
I got the Mittleider Gardening Course book and a pack of the micronutrients. Need help to figure out how to utilize this feeding method for my gardening boxes. I have 3 boxes that are 4x8 and two that are 3x8. The book has figures for beds mainly.
Do I need to buy a book for gardening in my beds and if so which one?
It says you dont have to do the pre-plant fertilizer if you add calcium and weekly feed to the soil before planting and thereafter include lime in the weekly feed (<=10%).
I really want to get my beds ready for planting but after reading the book and trying to apply it to my beds I must admit I am a bit confused. I have my beds all ready except for putting in any feed.
Can anyone tell me how to easily go about doing the pre-plant with weekly feed addition method and how much and often to put in my boxes?
Thanks a bunch,
Mel
Mel Group:
Think of your 4'-wide boxes as 2 - 18" boxes or beds with an "aisle" between them, and apply fertilizer that way. So, for an 8'-long box I would apply the Pre-Plant Mix (mostly lime) at the rate of 1 ounce per foot on each side of the box, leaving the center 1' alone. I would also add the Weekly Feed Mix at the rate of 1/2 ounce per foot on both sides of the box. Therefore, in a 4' X 8' box you would apply 16 ounces of Pre-Plant and 8 ounces of Weekly Feed before planting and work it into the soil.
After your plants are up you begin the Weekly Feeding regimen - weekly until 3 weeks before maturity for single-crop varieties and until 8 weeks before frost for ever-bearing plants.
Your 3'-wide box is not the ideal dimensions for optimum use of space. For most plants you would plant 2 rows in an 18" bed or box and 4 rows in a 4'-wide box. The 3' width does not allow sufficient growing space for most plants to have 3 rows, and if you plant 2 rows near the outside edges of the box you can't feed the plants with one row of fertilizer, and watering is also less efficient. There's more open space for weeds to grow, etc.
If you want to optimize the use of a 3' box I would plant only such things as onions, garlic, carrots, radishes, spinach, etc., and then plan on feeding between two rows of plants and watering manually.
Frankly, if it were my choice I'd convert that one to 18" or 4'.
Jim Kennard
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