Are your plants growing tons of leaves… but barely producing anything? Or maybe they’re turning yellow, looking stressed, or just not growing the way they should?
There’s a good chance the problem isn’t a lack of fertilizer… it’s how the fertilizer is being used.
In this video, I break down the most common fertilizer mistakes gardeners make — from overfeeding and root burn to poor timing, container plant problems, nutrient lockout, and more. These are the same mistakes I made for years while trying to grow bigger, healthier vegetable plants.
MENTIONED LINKS
FREE GARDEN GUIDE: https://www.gardenguide.com/
Neptune’s Harvest Fertilizer: https://shop.nextlevelgardening.tv/collections/organic-fertilizer
Test Kit: https://amzn.to/409P73y
MENTIONED VIDEOS
Tomato Leaf Curl: https://youtu.be/lqAaRrvDPAo
Transform your Tomatoes with this ONE ingredient: https://youtu.be/hzzizV1LFds
35 Comments
Last year had beautiful tomatoes. Threw some 10-10-10 around each one. Burned them all.
I am planting in my raised beds for the 3rd year, and amended them every fall with several inches of compost then mulched them with shredded, dried leaves. I thought I was all set, but on the advice of a garden mentor, I sent off a soil test to both a commercial lab and my regional extension. The results were identical for the two labs. Turns out that I had a neutral pH with good levels of phosphate, potassium, and organic matter. However, my nitrogen was VERY low as were all of my trace elements/minor nutrients. Based on the recommendations of the labs, I amended with organic 12-0-0 nitrogen in recommended amounts and azomite for trace elements. My message: GET A SOIL TEST!
I wish I would fertilizers more.. I need to today
I love your videos, and know you're not a fan of synthetic fertilizers, but you should do a video for those of us that simply cannot afford the far more expensive organic ones. I compost. Most of my garden is containers or raised bed. Cost of living is "rich" Now. Commercial farmers can't afford fertilizer, let alone folks like me. Synthesized is our only affordable option
Last year I didn't fertilize my garden and had "acceptable" results. This year I'm judiciously using organic fertilizer and am hoping for a super crop. So far so good. As far as mulch, I have TONS of leaves each fall and use a Toro chopper.
The Citrus you showed in the pot is likely getting yellowing by sun induced chlorosis, normal for Citrus in full sun and feeding it isnt going to stop that from happening.
I'm on my 2nd season of vegetables garding. I use synthetic and organic fertilizer. I never us synthetic full strength. I start off 1/4 to 1/3 strength for seedlings. Will work up to 2/3 strength of synthetic when plant is mature. Trying to go full blown organic. I do love Osmocot slow release synthetic. I just put out Texas based MICROLIFE products . It is a big hit in the area I live in Texas. Land scapers love it.
Just checked out your website and found it helpful. Happy to see Canadian locations included!
I’ve been following your guidelines and all going well.
Hope you guys are safe from the fires…. praying you and your family stay safe!😊
Hey Brian, very informative video but next time will you please specify the numbers when you talk about fertilizer and for which plants. As we know plants need different amounts of each nutrient and I've made plenty of mistakes untill I figured it out through lots of tears.
I add the dry content of my chicken coop every year in January to my garden in ground, pots and raised beds. I mix it in and plant March-June. I add bagged organic soil every other year. It seems to work. My garden seems to flourish without much extra. 💚
Great advice and information. If it works? work it. I'll do what I do,and it works.
your citrus might need iron, also. Also, if plants in pots look like they wilt all the time, the roots might be plugging up the drain holes.
My potted lemon meyer leaves are yellow. Ive definitely lacked fertilizer
Another great video, thank you! I never knew your soil should be moist before you fertilize it so again thank you!
I have a black beauty tomato that the leaves are getting more purple and dried out, some curling. I water once or twice a week – I use a tester. My PH is at about 6.8. I live in Southern California. Any suggestions?
Thank you Brian. I don’t often fertilize my plants, I need to up my game. 🥺💚🌷🙃
Some of the best options for container garden containers is to have the bottom pottery platter. The platter holds extra water, that you can visually signal dehydration and need for water COMING UP TO THE ROOTS. But, the biggest issue – mentioned – is to top fertilize your container plants and it washes out down through the container hole. The very reason many of the modern raised beds, or other grow boxes et al, have underwater reservoirs that provide the water level – making the roots grow deep for their drinks. In these grow boxes you can sprinkle fertilizer down the irrigation spout. That is not the case with container gardens. So having a container platter for water, but you can provide your fertilizer (again) from the bottom up. Put your fertilizer into the container platter and allow the watery fertilizer in the zone of saturation (water level0 to provide the needed nutrients that the roots will take up. One barely needs to put the MEASURED (!) fertilizer into the ring of the container platter, dissolve it, and it will then creep into the container hole at the bottom, and you haven't over-fertilized. This fertilizer nutrient(s) will also stop mosquitoes from using the water portion as their breeding ground, as the fertilizer (nitrogen) – weak nitric acid will chew and dissolve the mosquitoes, their eggs and larvae in quick fashion.
I'll tell you what killed my garden…..my neighbors lawn care service. The idiots sprayed her lawn with weed killer on a windy Kansas day. The overspay drift landed in my garden. 24 hours later my ENTIRE garden was dead. EVERYTHING. That was last summer. I didn't even plant anything this year.
Less is more. I always under fertilize because I can always give a little more a couple days later if the first dose wasn't enough. What I can't do is take away fertilizer if I gave too much. For containers I always have an extra layer to catch drainage because I can reuse the drained water a day or 2 later. This also has the added benefit of not wasting the fertilizer that went out through the drainage process.
Never had a single problem with synthetic fertilizers…..ever! Jacks 20-20-20 is about the best stuff you can use on a veggie garden !!!
LOL! I definitely don't OVER-fertilize! 😂
Using synthetic fertilizer in your garden as directed won’t do a thing to your soil. I’m so tired of that BS.
Would love to know about how much that Neptune"s Harvest costs you in the USA?
Great show today 👏
Loved your facial expression when you talked about synthetic fertilizer companies also owning pesticide companies. Great video.
I made a mistake with too much fertilizer last year. I thought all I was doing so good and I put them on all these big beautiful tomatoes, and Harley got any but I got beautiful plants no disease so this year I am really watching and coming back.
Thank you for all you do for the gardening communities out there. You help me often.
I know this isn't your fault, but about a minute and a half into your video I got an ad with no skip button until the entire end of the ad, and the ad was about 12 minutes long – it was only for a pressure washer so it's not like it's objectionable material or anything, but I guess they must know me too well because I almost always skip ads.
The rest of the video was great.
I would even recommend 1/4 strength for synthetic fertilizer. The most important thing is not to abuse it.
Good advice. I'm an Espoma lover, especially their organic products–Bio-tone, et. al.
I have the same nitrogen deficiency in the leaves of my grapefruit tree so I am playing catchup now by giving her fish fertilizer weekly.
Excellent video! Bookmarked! 🌱
Watering before fertilizing makes sense; I'm gonna have to start doing that. Not so sure about watering after though. Sure, if you're using granular fert, you have to water it in, but if using liquid, seems like you'll just immediately be flushing some of it out.