To fertilize or not fertilize

[GFTL]

I had my wicking beds soil tested in the fall. The numbers on everything were listed Very High. Even pH was a little high but I've made adjustments for that. My question is with everything being so high should I worry about doing follow-up fertilization later in the season?

 

[Meadowlark]

Depends...what are you growing there, how much rainfall are the wicking beds exposed to, what is the origin of the very high nutrients, what is the basic composition of the wicking bed soil, and is it in a "closed system" as opposed to in-ground soil?

Each factor questioned above (among others) has a huge role to play in the rate at which nutrients are used up....

 

[GFTL]

Depends...what are you growing there, how much rainfall are the wicking beds exposed to, what is the origin of the very high nutrients, what is the basic composition of the wicking bed soil, and is it in a "closed system" as opposed to in-ground soil?

Each factor questioned above (among others) has a huge role to play in the rate at which nutrients are used up....

The wicking beds are totally self contained. Nutrients may leach through the soil but remain in the reservoir to be wicked back up. Soil content is mostly organic; compost and decomposed leaf mulch.

 

[cpp gardener]

If everything is high and most will stay in the system, you won't have to feed much. I would test fertility about every 2 months and add whatever reads low to very low. A lot will depend on how much you harvest. The more you reap the more you will need to add back in.

 

[GFTL]

If everything is high and most will stay in the system, you won't have to feed much. I would test fertility about every 2 months and add whatever reads low to very low. A lot will depend on how much you harvest. The more you reap the more you will need to add back in.

Testing during the season for 3 wicking beds would be be nice but not cost effective. If all goes well I'll go through the season without fertilizing and re-test in the fall again before adding compost. Will be interesting to see the results.

 

[Tundra20]

Testing during the season for 3 wicking beds would be be nice but not cost effective. If all goes well I'll go through the season without fertilizing and re-test in the fall again before adding compost. Will be interesting to see the results.

wicking beds is what i use most
every season im digging down a little adding compost and keeping a close eye need to send off for a soil check myself

let us know what u find

 

[big rockpile]

I’ve been using Wicking Pots actually 5 gallon buckets. I always give some Fish Emulsion and Wood Ash. All my plants are doing very well.

The only thing I added at first was Gypsum. Because Soil Test said I needed.

big rockpile