I have an unmatched bed that I was holding off fertilizing, but I understand why you put a presence on mulch timing over fertilizer. going to do it right now!
Your BEST fertilizer video to date! Thank you, Jim, for taking the time to explain the importance of the soil microbes. I appreciate your detail about not disturbing the soil as well as explaining your “layers” of leaves, then fertilizer, then mulch. Delighted to see you have finally decided to wear a mask during your fertilizer “spring fling” dust storm. 🤣🤣 Oh my - I’ve got some work to do out in the garden!
Always a great reminder, Jim. Instead of leaves, we are always tossing the PlantTone on top of our mulch which is in large part naturally falling longleaf pine straw. In the early years here in the NC Sandhills, I used to work really hard at working it through the straw around the base of the plants. I don't bother to do that anymore and everything seems just fine. I'm guessing that the easy drainage through the straw and into the sandy soil is a quick route for the fertilizer. We really appreciate all the great info and videos!
I appreciate your comment. We have two Pines that create copious pinestraw. I was just wondering if I should rake... you saved me from a chore in the yard!
@@ROlson-dx2jc fallen leaves of any sort are just natural mulch. I only rake the driveway (to keep the surface clean), and use needles and leaves as mulch under the hedges and shrubs. I find it crazy when I see people rake off all the fallen leaves, pay to have them removed and then pay for having mulch delivered, and then spread it. Nature, with a little wise management on your side, would have done all the work for you for free. TH-cam and a few gardeners on it have been a great resource to cut down the work and the fuss while maintaining a nice looking landscape. My favorite is John Lord. Very congenial Irishman that goes around his garden with a pickaxe. He has taught me to be ruthless. If plants are in the right place they don’t need any pampering to thrive. If they are fussy they are not worth it. Saves a ton of work, especially when someone has a large yard, loves plants but hasn’t enough time.
Untill 3-4 years ago I thought, nah, it doesn't matter if it's organic for decorative planting until I tried it, was recommended horse manure based organic fertiliser, oh how I was wrong, it's such a nice slow release, whole season feed for plants, they just thriving. Synthetic is good if some plant is stressed or something to give it quick shoot of nutrients but otherwise, more people should switch to organic.
Thanks, Jim! We’re in Georgia and have been following you for years. We switched to Plant Tone a few years ago after watching one of your videos and our plants have never been happier. That, coupled with leaving the leaves alone, has transformed our yard. Really appreciate all of your guidance and videos! Not sure how our neighbors feel about the smell… 😂
Ever since I found this channel, my entire structure changed in the garden. I used to saturate everything with non organic fertilizer and clean up all of the fall leaves. I never had a good garden doing this. It was actually terrible. For the past 3 years following Jim's method, I have amazing soil and flowers and shrubs that explode with blossoms! They can also recover from damage quickly. The transformation was incredible!
Thank you so much for this!! My soil ph is 5.5 just like yours and I will be doing my yearly fertilizing this month. I have a small bag of acidic fertilizer that I was going to mix in w/ my regular, but now I'll just use the regular (it's Dr. Earth) and do it using your method. Quick and easy!!
Do worm castings help build soil? My soil is sandy and I'm hoping that the worm castings along with lots of compost will make the dirt yummy for all my plants. Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it.
I bought some last year and noticed the terrible odor …so I decided to keep it on my porch, but due to a slight crack in the door, I could still smell it, so I had to double bag it 🤣. Thanks for the heads up on the dogs getting in it…. You just saved us a lot of grief! Plus not applying after rain!
I got a rescue pup last October. I didn’t think about it, because my older dog doesn’t get into anything…and I looked out the window and saw the pup with the bag of plant tone and he was eating it! Thank goodness I caught him red handed and put it up higher!
Thx Jim for the confirmation! I was just outside today(70° in N. E. Ohio) looking at the daffodils pushing their way through the leaves I had used for winter protection on my Panicle Hydrangea's landscape beds. Kinda was unsure if I should leave them in the bed, or remove them, then fertilize & mulch the bed? But after viewing this video, you confirmed what my gut has been telling me all along! I'm going to try the fertilizing on top of the leaves this year with Plant Tone, then put the mulch down, then install a drip irrigation system for watering. Thx again I really appreciate your input!
Very informative video. I also use the Espoma fertilizers. I have a huge issue that I am not physically or financially able to rectify. A landscaper a few years ago used plastic sheeting instead of landscape fabric and then mulched on top of that. Then 3 years ago hired another landscaper to do additional work and to re-mulch the 1st and I specifically asked them to pull out the plastic before adding more mulch. Well, they did not do as I asked (pays to watch every move they make I guess). They added more landscape fabric and then more mulch. Imagine my shock a year later when I wanted to plant more plants in my beds. Do you have any suggestions as to how I might get the fertilizers to my shrubs. Sorry for the long post.
If you have a bigleaf hydrangea that always blooms pink, that's also a way to know that your soil is alkaline. I supposedly live in an area with very acidic soil but my hydrangeas tell me differently.
Soil pH does control aluminum availability which gives us the blue flowers, but there are other complicating things like organic material that play a roll as well. I wouldn't use flower color as a 100 percent reliable way of determining soil pH. Check it first. If you find that your soil pH is below 7 try adding Aluminum instead of a soil acidifier
@@JimPutnam there are chunks of concrete buried in my garden that I can't get out because it would severely damage the roots of several lovely mature trees. My soil ph & moisture levels & everything is all kinds of weird in random spots because of those concrete chunks. I know which previous owner buried them but I have no idea why. I've got about 10 inches of decent soil above the concrete chunks now, I think they are old broken pieces of parking spot bumpers. I have no idea how long they've been down there but I figure I'll know when they are no longer impacting the ph (if that ever happens) because then the hydrangea will start to shift purple/blue. In the meantime, I don't worry about chasing ph & just work on feeding the soil well.
@@gardeningjunkie2267 no he does mean aluminum as in aluminum sulfate. Just add a very small amount to hydrangeas to help turn flowers more blue without messing with pH adjustments. Follow directions on bag so you don't overapply. He's saying aluminum availability is increased in lower pH soils
Is fertilizer applied before planting seeds? I plan to both broadcast seeds directly and plant new seedlings after our frost date (zone 7b- GSO) . Love your show and thanks neighbor! 🙂
HELP.....I recently planted two more loropetalum and i added fertilizer to planting hole. Now lots of the leaves are burned and bleached looking 😢 i know i over fertilized! Will they recover? HELP!!! TEXAS zone 9
Weeds! The one weed that tries to overtake my beds is oxalis. It sprouts from underground bulbs. I believe the only way to get rid of them is to dig up t cluster or use product like Roundup. Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks Jim and Steph! So glad you posted this video this week. I have my mulch delivery coming next week and would have forgotten the fertilizer without the reminder. 🤦🏼♀️
I can't use Plant-tone at this time, dogs eat it until they get sick. I moved into a house with jumping worms and am using tea seed meal to help with worms and because dogs leave it alone.
❤ the channel- I’m working in tandem with you in Zone A/B North Texas. The trenching shovel has been a game changer this last weekend (plus a new pair of good pruners). Directly sowed perennial (with color) seeds to bulk up Some areas but I am not purchasing anything new this year. Watching the weather this year, last year was brutal but I lost nothing.
You should skip a year of fertilizer and see if there is any actual difference. At this point it likely will be difficult to tell the years you fertilize verse the ones you don’t.
I am noticing the many years of mulch and pine straw application has built up my soil 4-6 inches in areas. I am worried about my plants suffocating. Is this a valid concern? If so, how do you address keeping mulch applied without creating this issue?
I'd love to know this as well--we have a compacted area we were planning to till up before sheet mulching but I'm encouraged now that we might be able to skip this step...
“Work with nature not against it”. Organic is the way
I have an unmatched bed that I was holding off fertilizing, but I understand why you put a presence on mulch timing over fertilizer. going to do it right now!
Your BEST fertilizer video to date! Thank you, Jim, for taking the time to explain the importance of the soil microbes. I appreciate your detail about not disturbing the soil as well as explaining your “layers” of leaves, then fertilizer, then mulch. Delighted to see you have finally decided to wear a mask during your fertilizer “spring fling” dust storm. 🤣🤣 Oh my - I’ve got some work to do out in the garden!
Always a great reminder, Jim. Instead of leaves, we are always tossing the PlantTone on top of our mulch which is in large part naturally falling longleaf pine straw. In the early years here in the NC Sandhills, I used to work really hard at working it through the straw around the base of the plants. I don't bother to do that anymore and everything seems just fine. I'm guessing that the easy drainage through the straw and into the sandy soil is a quick route for the fertilizer. We really appreciate all the great info and videos!
I appreciate your comment. We have two Pines that create copious pinestraw. I was just wondering if I should rake... you saved me from a chore in the yard!
@@ROlson-dx2jc fallen leaves of any sort are just natural mulch. I only rake the driveway (to keep the surface clean), and use needles and leaves as mulch under the hedges and shrubs.
I find it crazy when I see people rake off all the fallen leaves, pay to have them removed and then pay for having mulch delivered, and then spread it. Nature, with a little wise management on your side, would have done all the work for you for free.
TH-cam and a few gardeners on it have been a great resource to cut down the work and the fuss while maintaining a nice looking landscape. My favorite is John Lord. Very congenial Irishman that goes around his garden with a pickaxe. He has taught me to be ruthless. If plants are in the right place they don’t need any pampering to thrive. If they are fussy they are not worth it. Saves a ton of work, especially when someone has a large yard, loves plants but hasn’t enough time.
Untill 3-4 years ago I thought, nah, it doesn't matter if it's organic for decorative planting until I tried it, was recommended horse manure based organic fertiliser, oh how I was wrong, it's such a nice slow release, whole season feed for plants, they just thriving. Synthetic is good if some plant is stressed or something to give it quick shoot of nutrients but otherwise, more people should switch to organic.
Thanks, Jim! We’re in Georgia and have been following you for years. We switched to Plant Tone a few years ago after watching one of your videos and our plants have never been happier. That, coupled with leaving the leaves alone, has transformed our yard. Really appreciate all of your guidance and videos! Not sure how our neighbors feel about the smell… 😂
Thank you Jim. I picked up several “ stop signs “ that I was not following. 😊
Ever since I found this channel, my entire structure changed in the garden. I used to saturate everything with non organic fertilizer and clean up all of the fall leaves. I never had a good garden doing this. It was actually terrible. For the past 3 years following Jim's method, I have amazing soil and flowers and shrubs that explode with blossoms! They can also recover from damage quickly. The transformation was incredible!
love your videos as always. you made my gardening life become so much easier.
Our soil temperature is 61. I’m catching up in the garden & ready to sling Plant Tone! Thanks for tip about using it when leaves are dry.
I’m trying to figure out what to do with all this Osmocoat we have.
Thank you so much for this!! My soil ph is 5.5 just like yours and I will be doing my yearly fertilizing this month. I have a small bag of acidic fertilizer that I was going to mix in w/ my regular, but now I'll just use the regular (it's Dr. Earth) and do it using your method. Quick and easy!!
Do worm castings help build soil? My soil is sandy and I'm hoping that the worm castings along with lots of compost will make the dirt yummy for all my plants. Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it.
Jim,
Never knew about the iron connection w/ low pH-loving plants. Thank you for the info! 😊
Always great to get awesome tips from you Jim! Thank you!
I thought leaves were fertilizer idk
Do you mulch over the leaves? Thank you for another informative video.
Yes, but I do make sure they are no more than a couple inches thick
I bought some last year and noticed the terrible odor …so I decided to keep it on my porch, but due to a slight crack in the door, I could still smell it, so I had to double bag it 🤣. Thanks for the heads up on the dogs getting in it…. You just saved us a lot of grief! Plus not applying after rain!
I got a rescue pup last October. I didn’t think about it, because my older dog doesn’t get into anything…and I looked out the window and saw the pup with the bag of plant tone and he was eating it! Thank goodness I caught him red handed and put it up higher!
“Lorapetalum” - check! 💥
Good morning, do you need to water in the Plant tone after applying?
I probably should have said it would be best to do it before a rain, but I never worry about it. The neighbors will have to deal with the smell😂
Thx Jim for the confirmation!
I was just outside today(70° in N. E. Ohio) looking at the daffodils pushing their way through the leaves I had used for winter protection on my Panicle Hydrangea's landscape beds. Kinda was unsure if I should leave them in the bed, or remove them, then fertilize & mulch the bed?
But after viewing this video, you confirmed what my gut has been telling me all along!
I'm going to try the fertilizing on top of the leaves this year with Plant Tone, then put the mulch down, then install a drip irrigation system for watering.
Thx again I really appreciate your input!
Very informative video. I also use the Espoma fertilizers. I have a huge issue that I am not physically or financially able to rectify. A landscaper a few years ago used plastic sheeting instead of landscape fabric and then mulched on top of that. Then 3 years ago hired another landscaper to do additional work and to re-mulch the 1st and I specifically asked them to pull out the plastic before adding more mulch. Well, they did not do as I asked (pays to watch every move they make I guess). They added more landscape fabric and then more mulch. Imagine my shock a year later when I wanted to plant more plants in my beds. Do you have any suggestions as to how I might get the fertilizers to my shrubs. Sorry for the long post.
Yuk! I hate landscape fabric! I would be calling them back to remove it!!
Very helpful and perfect timing.
If you have a bigleaf hydrangea that always blooms pink, that's also a way to know that your soil is alkaline. I supposedly live in an area with very acidic soil but my hydrangeas tell me differently.
Yup, I use my hydrangeas as a general indicator of soil ph too
Soil pH does control aluminum availability which gives us the blue flowers, but there are other complicating things like organic material that play a roll as well. I wouldn't use flower color as a 100 percent reliable way of determining soil pH. Check it first. If you find that your soil pH is below 7 try adding Aluminum instead of a soil acidifier
@@JimPutnam Do you mean sulfur? I heard aluminum can be toxic to plants
@@JimPutnam there are chunks of concrete buried in my garden that I can't get out because it would severely damage the roots of several lovely mature trees. My soil ph & moisture levels & everything is all kinds of weird in random spots because of those concrete chunks. I know which previous owner buried them but I have no idea why. I've got about 10 inches of decent soil above the concrete chunks now, I think they are old broken pieces of parking spot bumpers. I have no idea how long they've been down there but I figure I'll know when they are no longer impacting the ph (if that ever happens) because then the hydrangea will start to shift purple/blue. In the meantime, I don't worry about chasing ph & just work on feeding the soil well.
@@gardeningjunkie2267 no he does mean aluminum as in aluminum sulfate. Just add a very small amount to hydrangeas to help turn flowers more blue without messing with pH adjustments. Follow directions on bag so you don't overapply. He's saying aluminum availability is increased in lower pH soils
Epsoma has been great in my garden too
Is fertilizer applied before planting seeds? I plan to both broadcast seeds directly and plant new seedlings after our frost date (zone 7b- GSO) . Love your show and thanks neighbor! 🙂
HELP.....I recently planted two more loropetalum and i added fertilizer to planting hole. Now lots of the leaves are burned and bleached looking 😢 i know i over fertilized! Will they recover? HELP!!! TEXAS zone 9
Weeds! The one weed that tries to overtake my beds is oxalis. It sprouts from underground bulbs. I believe the only way to get rid of them is to dig up t cluster or use product like Roundup. Do you have any other suggestions?
Better late than never?
I put my plantone out last weekend out, which is advice you gave me 15 years ago when you had your place at Farmers Market.
Thanks Jim and Steph! So glad you posted this video this week. I have my mulch delivery coming next week and would have forgotten the fertilizer without the reminder. 🤦🏼♀️
I can't use Plant-tone at this time, dogs eat it until they get sick. I moved into a house with jumping worms and am using tea seed meal to help with worms and because dogs leave it alone.
How do you suggest testing soil pH? Not a complete soil test, just something quick and easy for pH only.
Fertilizing fuels those phosphate mines ugh
None of that type of phosphate in organic fertilizer. You are right though. Our dependence on that phosphate will be a problem in the future
Yes my dog is obsessed with this stuff! I even have to keep the bag up on the highest shelf 🤦♀️
Mine too! And Biotone. I’m actually nervous to use it now because my dogs have dug up newly planted plants to get to it. 😖
❤ the channel- I’m working in tandem with you in Zone A/B North Texas.
The trenching shovel has been a game changer this last weekend (plus a new pair of good pruners). Directly sowed perennial (with color) seeds to bulk up
Some areas but I am not purchasing anything new this year. Watching the weather this year, last year was brutal but I lost nothing.
You should skip a year of fertilizer and see if there is any actual difference. At this point it likely will be difficult to tell the years you fertilize verse the ones you don’t.
Thanks for demonstrating with a glove and, more importantly, a mask! 🙂
What organic fertilisers are safe for dogs? My dog is crazy for blood fish and bone I’m not sure is safe
💙👍🏻💙
❤hello everyone, gardeners friends, have fun gardening.
My terrier would forever eat the fertilizer as soon as I put it down. 😂
My Min Pin would do the same
Great video as always.
May I ask what is that spectacular large leaf evergreen behind you on the other side of the fence? It looks about 10 x 10 feet.
Looks like a southern magnolia... Jim knows.
It must be a survivor of severe ice storm damage.
Thanks Jim. ❄️🫠💚🙃
Great video!!
Jim is it OK to use Epsoma Tree tone the way you use Plantone? I got a good deal on several big bags of it. Or should I only use on trees?
Last year I looked at the NPK percentages on the “Tones” and found they were all very close.
Thanks for helpful info. I spread planttone a few weeks ago after watching an old video. Do I need to reapply or will the microbes still benefit?
It'll still be there just waiting for when the microbes get active so you don't want to reapply
No need to reapply
I am noticing the many years of mulch and pine straw application has built up my soil 4-6 inches in areas. I am worried about my plants suffocating. Is this a valid concern? If so, how do you address keeping mulch applied without creating this issue?
Great question… I wonder this as well! 👍🏻
If the ground is hard to begin with, do you have to till it up before adding any topsoil or organic material? 🪴💚
I'd love to know this as well--we have a compacted area we were planning to till up before sheet mulching but I'm encouraged now that we might be able to skip this step...
No need to till it up, thick layer of arborist chips on top and done
@@josephdefresco5169 Thank you for your reply. Much appreciated. 🙏🏻😊
@@justanonymous5681 you’re welcome good luck!