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How do I mix the Pre-Plant formula?

Mix

Pre-Plant Fertilizer is of supreme importance to healthy plants. It helps seeds to germinate and gives seedlings a healthy start.

Tips

Be accurate in measuring and applying fertilizers to the soil. Overfed plants can produce poor yields just as underfed plants can.

To make Pre-Plant Fertilizer, mix together the following:

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  • 5 pounds of lime or gypsum
  • 1 ounce boron
  • 4 ounces magnesium sulfate

It is easier to mix these ingredients evenly in these smaller amounts. (Doubling this mixture will sufficiently prepare five 30-foot soil-beds.)

Tips

To help with your measuring, remember that 6 level teaspoons equal one ounce and "a pint is a pound the world around.

Should I use lime or gypsum?

Lime supplies calcium to crops. Use different types of lime depending on whether you have acid or alkaline soils.

  • In areas where the annual rainfall is more than 20 inches, use agricultural or dolomite lime.
  • In areas where the annual rainfall is 18 inches or less, use gypsum (calcium sulfate)

Where do I get these ingredients?

  • Garden shops (nurseries), farm supply stores, and chemical shops usually carry packaged fertilizers, including gypsum and/or agricultural lime.
  • Boron and magnesium sulfate are frequently sold in supermarkets under the following names: Twenty Mule Team Borax (a detergent) and Epsom Salt—magnesium sulfate (a laxative).

Garden Genius

Based on how much Pre-Plant Fertilizer you will need for your garden, calculate how much of each ingredient you will need.

  • lime or gypsum
  • boron (Borax)
  • magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salt)

Fill in this information on the Tools and Materials List in the Garden Genius. Make sure to print out your list before exiting this site.

If you would like all of the calculations done for you, get The Garden Wizard.

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Tip of the Day

It's Fall and time to prepare your soil for winter! For those of you in the Northern hemisphere who have winters, October, November, and and early December are the time you need to be cleaning up your garden and preparing it for next spring's planting. You can even plant hardy garlic, which will overvegetable crops such as radishes, peas, cabbage and broccoli.

The freeze/tha-winter and get an early spring start. Before snow covers your garden mae sure all old materials are either removed from the garden, or if they are clean of weed seeds and disease, till them into your soil-beds. Also, when it's not too muddy, go in and give everything a good weeding with the 2-way hoe (see Tools). Weeding thoroughly in the Fall helps keep the weeds from getting a big head start on you before you can get into the garden in the spring, and is very important.

If you grew a Mittleider garden this year, your beds will benefit from tilling or digging. You can apply Pre-Plant and Weekly Feed to the bed area now, then till them in, or wait until early spring. Either way after tilling place strings on your stakes, and re-make the beds.

Be sure to re-check the level of each bed accurately, since they may have changed a little. Do not be satisfied with anything more than 1" fall in a 30'-long soil-bed. Good Gardening!

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