nitrogen deficiency - too late to add?

[klhntexas]

I just planted beet seeds only to get a soil report back 2 days later that my garden is severely lacking in nitrogen. Can I add fertilizer now or should i wait until the seeds sprout? I'm fairly new to gardening- any help would be great

[Longtail]

You can side dress now or later.

[SpaceAge]

Originally Posted by klhntexas

I just planted beet seeds only to get a soil report back 2 days later that my garden is severely lacking in nitrogen. Can I add fertilizer now or should i wait until the seeds sprout? I'm fairly new to gardening- any help would be great

so ... did you put "nothing" in the "dirt" ...???

[LuvsToPlant]

For a fast acting nitogen deficency...
Sources
Commercial liquid fertilizer
Fish emultion
Manure tea

Word of advise...Plant the soil with nutrients...before you plant the seeds.


ps...You should incorparate compost or/and ..a well composted manure into the rest of the garden before you plant more.

[MVNewf]

I guess here the the big question......
How MANY beet seeds did you plant? 1 pack....10 packs....1/4 acre?
If it were me, and it was only 1-2 packets of beet seeds, I would chalk it up to a experience, and get the amount of nitrogen into your soil now, and put new beet seeds in. I love beets, I would be more mad if they never grew because of very low nitrogen, than the cost of a pack or two of new seeds after I fertilized my garden and got the nitrogen up to where it should be....but thats just me

[Marie Louise]

Klhntexas--- first off welcome to Idig , I see its your 1st post. also see you are in 8a--- may I ask appromatically where--- reason being I am in 8a/b- a weird fringe area -- I swear my front yard is in A and back where garden is in B--- - do you have sandy soil--red clay, grey **** stuff, -- rocky red iron ore , or other type , where you planted the beet seed -- I know through most this area the different types of soil run in bands and with beets it does make a big difference in diffaculty of growing beets. If sandy soil simply wait and if a good stand comes up then side dress--- preferably use one of the liquid forms of fertilizer. If the soil is one of the clays or that rocky red iron ore , you needed to amend before planting --from my own personal experiance so decide if its worth it to you ; to replant as mvnewf suggested . I am sorta south west of Texarkcana and have grown beets for a few years now but usually plant them in early March so you should have plenty of time to replant if need to and have them ready to pull before our really hot dry bummer weather hits.

[lovetogarden]

Nitrogen leaches out of the soil fast. Some soil tests do not even measure the nithrogen.
If the rest of the values are within normal range, I would not worry to much.

Just do as Luvs TO Plant suggested and add fish emulsion to the soil.

[klhntexas]

Thanks for all advice. I have a 4x20 garden plot that I filled with the Square Foot Gardening mix of peat, vermiculite and compost. This is a "rental" plot in a community garden that was already filled with sand and mulch: heavy compacted stuff.

I think what I'm going to do is add the fish emulsion and replant- it is only a pack of seeds I'm out, and who knows? Maybe I won't kill the beet seeds already in place!

I'm in the north Dallas area, our weather has been crazy so far, but is generally really mild. I hope I didn't start the beets too early. This is all trial and error for me, but I can't wait to watch things grow..

[foxy]

Maybe I'm missing something, but you should be able to add fish emulsion to the plot without removing your seeds. Beet seeds should germinate in your mix without any problem if they have sufficient moisture. It's only later that you would notice symptoms of N deficiency if you don't supplement.

[Marie Louise]

You have plenty of time--- add the emulsion and wait a week or so and see if the seed come up and if you do have to replant
soak the seed over night before planting--they will come up sooner. I am northeast of you and I normally plant beet seed about now but this year has been quite wild so I am waiting another week or so this year.
As to how odd the weather has been , I picked spinach today-- been picking since week before Thanksgiving , thought it was gone after 2 inches of ice topped with 8 inches of snow --- then that finally melted in time for the second go round of ice and 5inches of snow,week later another hit -- the final hit killed off the swiss chard-- and mustard greens and cauliflower thats grown all winter but not the spinach which has never been covered other than the ice and snow . I cut one head of cabbage yesterday , it also
survived have 2 more left from the fall planting. I planted out some more cabbage brocolli and cauliflower plants for the spring season this past weekend.