# 2026 Fertilization Plan

*Generated 2026-04-22 from current garden state. Revisit mid-summer and update based on observed response.*

**Supplies on hand**: 6-8-6 All-Purpose (2 kg), 10-15-9 Vegetable (2 kg), Jobes Organics Fruit & Nut (1.8 kg), Blood Meal (1.36 kg), Bone Meal (0.5 kg), Sulfur-90 (1 kg), Compost (~¼ yd), Garden Mix (~¼ yd). This plan should fit comfortably within that.

**Guiding principles for 2026**:
- Spring N push is already done on most bushes (April 18). Mid-season feedings should be P/K-leaning — phosphorus for fruit set, potassium for cane/berry quality.
- Currants and Gooseberries got an accidental double blood-meal dose. **No more nitrogen on those two all season.** Same watch applies to anywhere blood meal went on top of 6-8-6.
- Summer stops: hold all fertilizer after late August so new growth hardens off before winter. Bone meal / wood ash / compost-only in the fall.

---

## Strawberries — gutters just reinstalled (lead priority)

**Context**: 5 rows of cedar gutters, ~80 plants split across Honeoye / Eclair / Inova Rose / Albion / Audry / Flamingo Pink / Pineberry. Rebuilt this spring (new soil mix, fresh drip line). Plants have been out of the ground or displaced since October — they need to settle first, then feed gently as they recover.

| When | What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **~1 week after replanting** (late April / early May) | Soluble 6-8-6 diluted | ~1 tbsp per gallon of water, pour at each plant | Gentle wake-up feed. Skip if plants look stressed — water first and wait. |
| **Early–mid May** (when leaves pop) | 6-8-6 granular | pinch (~¼ tsp) per plant, scratched in along the drip emitter | Follow with deep watering. |
| **Bloom** (~late May) | Bone meal topdress | ~¼ tsp per plant | Phosphorus for fruit set. |
| **During fruiting** (June–July) | Liquid kelp or compost tea if available | every 2–3 weeks at half strength | Skip if nothing on hand; not critical. |
| **Post-harvest renovation** (August) | Light 6-8-6 | ¼ tsp per plant | Encourage runner formation. Follow with a thin compost layer. |

*Alpine strawberries (red/yellow) in their own patches: same schedule but one feeding per season total is usually enough — they're low-input.*

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## Raspberries — already spring-fed, focus on cane quality and fruit

**Status**: April 18 — bone meal topdress (~1 tbsp per crown) plus the March compost layer and the likely 6-8-6 sprinkle underneath. 14 varieties across 3 rows.

| When | What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Late May / early June** (floricanes flowering) | 6-8-6 side-dress | ~¼ cup per row-foot | Skip if canes look lush — they already had significant N in March. |
| **Mid-July** (primocanes shoulder-high) | 10-15-9 Vegetable side-dress (we have plenty) | ~½ cup per 3 ft of row | P/K-leaning — supports cane strength and fall-bearing varieties' autumn crop. |
| **Late August** | Compost topdress (~1" along both sides of row) | — | Feeds the soil food web heading into fall. **No more synthetic after this.** |

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## Blackberries, Marionberry, Tayberry, Loganberry — newly moved, baby them

**Status**: April 1 — transplanted to NW fence with bone meal in the hole + leftover berry fertilizer. The Snowbank, marionberry, tayberry, loganberry are still tiny.

| When | What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **2 weeks after transplant** (~mid-April, passed — skip) | Light liquid feed | — | Already covered by the starter handful. |
| **Late May** | 6-8-6 | ~1 tbsp per plant, 6" out from crown | Gentle — they're still rooting in. |
| **July** | Jobes Fruit & Nut | ~½ cup per plant | Standard berry follow-up. |
| **Fall** | Compost ring | 1–2 gallons per plant | — |

---

## Blueberries — spring done, stay acidic

**Status**: April 18 — 1 tbsp blood meal + ½ tbsp Sulfur-90 + coffee-grounds topdress per bush. 11 bushes, Blueberry Path. Considering pulling Patriot + rabbit-chewed Bluecrop.

| When | What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Bloom** (mid-May) | Liquid kelp OR compost tea | foliar/drench | Optional — skip if no supply. |
| **Post-bloom** (early June) | Blood meal | ½ tbsp per bush | Only if leaves look pale; skip otherwise given the heavy coffee-grounds load. |
| **Mid-July** | Sulfur-90 | ~¼ tsp per bush | Light refresh to hold pH down. |
| **Fall** | Compost + pine needle mulch refresh | — | Keep the acid-loving root zone happy. |

*Do not fertilize the Patriot if you're planning to pull it — save the input.*

---

## Grape Pergola — rich spring feed already applied

**Status**: April 18 — 1 cup Jobes Fruit & Nut at each of the 9 posts. First time applying Jobes; worth watching response closely this season.

| When | What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Bloom** (mid–late May) | Kelp foliar spray OR skip | — | Optional boost for fruit set. No critical need — the Jobes is a slow-release 6-month. |
| **Post-fruit-set** (late June) | Skip | — | Too much N now = leaf at fruit expense. |
| **August** | Skip | — | Let canes harden off. |
| **Fall, after leaf drop** | Compost ring at base of each post | 1 gal per post | Soil builder for next year. |

---

## Currants & Gooseberries — N lockout the rest of the season

**Status**: April 18 — got ½ cup blood meal **plus** 6-8-6 (mishap). Heavy nitrogen load. 3 currants + 2 gooseberries.

- **Skip all nitrogen** for the rest of 2026.
- **Late June**: if you want to feed at all, bone meal only (~1 tbsp per bush).
- **Fall**: compost ring is fine — slow-release and balanced.
- Water deeply through May to help leach excess N.

---

## Haskaps, Jostaberry, Lingonberry, Branchberry, Pawpaw — small-fry

| Plant | April status | Next feed |
|---|---|---|
| Jostaberry | Mishap — same as currants | **No more N this season.** Bone meal in late June if at all. |
| Lingonberry | 1 tbsp blood meal, done | Sulfur-90 refresh (¼ tsp) in July if pH test shows creep. Otherwise leave. |
| Haskaps (Aurora Borealis, Tundra) | **Fed last week — done.** | Compost ring in fall. |
| Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) | **Fed last week — done.** | Follow-up Jobes in July (½ cup). |
| Branchberry | ½ cup Jobes done | Another ½ cup Jobes mid-July. |

---

## Fruit trees — spring feed mostly done; plan summer follow-up

**Status**:
- **Brooks Plum, Puget Gold Apricot**: ½ cup Jobes done April 18.
- **Romeo & Juliet (planter cherries)**: ½ cup 6-8-6 done (swapped in for Jobes — fine).
- **Other dwarf cherries (Stella, Bing, Van, Rainier, Unknown)**: status unclear — fill in if unfed.
- **Harcot Apricot, Frost Peach**: dead, skipped.
- **Original Woodenson apples + pear + peach**: skipped (landscape fabric / mature / never fed).

| When | Tree | What | How much |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Mid-May** | Any in-ground dwarf cherry not yet fed | Jobes Fruit & Nut | ½ cup at drip line |
| **July** | Brooks, Puget Gold | Jobes | ½ cup each |
| **July** | Planter cherries (Romeo, Juliet) | 6-8-6 | ¼ cup each, watered in generously |
| **July** | Pawpaw | Jobes | ½ cup |
| **Fall** | All live trees | Compost ring, 1-gal each | — |

*When you tackle the landscape fabric under the originals, plan a catch-up feed for them — they're due.*

---

## Kiwi — 7 plants, spring feed done last week

| When | What | How much |
|---|---|---|
| **Late April** | **Done last week.** | — |
| **Early June** | 10-15-9 Vegetable | ½ cup per plant |
| **Late July** | Skip — let wood harden | — |
| **Fall** | Compost ring | 1 gal per plant |

---

## Garlic — 60 bulbs, heavy feeder

| When | What | How much |
|---|---|---|
| **Late April / early May** (leaf growth) | Blood meal | ~1 tbsp per 3 ft of row |
| **Mid-May** | 6-8-6 side-dress | ~¼ cup per 3 ft of row |
| **Early June** (scapes forming) | **Stop all N.** Switch to compost or ash only | — |
| **After harvest** | Compost into bed for next year | — |

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## Vegetable beds (Fenced Garden containers)

**Context**: 2026 Fenced Garden planting is in "idea" status — plan when it's committed. Pre-fill assumption below assumes tomato + squash + brassicas + herbs in the usual containers.

- **Pre-plant**: scratch 1 cup 6-8-6 per container, mix into top 4", and top with ~1" compost.
- **Every 3 weeks** after fruit set for tomatoes/squash: ¼ cup 10-15-9 side-dress.
- **Leafy greens (lettuce, basil, cilantro, parsley)**: no extra fertilizer beyond the pre-plant mix; over-fed greens get bitter.
- **Brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale)**: ¼ cup 10-15-9 mid-growth, then stop.
- **Squash Pergola**: heavy feeder — same rhythm as tomatoes.

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## Monthly cheat sheet

| Month | Priority actions |
|---|---|
| **Late April** | Gentle strawberry soluble feed (once replanted); garlic blood meal. *(Haskap + kiwi + pawpaw already done last week.)* |
| **May** | Strawberry bloom bone meal; garlic 6-8-6; dwarf cherry Jobes; kiwi 10-15-9; veg pre-plant. |
| **June** | Raspberry floricane 6-8-6; post-bloom blueberry check. **No more N on currants/gooseberries/jostaberry.** |
| **July** | Raspberry 10-15-9; blueberry sulfur refresh; fruit tree Jobes follow-up; branchberry Jobes #2. |
| **August** | Strawberry renovation feed; compost topdress on brambles. **All synthetic fertilizer stops after this month.** |
| **Sept–Oct** | Compost rings on everything live. Coffee grounds on blueberries. Pine needle mulch refresh. |

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## Things to watch / decide

- **Patriot + rabbit-chewed Bluecrop** in the Blueberry Path: pull-or-keep decision affects whether to feed them.
- **Harcot Apricot, Frost Peach**: declared dead in April 18 notes — confirm in May. If they push leaves, add them to the May Jobes round.
- **Strawberry response to the gutter rebuild**: first 2–3 weeks will tell you whether the new soil mix is holding. Soluble wake-up feed only if they look stressed.
- **Jobes Fruit & Nut (first-year use)**: watch the grapes through June for over-vigor (floppy, soft canes) or pale/slow response. Adjust next-year budget accordingly.
- **Original apple/pear/peach**: add landscape-fabric removal to winter todo so they can actually be fed in 2027.