# Spring/Summer 2026 Fertilization Plan **Generated:** 2026-05-23 — covers the next ~6 weeks, through end of June 2026. This plan synthesizes what's actually been fed (`kind='done'` notes in the `field_notes` table) against typical care cadence per species and the current planted-status of each plant_group. It is intended as the "what's next" view that complements the historical care record. When a feed is done, capture a comment with `kind='done'` referencing the specific planting/area/species so this plan can be updated by the next processing pass. --- ## What's been fed so far in 2026 - **2026-04-18 — spring perennial pass.** Raspberries (bone meal topdress), Romeo + Juliet dwarf cherries (½ cup 6-8-6 each), all 9 Grape posts (1 cup Jobes Fruit & Nut each), 11 Blueberries (1 tbsp blood meal + ½ tbsp Sulfur-90 + routine coffee grounds), Italian Plum + Stella cherry (1 cup Jobes each), Stone Fruit Salad Tree live branches — Brooks Plum + Puget Gold apricot + Branchberry (1 cup Jobes each, skipping the dead ones), Pawpaw (1 cup Jobes), Haskap (½ cup 6-8-6 each), Lingonberries (light blood meal). - **2026-05-15 — strawberry topdress on the 2023 plantings.** Sections 1-4 of every Gutter row got bone meal: Evelyn, Audry, All Star, Honeoye. Skipped the Raincoast Albion + Seascape in Sections 5-8. - **2026-05-18 — mass-planting amendment.** Every transplant from the FG spring planting got cow manure at the bottom of the hole + a handful of bone meal + filled + mounded cow manure around the base. Acts as a starter feed; not a recurring feed. --- ## NOW or this weekend (2026-05-23 → 2026-05-25) ### Raincoast strawberries (Albion + Seascape, Sections 5-8 of all Gutter rows) - **Why:** never fed in 2026; still establishing crowns; want phosphorus for root + fruit development. Match the May 15 dose given to the 2023 plantings. - **Apply:** ~1 tbsp bone meal per plant, scratched into the topsoil within the dripline, watered in. - **Avoid:** nitrogen-heavy feed (still establishing — would push leaves over fruit). - **Affects:** planting #47 (Raincoast Planting). Plant_groups #136, #139, #142, #145 (Sections 5-8 of Rows 1-5). --- ## Within 1-2 weeks (early June) ### Blueberry path (11 bushes) - **Why:** ~5-6 weeks since the spring pass; ericaceous + fruit-sizing appetite; consistent acidity-rebalancing supports cropping. - **Apply:** ½ tbsp blood meal per bush + continue coffee grounds topdress. Optional: a light sulfur reapplication if soil pH is drifting up. - **Watch:** chlorosis (yellow between veins) on new growth = pH or iron deficiency — bump sulfur + add chelated iron foliar. ### Raspberries (planting #20 and area #32 Raspberry Patch subtree) - **Why:** ~5-6 weeks since bone meal; flower / first-fruit appetite. - **Apply:** kelp meal or fish emulsion at recommended dilution, OR ½ cup balanced organic per crown. Avoid heavy N (promotes canes over fruit). - **Timing trigger:** apply once you see the first open flowers. ### Grapes (planting #31, all 9 posts including the renamed Suffolk #91) - **Why:** ~5-6 weeks since Jobes Fruit & Nut. Berry-sizing nutrient demand starting. Suffolk note (#177) flagged heavy cluster set — that vine especially will pull a lot. - **Apply:** ½ cup Jobes Fruit & Nut per post, scratched in at the dripline, watered. Skip if cane growth looks lush + dark green (means there's still enough N). - **Timing trigger:** when berries are pea-size. ### Stone fruit second pass (Italian Plum, Stella cherry, Romeo + Juliet, Brooks Plum, Puget Gold apricot, Branchberry, Pawpaw, Haskap) - **Why:** classic stone-fruit cadence = spring + early-summer feeding, then nothing else. First pass was April 18. - **Apply:** 1 cup Jobes Fruit & Nut at each tree's dripline (same dose as April). For Haskaps, ½ cup 6-8-6. - **Target date:** 2026-06-08 → 2026-06-15. ### Mixed cherry tree (planting #54 or similar, with the aphid issue from note #174) - **HOLD — do NOT fertilize.** High N feeds make succulent new growth that attracts more aphids. Treat the aphid issue first (horticultural oil, neem, or hose-jet). Resume feeding 2-3 weeks after the aphid population is under control. --- ## 2-3 weeks out (mid-June) ### Tomatoes (Center Container, String Tomato Trellis, Tall Trellis Back Area, Front, Big Container Front) - **First sidedress feed.** Apply at first flowering (~ 3-4 weeks after May 18 transplant — should hit ~ mid-June). - **Dose:** ½ cup balanced organic (e.g., 4-6-4 or tomato-specific blend) per plant; OR fish emulsion at recommended dilution every 2 weeks. - **Add calcium:** ¼ cup gypsum or crushed eggshells at base — prevents blossom-end rot. Especially Roma + San Marzano which are prone. - **Cadence after first feed:** every 2-3 weeks while fruiting. ### Peppers (Bell + Hot) — Center Container, Tall Trellis Back Area - **Same timing + cadence as tomatoes** (similar feeders). First sidedress at first flowering. ½ cup balanced organic each. - **Note:** hot peppers will set fruit better with restrained N — go light on the first pass for Jalapeño / Anaheim / Super Chilli / Gourmet Orange. ### Eggplant (Center Container) - **Same protocol as peppers.** ### Squash (Squash Pergola — Delicata, Butternut Waltham, Buttercup, plus the Zucchini Costata Romanesco + Spacemiser in Northwest Back Patch) - **First sidedress at first true flowers.** Heavy feeders. The 2-week cadence is real for these once fruiting. - **Apply:** 1 cup composted manure per plant, OR ½ cup balanced organic. Side-dress at the dripline, water in. - **Cadence:** every 2 weeks while fruiting. ### Cucumbers (Marketmore in Ang 1, Diva in Ang 2, NEW Long English in Ang 2) - **Same protocol as squash.** Heavy feeders. - **Watch the Long English transplant** specifically — it's new (note #178) and may need an extra fish emulsion application after week 1 to push establishment. ### Melon / watermelon (Northwest Back Patch, Angled Container 1 Sugar Cube) - **Same as squash / cucumbers.** ### Brassicas — cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts (Mothers Day planting in Center Container + Northwest Back Patch) - **First sidedress at heading.** Side-dress nitrogen as heads form (~ 30 days after transplant — late May / early June for the Mother's Day plantings). - **Apply:** 1 tbsp blood meal per plant, OR fish emulsion at recommended dilution. Repeat at 3-week intervals through heading. ### Strawberries — 2023 plantings (Sections 1-4) - **Late-June feed.** May 15 bone meal carries them through bloom. Once heavy fruiting starts, switch to a low-N balanced fruit fertilizer every 3-4 weeks. ½ cup per section is plenty. ### Strawberries — Raincoast (Sections 5-8) - **Second feed at heavy fruiting** (target ~ 4 weeks after the this-weekend bone meal application). Match the 2023 strawberries cadence from late June onward. --- ## Hands-off / no-feed-needed this cycle - **Onions** — moderate feeders. Cow manure starter feed covers them until bulbing. - **Garlic** — fall-planted; near harvest. No more feed needed. - **Carrots / beets / radishes / lettuce / spinach** — light feeders. Pre-amend bed is enough. - **Beans / peas (Snap, String, Scarlet Runner, Provider, Improved Golden Wax)** — nitrogen fixers. Don't feed N; if pale, fish emulsion once. Otherwise leave alone. - **Marigolds / nasturtiums / alyssum / borage / calendula** — companion flowers, light feeders. No additional feed; mounded cow manure is enough. - **Pond Garden perennials** — heather, dianthus, lavender, coneflower, aubrieta, candytuff, erysimum, tanacetum, lithodora are LOW feeders. No feed this year. One light feed next spring. - **Apple, Pear, Cherry mature trees** — outside the spring feed pass scope; check their detail pages for individual schedules. - **Currants, Gooseberries, Jostaberry, Tayberry, Loganberry, Marionberry, Branchberry, Kiwis** — these weren't part of the April 18 pass. Decide individually whether they need a spring feed; if so, apply ½ cup Jobes Fruit & Nut each in the next 1-2 weeks (treat as catch-up). --- ## Are you over-fertilizing? **No.** The April 18 spring pass was thorough but a single annual pass under-feeds perennials through their fruiting period. The "every 2 weeks" cadence you've heard for strawberries and squash is real **once fruiting begins** — it's not necessary during establishment or flowering. **Cadence rule of thumb:** - **Light feeders (lettuce, beans, peas, onions, herbs):** pre-amend bed; no in-season feed. - **Moderate feeders (carrots, beets, radishes, onions, brassicas):** one mid-season sidedress. - **Heavy feeders (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons, cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries):** every 2-3 weeks through fruiting. - **Fruit trees + vines:** spring pass + early-summer second pass. Stop by mid-August so the tree can harden off for winter. --- ## Updating this plan Each `done`-tagged comment that mentions a feed automatically updates the `Recent care actions` section of the chat snapshot. When the next processing pass runs, this plan should be regenerated against the new done-notes to mark items as completed.