My brother gave me a call the other day and said “Hey brother, I want some organic fertilizer for my garden this year.”

And I said “OK, what are you growing?”

“Tomatoes and Basil.”

And, I mean, I have the luxury of being around so many amazing products that I take for granted how overwhelming the selection can be if you have no idea where to begin (like me!).

So I set out to put together a simple formula that he can use to water his seedlings and to treat his plants to throughout the season that met the following criteria:

1. Easy

2. Affordable

Here’s what I came up with, with the help of Amber.

1 Quart Omega 6-6-6

1 Quart Omega 1-5-5

Maxicrop Kelp (1 lb.)

All this ends up costing a little bit more than $40 for the whole season! This’ll work for a happy small garden.

Here’s what I wrote him:

“Howdy Brother,

So take a small teaspoon of the kelp, a couple teaspoons of the Omega 6-6-6, and mix it in a 1 gallon jug. Let it sit overnight (or not, but you should to let the kelp release its goodness). Use this for your seedlings, but don’t overdo it, don’t water them with this every time. Maybe a couple times a week.

Use the same type of mixture proportionally during the growing season using a 5 gallon bucket. Don’t over-fertilize, consider it a little treat every so often for your plants. You can even spray the diluted mix gently onto the plants, they’ll love it.

Use the Omega 6-6-6 until you get some blossoms and fruits, first half of the season, and then switch to the Omega 1-5-5 (plus kelp mix). The 6-6-6 is great for vegetative growth and root strength, the 1-5-5 cuts off the nitrogen and says ‘Go Fruits! Go Blooms!’ The Kelp is supercharged with vitamins and minerals.

It doesn’t look like a lot, but this stuff will go a long way, you’ll see.

If you combine this with some compost tea throughout the growing season, you’re gonna have the best tomatoes you’ve ever grown!

Enjoy,

Luke

PS - Don’t let Dad over-fertilize either!”

Lee pointed out that another easy solution would be pelleted fertilizers. Which is also pretty darn easy, I must admit.

What’s your secret recipe?