Fertilizer

I've had a nagging feeling that my plants wouldn't do well this season unless I put down some kind of fertilizer. So yesterday at Home Depot I bought some (organic) TerraCycle worm poop but wasn't sure what to do with it. Before my trip to the garden today, I happened to glance at the cover of this month's Mother Earth News, and see that the issue has an article called
Build Better Soil with Free Organic Fertilizer!
which answered (almost) all my questions.

In a nutshell:

• Grass clippings are the cheapest form of fertilizer you can get.
• If you start with good soil, grass clippings and/or compost will provide your plants with all the nutrients they need, and also improve the soil quality.
• Fresh spring grass has more than 2x the amount of nitrogen as grass later in the season, but the article didn't say how much nitrogen is retained in the old dead grass clippings that we have available at the gardens.
• Annual application of 1/2 inch of grass mixed into the soil, or a 1-2 inch layer of grass used as mulch should provide sufficient nitrogen for the year.

However-
Certain times of the year gardeners might want to supplement this with commercial (quick release) fertilizers:

• Early spring, when low soil temperatures reduce decomposition of organic matter
• To revive overwintered spinach
• Before planting broccoli, cabbage, kale, and spring peas
• When tomatoes and peppers are fruiting
• When seedlings are 2-3 weeks old.

The article points out that most gardens are more likely to be over-fertilized than under, so I will apply a light dose of TerraCycle to my new brassicas & peas, my overwintered spinach, and my seedlings, and then rely on the magic of grass clippings for the rest!