Fertilizer Recommendations:
- Don’t put out less than 100 pounds of Phosphorus per acre
- Give all fertilizer recommendations in 50 pounds increments because our fertilizer comes in 50 pounds bags
- It is not best to put out Phosphorus and Lime together. It is best to put Phosphorous out a few weeks prior to planting but put out lime as soon as it is convenient (ie. After the last crop, after a soil sample has been taken, but before the first disking take place)
- To optimize the use of fertilizer, we try to get our pH to 6.5; too high and too low of pH ties up Manganese and other minor elements.
- Boron & Sulfur is mixed in our fertilizer as a micronutrient and is side dressed (23-0-23)
- We only recommend Zinc for Sweet Corn
- In Florida, our farm manager was using sulfate ammonia-based fertilizer, but we switched to urea because it made the crops too hot
- In the winter months, it doesn’t hurt to put out a little phosphorus out because Phosphorous is not as readily available to the crop
Squash:
- We like to have the honey bees in the field by the time that at least ¼ of the field has blooms. Normally, we put at least a hive per acre; it takes 30-35 visits from bees to make a squash
- Put Treflan out 2 times before all leafy greens and never before squash, beets, and onions
- The best Zucchini variety is Leopard
- The best straight neck yellow squash varieties are Laser and Fortune
- The best crookneck variety is Goldstar
- We have tried GMO and biotech squash in the past, but stopped planting it because the yield was far less
Plant Beds:
- Never pull bare root plants when they are wet or damp
- It is best to pull them late in the afternoon after a dry hot day, then load them right on the plant or put them in the cooler for the next day. We normally set plants after 4 or 5pm so that they have all night to recover, instead of planting them in the morning because they have to go right into the heat of the day
