Feed the soil, and the soil will feed your plants.
That's one of the basic tenets of organic gardening.
In most cases, an annual application of rich compost or well-aged manure will provide enough nutrients and organic matter to sustain your plants all through the growing season.
Even so, your garden will probably need a quick pick-me-up from time to time.
That doesn't mean that you have to run out the garden center and drop some cash on an expensive fertilizer.
Chances are you have the ingredients for making your own inexpensive, earth-friendly plant food right at hand.
We've polled garden experts from around the country for their favorite fertilizer formulas.
Many of these fertilizer mixes, blends, and solutions provide more than the big three nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
They also include vital micronutrients, plant growth hormones, soil conditioners, and even disease and insect fighters.
Some of these time-tested fertilizer formulas include traditional, easy-to-find materials, like fish emulsion and manure.
Others make use of more unusual ingredients, like Epsom salts and vinegar.
Still others make the most of kitchen and garden wastes, including coffee grounds and weeds.
We hope these gardener-to-gardener formulas will inspire you to cook up some of your own creative mixes by making use of locally available materials for fertilizer.
Collect wastes from local breweries, manure from zoos or local farms, leaves from curbsides, and kitchen scraps from restaurants or grocery stores.
Many establishments will be glad to have your haul away their wastes for free.