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[Jerry Lehman <jwlehman@aol.com>]

Greetings fellow NAFEX'ers,

Lee is absolutely correct in everything he wrote. I might add a 
footnote, if your sand has little organic matter even the dissolved 
fertilizer nutrients will leach beyond the root area and continued 
fertilization will be more necessary than sandy high organic soil. The 
long-term effect of the manure is slower release of the nutrients for 
more continual feeding but still is relatively short-lived and continual 
annual reapplication is desirable.

I wish I could take about 6 inches of my clay and give it in exchange 
for 6 inches of years sand that we could mix the 2 together for both of 
us. :-)

Jerry

On 5/16/2015 9:01 AM, Lee Reich wrote:
> The ideal is to plan more long-term for fertilization. As you saw, manure’s 
> benefit was not realized the first season. Bulky organic fertilizers, such as 
> some manures and compost (which is so low in nutrients that it cannot legally 
> be termed “fertilizer”), have long-term nutrient benefits. I would suggest 
> using those and applying them as mulches.
>
> As far as spring vs fall, fall fertilization is fine if it’s applied late 
> enough, in mid fall or later, depending on the local climate. Plant growth 
> won’t be stimulated, no matter what, once a plant has experienced sufficient 
> cold and short days. If a fall-applied fertilizer is organic, with nutrients 
> locked up in organic compounds, those nutrients anyway won’t become available 
> until microbes take action the following spring.
>
> Poor growth is not only attributable to insufficient nutrition. Your sandy 
> soil dries out quickly. Nutrients cannot do anything if the soil is too dry.
>
> Lee Reich, PhD