Mix Fall Slow-Feed Tree Fertilizer

Credit: Terry Guscott

The focus of this feeding is to improve the plant’s winter hardiness and develop a strong root system – you are not trying to encourage new top growth that may be damaged by the cold season. This low-nitrogen recipe is a slow-feed fertilizer that will help protect the root system of your plants, while adding many necessary trace elements and minerals to the soil.

• 1 wheelbarrow full of leaf mould
• 1 kg (2 lbs.) glacial rock dust
• 250 mL (1 cup) fish bone meal
• 1 kg (2 lbs.) alfalfa meal

Mix all ingredients together and apply a 7 cm (3 in.) layer of the mixture around the tree or shrub drip line in early fall.