- 1). Prepare a nutrient-rich soil before planting vegetables. Agriculture Business Week recommends mixing a peat moss soil, compost and aged manure to create a well-fertilized soil. Starting off with a nutrient-rich soil helps reduce the amount of fertilizer needed later and starts the plants off in a healthy environment.
- 2). Decide which type of fertilizer to use on which plants. Different types of vegetables require different fertilizers. Washington State University recommends using 5-10-10 fertilizer for young asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, cucumbers, melons, parsnips, peas, peppers, pumpkins, rhubarb, squash and tomatoes. They recommend 10-10-10 fertilizer for spinach, onions, okra, lettuce, Chinese cabbage and asparagus older than 2 years. Buy one or both types of fertilizer depending on the vegetable selection.
- 3). Prepare a fertilizer solution. The National Gardening Association recommends mixing 1 tsp. of fertilizer in 1 gallon of water for peppers and eggplant, and this solution will work well for most types of potted vegetables.
- 4). Fertilize the vegetables. The National Gardening Association recommends fertilizing potted peppers about once a week by watering with the liquid fertilizer solution instead of plain water. Washington State University recommends fertilizing most other types of vegetables about once every three weeks, although asparagus, onions and rhubarb only need fertilizer once a year. Spinach usually only requires fertilizer when it is first planted. Keep in mind that how much fertilizer a plant needs will vary depending on its growing conditions and soil quality, so fertilize vegetables more when they seem to be growing slowly and less when they seem to be growing quickly.
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