Does Dr. Earth Fertilizer Grow Bigger Veggies? I Tested It.
Does Dr. Earth Fertilizer Grow Bigger Veggies? I Tested It.
I am a big proponent of composting our food scraps and yard waste and using that to fertilize my garden. But my veggie plants have still struggled a bit. I recently discovered that even with all the composting I do, our soil is lacking in some nutrients, especially nitrogen. So I went looking for a good organic fertilizer to try to improve the health and output of my vegetable garden. I found this Dr. Earth Organic Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer at Lowe’s and decided to do a small test to see if Dr. Earth fertilizer will help me grow more and bigger vegetables.
Fertilizer contents and description below. (NOTE: I do not earn anything from the sales of this fertilizer, I simply chose it because it was readily available and I’m sharing my results in case anyone finds them helpful.)
June 3, 2023
I planted two pots of green pepper plants, two plants in each pot. I used the same soil in both pots. I grew these plants from seed and as you can see, they were quite small when I planted them and all roughly the same size. I added a generous amount of the Dr. Earth fertilizer to one of the pots (the lighter colored pot on the right), which I marked with a tag reading “fertilized.” These pots are in a spot where they both get plenty of sun and I water them equally.
June 27, 2023
As you can see, there is a marked difference between the growth and appearance of the fertilized plants versus the unfertilized ones. I am very happy with what I am seeing so far, as I have always had issues growing pepper plants in our yard, and these two Dr. Earth-fertilized plants look really nice and healthy. The color and size of the leaves are so much better than the other two. Of course, the real test will be the output of peppers, and that remains to be seen. I will post another update later in the season.
I have also used a bunch of this Dr. Earth fertilizer sprinkled around my tomatoes and other veggies this year, so I’m hoping for a bumper crop!
August 28, 2023
Here are my results at the end of the summer. I am pretty impressed by the difference that this fertilizer made on my peppers! The fertilized pot definitely grew much bigger, stronger plants and more peppers. I will be using this Dr. Earth fertilizer again for sure.
Side note: My peppers grew considerably better in these pots than the plants I had in the ground, even though I fertilized the pepper plants in the ground with this product as well. I have always had a problem growing peppers in our soil, and adding Dr. Earth still wasn’t enough to get the kind of results I got when growing them in pots. So (at least for my situation) the combination for good peppers seems to be: Big Pot + Decent Potting Soil + Dr. Earth Fertilizer = Success.
Dr. Earth Home Grown Organic Natural Vegetable Food
Description on Lowes.com: Home Grown Vegetable Fertilizer produces remarkable results because nutrients are released quickly, yet continue to feed for several months. Infused with Advanced TruBiotic, consisting of five champion strains of beneficial soil microbes and eighteen select strains of ecto and endo mycorrhizae which ensures organic nutrients are thoroughly broken down and then released in the soil for plant roots to absorb as needed and contributes to drought tolerance, enhanced nutrient availability and increased plant performance. Builds soil health, promotes a superior harvest, with larger and more abundant, nutritious and tasty crops. 100% organic, contains no synthetic ingredients, GMO infested chicken manure or sewage sludge. Ideal for organic vegetable gardens, raised beds, planting containers, and compost tea.
