Of course, you could forget using commercial fertilizers and make compost. Byron, commercial fertilizers create an inability for the plant to take up natural nutrients from the soil. It may work in the short term - on annual crops - but will not work long-term for perennials, and is bad for the soil. Sorry - compost is the way to go. -- Robert Farr The Chile Man Hot sauce made from organically-grown peppers www.chileman.com (that's "chile" with an "e")