Yes, I do and it works very well. Make sure it is just fertilizer and does not contain any weed or insect killers. I use a 29-0-4 where the nitrogen is all from urea. My soil is already very high in phosphorus and potassium, so I don't need the P & K part.

TomNJ

How do you apply lawn fert? I Have some leftover oceangro ( the bag says 5-5-0, if that helps) that I'd like to use on my garlic if possible.

My booklet on "growing great garlic" advises no fertilizer except compost and bone meal at planting time. I pretty much follow that and have a great crop each year.

"Growing Great Garlic" was written for organic farmers and acknowledges the importance of nitrogen, both at planting and in the spring. The author Ron Engeland supplies his nitrogen and other nutrients through compost, but other sources are equally good, such as urea.

If you are applying organic fertilizer, it is best to mix it into the soil so the microbes can degrade it and release available nutrients. If the garlic is already established you can scratch it into the soil surface between the rows.

For inorganic fertilizers, which are generally water soluble, I just sprinkle it on top of the mulch between the rows. Rain will drive it down to the soil surface. Better to use multiple light applications from March to May rather than a single heavy feeding.

It is getting a bit late to fertilize garlic as most people recommend stopping fertilization after early May, as too much nitrogen during bulb development can give smaller bulbs. Nitrogen is needed in the early stages of green growth to build large and healthy top growth, which in turn nourishes the bulbs in May/June. Unless your garlic is looking pale and yellowish, I would hold your Oceangro until your fall planting, and then work it into the soil.

I have used both organic (blood meal and compost) and inorganic (lawn fertilizer) over the years, and the garlic doesn't seem to know the difference.

TomNJ

thank you, this makes a lot of sense