I have added compost and mulch in the spring to the garden. Do I still need to mulch, or is this the same thing? I have an existing garden and I add seeds and annuls to it as well. I am wondering if I should also fertilize it with Scotts or Miracle Grow, but I want to stay organic and I am confused about these fertilizers? I believe they are not organic. I am growing vegetables and flowers in the same bed and I would like to use the fertilizers on the flowers only as my vegetables are organic, but how can I fertilize one and not fertilize the other? Or is it best to stick to only compost and manure that is organic? Is it worth it to use the Miracle Grow or the Scotts, or should I not because it will mix in with the vegetables? Please help!
NO!
Compost and manure are soil amendments used to make the soil more friable. They add lignin to the soil, which is almost like a glue of sorts – helping to keep the soil particles properly positioned to let in both air and moisture. They also help keep the soil more or less at a neutral pH so the nutrients stay available to the plants and do not get “locked-up” in the soil.
Although mulch will break down (decompose) over time and also help better the condition of your soil – the reason you would put it down would be to hold in moisture (the mulch may dry out but the soil underneath will stay moist) for a longer period of time and it is a thick loose layer of particulate, which helps prevent weed seeds from taking hold, therefore easier to remove.
Mulch can also make a garden look more “finished”, “polished” or have a “tended” look.
Now to answer your question: If you have mixed good compost into your soil and have added mulch, I don’t see any need for artificial fertilizers as well. If you would like to “fertilize” or amend the soil more, for particular plants – you can move the mulch aside, add more compost around particular plants, water it in a bit and recover with the existing mulch throughout the season.
But I think if you have added enough compost to begin with you are “good to go” and should have healthy delicious vegetables and/or fruit and beautiful flowers as well.
If you feel the need to have flowers that look like they have been on steroids or grown near a nuclear reactor 
give your individual flowering plants a boost through the soil or an occasional foliar feeding – by mixing up a batch of Miracle-Gro, Scotts or any other water soluble fertilizer and just water the individual plants by hand.
I hope I explained what I wanted to say in an understandable way.
Compost is decomposed organic material, manure is decomposed feces, mulch is shredded organic material for moisture retention.
Compost and manure are the best way to fertilize… dont worry about the Scotts or Miracle grow… stick to the simple stuff. Manure will make your veggies grow HUGE! Just be sure to add it every year.
Mulch is more for water retention… place around the base of your plants (but not to tight, you can suffocate and rot them) and it will help keep the soil from drying out so fast.
References :
Miracle Grow is not organic. Scotts is not organic either.
There are organic fertilizers available commercially but they would be clearly marked as organic.
Compost would be organic and it’s really all you’d need as a fertilizer. Just mix it into the soil as you plant.
If you are going to use manure as fertilizer, it should be composted first, especially cow or horse manure. Fresh rabbit and llama may be added directly to the garden however. Compost fresh cow for one year, fresh horse for at least two (to kill the many seeds found in horse doody).
Mulch is added on top of the soil, between the plants, to hold in moisture and help keep down weeds. If a natural mulch is used (bark, for example) it will eventually break down and add nutrients to the soil, but it should not be relied upon as a source of fertilizer.
If you want to learn how to garden organically, it would behoove you to read Organic Gardening magazine. You’ll learn all you need to know to do it right.
References :
20+ years of gardening organically
NO!
Compost and manure are soil amendments used to make the soil more friable. They add lignin to the soil, which is almost like a glue of sorts – helping to keep the soil particles properly positioned to let in both air and moisture. They also help keep the soil more or less at a neutral pH so the nutrients stay available to the plants and do not get “locked-up” in the soil.
Although mulch will break down (decompose) over time and also help better the condition of your soil – the reason you would put it down would be to hold in moisture (the mulch may dry out but the soil underneath will stay moist) for a longer period of time and it is a thick loose layer of particulate, which helps prevent weed seeds from taking hold, therefore easier to remove.
Mulch can also make a garden look more “finished”, “polished” or have a “tended” look.
Now to answer your question: If you have mixed good compost into your soil and have added mulch, I don’t see any need for artificial fertilizers as well. If you would like to “fertilize” or amend the soil more, for particular plants – you can move the mulch aside, add more compost around particular plants, water it in a bit and recover with the existing mulch throughout the season.
But I think if you have added enough compost to begin with you are “good to go” and should have healthy delicious vegetables and/or fruit and beautiful flowers as well.
If you feel the need to have flowers that look like they have been on steroids or grown near a nuclear reactor
give your individual flowering plants a boost through the soil or an occasional foliar feeding – by mixing up a batch of Miracle-Gro, Scotts or any other water soluble fertilizer and just water the individual plants by hand.
I hope I explained what I wanted to say in an understandable way.
References :