What's your favourite Veg Fertilizer ?

[vegmandan]

I was just wondering what type of Veg fertilizers everybody uses and preferrs ?

Personally I used to just use Growmore but after finding out that it usually gets washed out of the soil after about 6 weeks I then started using good old fashioned Blood Fish & Bone.

I find that I only need to apply this once when sowing and planting and It seems to be productive all season as It's not particularly water soluble.

I must admit that though not strictly an Organic Grower I actually have become one, more by accident than by design.

I use Maxcrop Seaweed feed and seaweed meal,this has amazing amounts of humus and really gets stuff going.

Good old Horse Muck can't be beaten too.

The only other non organic fertilizer I have used is Vitax Q4 for my Giant Onions,It absolutely STINKS so I imagine this is too a mixture of Blood,fish,bone and a bit of Chicken poo in there for good measure.It really is good stuff but in an enclosed space like my polytunnel it smells like a dead sheep for about a week until it is washed in abit.

Anyhow I can't beat Blood fish and Bone,It lasts,It's cheap and I'ts natural .

[windy]

(scribbling down Dans tips) Last year I used chicken pellets but not sure I used the right amounts, as nothing grew very well. Unless they were just washed away really quickly with all that rain we had??? Anyway, this year I'm using chicken pellets (coz I bought a big bucket full and there's still loads left) as well as the juice from my Bokashi, which seems to be working well on my houseplants so far.

When should I start feeding my patch Dan?? I chucked some pellets on there when I planted me onions, but when do you think I should start Bokashi juice feeding?

[kedigato]

Hubby swears by these blue pellets and he sprinkles them around everything and lightly rakes them in.

We've bought this bone stuff now and then, and I agree it does smell.

I treat the house plants to a dose of guano every so often, keeps them from getting bored with the regular house plant fertilizer.

Tomato fertilizer was on sale real cheap a year or so ago, so I bought several boxes. However, I don't have luck growing tomatoes and even this did not help them. Then I read that it is good for all garden plants, so everything else was fed it.

[Admin]

I used suttons manure for my veg plot it wasnt cheap think it was about £26 for three sacks and i dug it in..Then i used my home made plant food either nettles or comfrey fermented which was cheap..
I think some of the fertilisers are really expensive and you can make your own for free..

[vegmandan]

I've never used chicken pellets as I was led to believe they were high on the Nitrogen side so no good for onions as you will get really thick stalks and they wont store well.

If they are high Nitrogen then they'd be Ideal for anything green and leafy.
If I am wrong about them being high in nitrogen and they're about equal in their N P K values then they'd be fine for anything

I can't believe how expensive horse manure is from garden centres,it's ridiculous.
We had our own horses so I had a free supply.
Most Stables will let you dig your own muck though for free or even deliver it for only a quid a bag so I'd go down this route before buying it from the shops,but do make sure it's well rotted.

As far as feeding then after the initial dressing then you can give your plot a top dressing about every 2 months with about a third of the initial amount to keep the fertility up.

I must confess I've never heard of Bokashi ??

Oh yea just remembered there is a product called 6X ,its apparently extremely concentrated farmyard manure in pelleted form,many people swear by it.

[windy]

Dagnabbit, I've gone and chucked them chicken pellets on the bl*8dy onions already Ermmmm, no idea about Nitrogen, will have to read the bucket they come in...jeez this veg malarky is well complicated

[Admin]

DAN... This is a bokoshi windy and dag both have one ..

Bokashi Kitchen Compost Bucket
The government's recently published new strategy for cutting waste has paved the way for local councils to increase the amount of waste which they will ask us to recycle. Food waste is one area that the strategy has pinpointed, and of course much food waste con be composted normally. Things such as vegetable peelings, apple cores, teabags and eggshells can be added to the compost heap along with your garden clippings.

But that leaves a lot of waste that still goes into the bin. Meat and dairy cannot go into normal compost as it would attract vermin to your garden very quickly. One solution that has been around for a while is the Green Cone Food Digester.

Place the Green Cone in your garden and add all putrescible food waste including vegetable scraps, raw and cooked meat or fish, bones, dairy products and other organic kitchen waste such as tea bags and bread. Add the accelerator powder and it will all turn into lovely compost.

However there is a new system which is becoming very fashionable - The Bokashi System. Rather than have a bin in your garden this system is kept in your kitchen. It consists of a bin with a lid into which you can place any food waste at all, including meat, fish, dairy etc. Next the magic! Sprinkle a little of the Bokashi Active Bran, which is a dry mixture of bran and molasses that has been inoculated with Effective Microrganisms. Close the lid so as no smells will escape and when the composter is full, leave it with the lid closed for two weeks and the food will be transformed so that it is safe to add to your normal compost heap.

If you want to compost continuously it is recommended that you buy two buckets so that you can fill one while the other is waiting for two weeks. Any liquid which is produced in the bucket can be tapped off into the scoop provided. This liquid when diluted can be used to feed your plants both inside and out.

[windy]

It's coming to the time of 'the opening' Nose-pegs at the ready

[Admin]

Still say its cheaper to make your own...

Comfrey is often eliminated as a weed from many a garden and plot. It can get a bit out of hand but by no means should it be considered a weed. It is extremely useful as a plant feed. One report, (The Natural Food Catalogue, Vicki Peterson, 1978) claims that its long roots can absorb nutrients usually only taken up by tree roots. Comfrey does seem to contain a high number of nutrients and has high amounts of potash, making it an excellent feed for tomatoes. The leaves should be placed into a bucket of water and left until it starts to give of a disgusting smell. The foul smelling liquid (and believe me it does smell bad) can then be diluted and used as a plant feed on most plants on a vegetable plot.

[vegmandan]

I can't agree more about making your own fertilizer,compost etc.

But the only thing that concerns me is that some veg have differing Nitrogen,potash and potasium preferences and dislikes so you need to be careful .

i.e Comfrey liquor would be great for fruit and tomatoes once they are fruiting as this is high in potash and also well develloped onions to help to ripen them off and carrots too like a tomato type feed.

Where as a higher nitrogen product like chicken poo (not all chicken poo is higher nitrogen so have a look on the box) is ideal for Green leafy stuff like lettuce and cabbages i.e to promote plant growth but isn't any good for already fruiting plants as it will just promote plant growth and not help the fruit to grow and It will make your onions have thick necks.

So thats why I generally use a balanced fertilizer with an equal N P K percentage apart from Tomato feed which has a higher P K than the N.

So basically I would use a balanced NPK fertilizer on everything and use higher nitrogen on green leafy stuff and a higher P K on already fruiting stuff if you feel the need.

As the old poem goes "He sits amongst his Cabbages and PEES (peas)"

Theres plenty of Nitrogen in that stuff to help the old cabbages grow !!

[Admin]

I have used chicken poo as well ..
But besides the comfrey i also make nettle plant food i send the other half out gathering nettles ..
Nettle Leaf Plant Food
Nettle leaves can be used to make an easy to use, if somewhat smelly, plant food. Best of all it's free!

To make your nettle fertiliser you will need only four things:

Nettles! - obviously.
A watertight container - a large bucket is adequate.
Water, and
A wait, sorry a weight. Not essential but makes the process easier as I will explain.
First take your nettles. These are best as young stems but can be taken at any time. Quicker results are obtained if the nettle stems and leaves are bruised.

Then crush them. This can be done by scrunching the stems in gloved hands or by placing the stems on a freshly mown lawn and using your mower to chop and collect the nettles at the same time. The addition of a few grass clippings that results from using this method does not affect the quality of the finished product.

Immerse in water Stuff the crushed stems into your bucket. Place your weight on top of the stems. You may have to use a little ingenuity here - I have used a broken paving slab in the past. A brick and a piece of wire mesh cut to suit the cointainer serves equally well. Fill the container with water sufficient to cover the nettles and...

Leave to brew. This is where the original wait comes in. You may also consider placing the bucket away from the areas in the garden that you use most as the soup tends to get rather smelly.

Dilute to taste. After around three or four weeks the liquid should be ready for use. The mixture should be diluted until it is tea coloured - usually around 1 part liquid to 10 parts water. Water liberally around or on the plants and see the benefits.

Repeat until winter. Continue to top up your container with more leaves and water through the year. As autumn sets in put the remainder of the feed and the sludge in your compost heap. Give your container a rinse and store for next year!

[DAG]

I use Aldi chicken pellets, N=5.0, P=3.3, K=2.2, which they claim on the bucket is suitable for everything. I no longer have a veg plot but still use it for adding to the compost heap, and occasionally scatter it round the garden

I use Maxcrop Seaweed liquid stuff for anything in the greenhouse.

Some years, to help break down the clay soil, I use horse manure which is free if I care to drive about 2 miles and bag it up myself, which as it is usually wet and very well rotted is very heavy!

I have got lazy, and pick up a few bags each year for 50p a bag at a roadside stables half a mile away! Also very well rotted and a good mix of straw in it. I add some of this to the compost heap at times.

[Admin]

I think the food is expensive for plants especially if you have a lot of plants to feed..I used miracle grow on the houseplants ..
The chicken pellets are not cheap either..I dont think gardening is a cheap hobby anymore.