What's your feeding regime?

[dinah gale]

It's getting towards the end of the growing season and some things aren't looking as good as they might. French beans for one.

I start the season liming the brassica beds, feeding the plot with chicken manure pellets, spray with the occasional dose of liquid seaweed then sort of run out of steam on the feeding side. I've got all the stuff, including fish, blood and bone in my lottie store - look at it and say 'that's good' and that's it!

I imagine nutrients will have washed away with all the August rain and sort of feel that I should be feeding the soil.

Do any fellow growers have feeding regime that you follow without fail? I need to plan feeding really or my lovely vegetables will be at the mercy of my hit and miss approach and won't do their best.

The organic gurus keep preaching that the condition of the soil is the thing that keeps plants healthy and better able to deal with pests and diseases and I'm sure they're right. Mine need the gardener on their side!

Your ideas would be great.

[zazen999]

I add lime before any brassicas. I also put chicken pellets into the hole whenever I plant anything [at the lottie - as it's clay soil]. I put coffee grounds where any alluims are going to go. I chop comfrey now and use it to mulch toms and peas. I'll pop some root fertiliser on roots if there is alot of rain about, to soak in; and ditto toms fertiliser [I use the solid stuff as we have no water at the lottie so I can't use liquid feeds.

I also have taken soil from our compost heap at home and added it to the clay at the lottie; as it needs as much organic as it can get hold of. Initially use it to mulch anything and dig it in once the crops are out.

I do try and grow my crops hard though, so there is no actual timing to the above; just randomness once they are actually planted out.

If things are looking a bit yellow; I'll pop some epsom salts around the plant and hope the rain comes to wash it in soon.

[dinah gale]

I add lime before any brassicas. I also put chicken pellets into the hole whenever I plant anything [at the lottie - as it's clay soil]. I put coffee grounds where any alluims are going to go. I chop comfrey now and use it to mulch toms and peas. I'll pop some root fertiliser on roots if there is alot of rain about, to soak in; and ditto toms fertiliser [I use the solid stuff as we have no water at the lottie so I can't use liquid feeds.

I also have taken soil from our compost heap at home and added it to the clay at the lottie; as it needs as much organic as it can get hold of. Initially use it to mulch anything and dig it in once the crops are out.

I do try and grow my crops hard though, so there is no actual timing to the above; just randomness once they are actually planted out.

If things are looking a bit yellow; I'll pop some epsom salts around the plant and hope the rain comes to wash it in soon.

I've used chopped comfrey, too, this year. Saw one of my neighbouring plotholders had spread it around his tom. plants so did the same. (Tomatoes got blight though so they all had to be pulled up)

Epsom salts are a good idea too. Our soil is light and very free draining so things do look a bit yellow now and then.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

[zazen999]

No problems. Most of it I found on here in the first place so it's thanks to everyone on here really!

[nick the grief]

Breakfast around 8, lunch around 12 and tea around 6 ... oh, you didn't mean that

You have to be careful with feeding. It's really easy to overdo feeding and you get really huge lush plants that fall to all the pests and diseases - bit like the posh kids that never play in the dirt where as the ragtag's with their arse hanging out of there trousers are as tough as old boots .

I tend to put a top dressing of either pelleted chuck poo, or Blood fish and bone on at planting time and then maybe a boost halfway thru the season. apart from my Chrysanthemums & Dahlia's that are pampered better than Mrs G

[CharlotteE]

Do any other grapes have some good feeding advice?

I work on the mag and I'm looking for some tips from forum members to include in the Nov issue - if you've got some good tips, post them on this thread and they may end up in print!

Thanks

Charlotte (Editorial Assistant)

[jackie j]

I have put soil conditioner in some of my area's at the lottie but my soil is in good condition anyway, I have thrown quite randomly some slow release plant food that I bought at woolies its their worth it range £1.97p for 1kg bargain, it lasts 6 months.

[Kayt]

""- bit like the posh kids that never play in the dirt where as the ragtag's with their arse hanging out of there trousers are as tough as old boots . ""

Thanks Nick, that explains why my kids were hardly ever ill, too much playing in the dirt. I thought it was down to my maternal skills

My plot has been left to the wild for about 6years so as I'm clearing the brambles, old bikes and bags of dumped rubbish I'm covering with rotted down horse manure. Is this going to be ok initially for all beds or should I be adding lime etc now?

[PAULW]

KAYT
Is this going to be ok initially for all beds or should I be adding lime etc now?

I would be inclined to do a PH test before adding lime it is only needed if the soil is acid and not where you are going tro grow spuds.

[Kayt]

Sorry to be dim PaulW but is it ok to carry on with the manure covering for now and then do the pH testing when I've decided which beds are going to be where or should I test and can I add lime just before planting or does it need time to 'work'? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm new to this

[SarzWix]

It's not recommended (sorry, I can't remember where I read this) to put manure and lime on at the same time, I think they react badly with each other or something. You should test the soil where your brassicas will be going, and if it needs lime, then don't manure that bed.

[vicky]

I only feed the plants in pots, just with a seaweed fertilizer every so often (ie when I remember...)
Plants in the plot have to make do with the compost that's added in spring - add it after the frosts have broken up the clods otherwise the soil is protected from the frosts by a lovely compost mulch! I also prefer to put the compost on afetr the heavy rains of winter as I feel these can wash away some of the nutrients.
I also add wood ash around seedlings to protect them from slugs, this is also a good fertilizer

[SarzWix]

My feeding regime starts with the soil - as I have lovely clay, I add as much organic matter as I can lay my hands on as each bed finishes cropping, either manure, spent mushroom compost, homemade compost or spent hops. This adds nutrients, beneficial bacteria, and improves the soil. Then, depending on the type of plant, I might feed them as they're growing. For instance; tomatoes are fed with a high potassium feed such as comfrey tea to promote flowering and fruit growth; cabbages and other leafy veg sometimes get a sprinkle of chicken manure pellets for the nitrogen needed for leafy growth. If the soil is kept 'in good heart' then supplementary feeding isn't always needed, but container grown plants always need extra feeding.

[shirlthegirl43]

Anything I grow in containers gets either well rotted manure or chicken poo pellets at planting time and maybe a sprinkle if it looks like it is needed. This year was the first year with a bean trench or anything and I have given a bit of blood fish and bone and a bit of growmore as the beans seemed to be struggling a bit - mind you I think that was as much weather as lack of feeding. Next year will be the first year of serious growing and feeding as the crop rotation kicks in based on what actually grew to cropping this year.

[helly]

I'm trying green maure this year, ryegrass and ryecorn on the beds over winter. I saw Monty on one of the GW programes do this and he just chopped it down and mulched it into the beds to add nitrogen.
Any adviceon this would be grateful
cheers