Which fertiliser?

[nwh]

Im looking to get my raised beds/containers ready for my 2nd year of growing veg. Ive last years garden compost, old sods of grass (composted) and bought compost. What fertilsers would you recommend me to use to get the plots ready. I plan on growing

Beans
Peas
Lettuce
Onions etc

Many Thanks
Neil

[Aberdeenplotter]

your bought compost will have had fertiliser added and there should be sufficient nutritional value from your garden compost and composted turves to grow what you are planning without adding anything else.

[Matt94]

The main general purpose ferts i use are blood, fish and bone/ chicken pellets and grow more and for my legumes I use sulphate of ammonia ( although I know some on here would probably say that legumes need no fert as they take all their nitrogen ect from air I've had good results with it)

[Potstubsdustbins]

Your bought in compost won't grow any of the above to harvest. At best the nutrients in it will last about 6 weeks and all of the plants you mention will need to be in the ground longer than that.

Then it would depend if you are bothered about bing organic or not as to what you could use.

Potty

[Thelma Sanders]

Blood, fish and bone is what I'd use for those.

[WendyC]

I use pelleted chicken manure and Maxicrop's seaweed liquid feed if I feel plants could do with a boost.

[Two_Sheds]

What fertilsers would you recommend

Really, you should feed the soil, not the plant. Fertiliser is a PLANT food, whereas garden compost/manure etc is a soil improver. The plant should get its food from the soil it's grown in.

If your crops aren't looking all that great, then by all means give them a boost with the appropriate N, P or K. (as a rough guide: N is for leaf growth, P is for root crops, and K is for fruit/flower production).

Fast growers like lettuce don't need any feed at all. It's the greedy stuff that might need a meal, things like brassicas that are in the ground 9 months or more.

Having said that, I give my veggies a comfrey tea feed with every watering (I don't water unless absolutely necessary either).

[Thelma Sanders]

Depends on the soil, no amount of manure/compost seems to add enough to our sandy soil, it needs continual topping up with feed
People who complain about clay really shouldn't - I know which I'd prefer to grow on

[Moopmoop]

N is for leaf growth, P is for root crops, and K is for fruit/flower production).

N = Nitrogen, P = Potassium, K = what is that please?

[Matt94]

i think its actually N = nitrogen, P = Phosphurus and K = potassium

just googled it and im right, theres a first time for everything

[Moopmoop]

I knew there would be a time of life when I wish I'd paid attention in school. Thanks

[Matt94]

dont thank me, thank google

[legume]

Really, you should feed the soil, not the plant. Fertiliser is a PLANT food, whereas garden compost/manure etc is a soil improver. The plant should get its food from the soil it's grown in.

Two Sheds makes an important point here: fertiliser is one thing, and yes it feeds the plants, but improving the soil is another matter, and the two are equally important for good crops. You need to improve the soil structure with plenty of organic matter so that it becomes / stays easily workable and moisture-retentive but free draining (those two things sound like a contradiction, but they aren't) so the plants are well-rooted and suck up water and nutrients as easily as possible. The best example soil improver v. fertiliser is, I think, leafmould: in itself, it is low in nutrients so it won't feed your plants directly, but it opens up the soil beautifully, making it much easier for plants to root down well and absorb what they need.

As you have raised beds, I am guessing you probably already have pretty good soil (did you buy in top soil for these?) Garden compost and bought compost will therefore do two jobs at once for you: they will help improve the soil structure and they will also feed your plants. Unless you are aiming for huge show-bench veggies, you should not need to add much more during the year.

That said, for the crops you particularly want to grow I would add a little nitrogen-rich fertiliser such as chicken manure pellets or a liquid nettle feed early in the growing season to the 'green ones' such as the peas and beans (which are generally hungry plants), and switch this later to a potassium-rich feed later when the peas and beans are flowering and cropping. This is because Nitrogen promotes healthy vigorous growth, and potassium promotes fruit and flowers. I would not give any extra fertiliser to the lettuces, as they are not overly hungry plants and won't need it. Onions: these are not so much my area of expertise, but mine have always responded well to occasional applications of good 'general' fertiliser such as chicken manure pellets or a liquid comfrey feed. Onions, too, are not overly hungry or demanding plants. Yours should grow well without much extra help.

As for your turves, Alan Titchmarsh recommends building a 'turf stack' which just means stacking the turves grass-side down, covered with some polythene to exclude the light (leave some holes for water to get in), and leaving them like this for 6 months. At the end of it, the grass will have died and you should have some beautiful crumbly loam to add to your beds.

Hope this was useful, and good luck with your veggies this year.

[nwh]

Thanks so much for all the great feed back. Much appreciated!!!
The raised beds are actually more link planter on a bit of patio. managed to rwon Kolrabhi and lettuce on one last year. Ive done the turf stack and its nearly 6 months old. So heres hoping!!
Also spent some hard earned xmas money on a couple of these
Black Deep Plastic Water Dog Bath Tub - 130 Litres: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Thanks again!!!

[legume]

Those will make some very nice little extra 'raised beds'. Just be sure to drill some drainage holes in the bottom...