What do I use to feed?

This is my first year growing vegetables and I am not sure what food I will need to give to my vegetables and when do you start feeding. Tomatoes are easy as there is tomato food, but what will I need to feed other things? I will be growing beans, peas, salad leaves, peppers, raddish, spring onions, potatoes.

I notice that homebase has large tubs of chicken poop pellets which are quite reasonably priced. Can I use this for everything? How much do I use and how frequently?

Sorry for all the questions, I am sure this is all very basic stuff, but when you've never done it before, there is so much to learn!

Angela

[Two_Sheds]

don't worry too much.
Unless you're growing in containers, plants will get what they need from the soil. If weeds can grow, then veggies can grow.

Other people will swear by chicken poo, Growmore etc.

I just sprinkle a little Blood Fish & Bone around (if I remember) and give a bit of Comfrey Tea (if I remember) .... I still get more crops than I can eat.

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As you return goodness to the soil in the form of your own compost, over time, your soil will improve and improve

[piskieinboots]

I also feel there is too much angst put into the 'what should I feed' - unless your soil is dead, which I'm sure it won't be.

Most of what you mention above - radish, lettuce and the like will not need anything special other than the soil.

For your beans, dig a trench (now) and get home made compost in it and cover with a layer of newspaper and water that in well, fill over with your soil, that is all I do for runner beans - they get nawt else other than water.

Toms, obviously need food and a lot of it - but you, righly, have that covered off

[Two_Sheds]

Beans make (fix) their own nitrogen from the air.

A bean trench provides them with more water than food, like Suzie says.

[womble]

I was discussing this yesterday with emilymup.

We had both read the Alan Titchmarsh book and he talks about manure and compost being good for the soil, but you still need extra feed for the veggies. Fish blood and bone he counts as an all round fertiliser, as growmore is, but not organic.

Now....... I've always been ok with home compost, manure, the odd chicken pellet and my comfrey/nettle/urine feed. It sounds alot, but in practice I don't use that much. I've dabbled a bit with seaweed feed, but I still have an almost full bottle from 4 years ago.

So I think manure is enough, with maybe a boost for particular crops like tomatoes, but even those I bet would be more than fine with just manure and a comfrey tea a bit later.

[Snadger]

Legumes just need good loam enriched with a moisture retentive material.

On brassicas or leafy crops you could use chicken pellets to give a nitro boost

Everything else, tomato fert could be used to give a potassium boost!

I just use comfrey tea and BFB similarily to TS,.......... when I can be bothered!

[savva0122]

This is interesting. Having only just got my allotment no time to feed so got a pucket of chicken poop also for this year. The allotment has copious amount of llama manure so this will be handy of next year, but think this year emergency measures I am going to try the chicken pellets. I have some homemade compost so thanks for the tips for bean trenches - I'll definitely give that a go as I hope to put up my canes at the weekend.

[Naga]

Legumes just need good loam enriched with a moisture retentive material.

On brassicas or leafy crops you could use chicken pellets to give a nitro boost

Everything else, tomato fert could be used to give a potassium boost!

I just use comfrey tea and BFB similarily to TS,.......... when I can be bothered!

I have a whole bucket of chick poo but for those with alkaline soil, surly it would make the soil more alkaline?

[Two_Sheds]

I have a whole bucket of chick poo but for those with alkaline soil, surly it would make the soil more alkaline?

Yes, it would

[Snadger]

I have a whole bucket of chick poo but for those with alkaline soil, surly it would make the soil more alkaline?

I always thought chicken pellets because they consisted of a mixture of poo (the black stuff) and wee (the white stuff) was an acidifying agent?

Wee has uric acid and ammonia, both of which are very acidic and poo has sulphur and ammonia which is also acidic methinks!

I don't use chicken pellets (I use the REAL stuff!) so have no packaging information which should state the acidity/alkalinity of the contents.

The only way I could imagine pellets being alkaline is if lime was added as a sweetener during the composting process, but I doubt it!

So in answer to your question, I would say just the opposite, added to any soil it would acidify it slightly.

If I'm wrong I'll stand corrected!

[Capsid]

Ammonia is alkaline. What form of sulphur do you mean, it will have to be combined with another element to have a pH.

Sulphates are acidic including sulphate of ammonia. But ammonia on its own is strongly alkaline.

Birds excrete uric acid, not ammonia I believe. Fish excrete ammonia.

[GrubbyGirl]

Thanks for all that. I am growing in containers but am using multi purpose compost not soil. I may be tempted to sprinkle some chicken poo around later in the season.

Angela

[Two_Sheds]

I always thought chicken pellets .... was an acidifying agent?

Researchers found that chicken manure was as effective as lime in raising soil pH. ...The main reason for manure to raise soil pH is due to the lime-like materials such as calcium and magnesium in the manure.
For example, poultry litter (poo) contains about 100 lbs. calcium per ton on a dry weight basis.

Therefore, applying (poultry) manure to acid soils not only suppl(ies) much needed nutrients and organic matter for plant growth but also reduce(s) soil acidity
http://www.animalwaste.okstate.edu/D...s%20SoilpH.pdf

[Snadger]

Just goes to prove........you're never too old to learn! Think I may need to brush up on my chemistry.

I've searched google for an answer but TS beat me to it!

I DID fall into the category of believing that any manure, apart from spent mushroom compost had an acidifying action on the soil.

Appologies to all, and especially Two Sheds and Capsid!

* Hangs head in shame*

[snohare]

You mean here's me all this time been worrying about where to get lime for this acid sandy loam I've got, and every time I casually dropped a bag of chickens**t onto a raised bed I was being a genius and making a liar of myself ?
Well, that's what happens when the school computer mucks up your chemistry lessons in second year.
Thanks for the chickenpoo epiphany folks !