Which plant food do you use for veg?

[Ananke]

I think I might change what I use this year, or at least add to it. I sometimes feel that I don't get the best results from the veg out on the plot. The greenhouse stuff seems to be ok but I might try changing that too.

I'd be interested to hear what you all use to feed your veg.

[burnie]

I tend to put dung on the beds not having roots like carrots and parsnips and they get compost at this time of year, just before planting/sowing I rake in a bit of slow release fertiliser like Blood, Fish and Bone(this includes in the greenhouse too). Apart from tomato feed in the greenhouse, that will be it for the season.

[Lumpy]

I make my own up with comfrey, nettles and dandelion leaves. Stinks like a mugger but left to brew for 6 months and then diluted with water the plants love it.

[ESBkevin]

Another that uses lots of compost, manure and mulch to feed the soil. Some blood fish and bone at planting. Then comfy and or nettle tea during the season if need be. Well compost soil tends not to need too much help in a no dig scenario.

[Ananke]

Thanks for the replies.

I manure the ground (except carrots etc) Dig bigger holes and fill with kitchen compost and manure mix for squashes, beans etc.

Scatter chicken pellets a few weeks before planting and a couple of times throughout the season.

Brew comfrey for liquid feeds every few weeks (although I'm a bit of a procrastinator at times)

Burnie, interesting that you don't feed after the initial ground prep.....I like the sound of that

I think I just feel that some of the other plotholders who use Growmore etc seem to get much better results than I do. Maybe I need to run an experiment and do half and half and see what the results are.

[rary]

Last year I used sixX, scattered on the soil two weeks before planting then comfrey and seaweed tea as required
This year I have covered my veg. beds with shredded garden waste then seaweed, and am now curious to to see how things grow with that

[fishpond]

Lay manure/compost on the ground in winter.
Fruit and veg do well & the soil is full of life.
Thats it.

[rary]

I manure the ground (except carrots etc) Dig bigger holes and fill wI think I just feel that some of the other plotholders who use Growmore etc seem to get much better results than I do. Maybe I need to run an experiment and do half and half and see what the results are.

Ananke I have a friend who has access to various mixes of farm grade growmore 16-16-16. or 7-7-16 or 25-7-7 and yet the results he gets by simply using seaweed is unbelievable , potatoes, cabbage, beetroot, carrot, in fact most type of garden veg all grow well and healthy plus taste good. I read somewhere that using these dry chemical feeds drive the worms out of the area that they are used, I wouldn't say they are shouldn't be used, but feel that they should only be used in restricted areas such as pots and tubs etc. along with a
supplemental mineral addition

[Snadger]

Ananke I have a friend who has access to various mixes of farm grade growmore 16-16-16. or 7-7-16 or 25-7-7 and yet the results he gets by simply using seaweed is unbelievable , potatoes, cabbage, beetroot, carrot, in fact most type of garden veg all grow well and healthy plus taste good. I read somewhere that using these dry chemical feeds drive the worms out of the area that they are used, I wouldn't say they are shouldn't be used, but feel that they should only be used in restricted areas such as pots and tubs etc. along with a
supplemental mineral addition

BFB is the organic version of National Growmore. Both are a balanced fertiliser with equal quantities of NPK. Growmore is cheaper to make and inorganic,that's why it was heralded as the cure all for the Dig For Victory campaign in the last war.Organic gardening was less important then than crop yields.

[Ananke]

Thanks, that's interesting rary. I've worked hard to build up the soil and worms on one side of my plot that had a lot of the top soil removed before I took it on so that would be a big no no for me then.

I didn't give seaweed a thought, thanks.

Of course it could be nothing to do with feeding, the weather up here hasn't been great the last two summers.

[burnie]

Lazy beds that were common on the Scottish Western Isles were basically based on seaweed and they were successful , I just can't be bothered to walk a mile to the beach with a wheelbarrow to collect it lol.

[Chris11]

Depends what you're growing?

There isn't an optimum answer for all situations and crops, soil quality etc, or if you're growing in tubs.

If you're adding any extra feed, you have to think about the N-P-K ratios. Leafy things like Salad Leaves, Cabbage, Lettuce, Rocket etc will need more Nitrogen. And because you don't want them to flower, not too much Potassium.

Other things you do want to flower and fruit, like tomatoes, peppers and courgettes, you want higher Potassium and less Nitrogen. In this group, I'd suggest Wilko Tomato Food as good value and formulation.

[Ananke]

Ah I forgot about BFB Snadger, I use that too.

[Ananke]

Depends what you're growing?

There isn't an optimum answer for all situations and crops, soil quality etc, or if you're growing in tubs.

If you're adding any extra feed, you have to think about the N-P-K ratios. Leafy things like Salad Leaves, Cabbage, Lettuce, Rocket etc will need more Nitrogen. And because you don't want them to flower, not too much Potassium.

Other things you do want to flower and fruit, like tomatoes, peppers and courgettes, you want higher Potassium and less Nitrogen. In this group, I'd suggest Wilko Tomato Food as good value and formulation.

Thanks Chris

I used Nettle on the leafy stuff and comfrey on the tomatoes, peppers etc. I think dilution might have been an issue, too much water maybe.

[ESBkevin]

Just remember that the plants want to grow and flourish. Give them the living soil they crave and they will do just that. You can force them to look greener or flower earlier but without a wide range of trace nutrients they might not have quite the optimum taste. That is subjective of course.