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quixoticgeek

Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 296
Location: Canterbury

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 14 2:52 pm Post subject: Plant feed

I am looking at getting some sort of plant feed for my fruit and veg. Ideally I would like to get one tub of feed that I can use on my fruit trees, my veg (pumpkins mostly), and my tomatoes/peppers.

Most companies seem to make a Tomato feed, and a fruit and veg feed. Is there any great negative to using a generic fruit & veg feed on tomatoes? or a tomato feed on apple trees?

Currently top of my list for options are:

What do people recommend?

I wanted to try comfrey tea, but the plants aren't big enough to harvest from yet, and I've also kinda left it a bit late to make it, so going to have to cough up on the money now.

Thanks

Julia

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45460
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 14 2:57 pm Post subject:
14 ,7,7 for leafy growth 7,7, 7 for flower and fruit npk mixture is ace for the more "natural "approach to feed

Finsky

Joined: 10 Sep 2011
Posts: 847
Location: Notts.

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 14 9:07 pm Post subject:

If you want to keep it simple...

I would get Blood, fish and bone meal..
thats good for anything and everything when you are planting stuff and/or during growing stage. You can use it in early spring for fruit trees and they should not need much more than that unless they are planted in containers.

Tomato feed of some sort would feed flowering plants including tomatoes, peppers...though for peppers and chillies you need to dilute the feed with double amount of water for they don't like it as strong mix as tomatoes do.

Chicken manure pellets...quicker acting and more nitrogen than in BFB so ideal very hungry veg like brassicas and potatoes... or as light dressing for general purposes for most crops.

Those 3 would keep you growing most things very well...they are cheaper fertilizers as they are very basic...but many other packets with 'fancy names' are basically the same stuff but marketed differently because they can sell it for more money!

earthyvirgo

Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 14 9:33 pm Post subject:
You can make a general feed from a mix of comfrey, borage and nettle. Same process as the usual comfrey brew - same smell I reckon as well! I think it was a Bob Flowerdew GQT recipe. EV

Finsky

Joined: 10 Sep 2011
Posts: 847
Location: Notts.

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 14 9:53 am Post subject:

Oh yes...all home 'brews' come with potent pong as extra

Very good and cheap 'nitrogen' feed is what we provide ourselves...

It just need diluting first. I find one tiddle into watering can, topped up with water to fill the can is about right ratio..

But one has to use it fresh or it soon start to turn ammonia..plants do not like it then...
I would not use it greens that are eaten as fresh salads...but everything else is fine with it....and as long as ticker keeps going, it is in 'endless' supply too....for FREE!

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 14 10:47 am Post subject:
Bonemeal for the fruit trees & water butt full of steeped nettle, comfrey & in my case worm castings but in most sheep poop.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45460
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 14 10:38 pm Post subject:

bfb is pretty good for top dressing,chicken muck is best fermented to liquid feed

,both work well with nettles ,comfrey etc in a ferment tub

with all strong feeds avoid getting them on the leaves

as i live in a urban area a mixture tub would be unpleasant and i only have a bramble to feed so i use phostrogen veg early and phostrogen fruit and flower once the beast is quite big ,it aint organic but i get about 50 lb fruit off a 12 ft by 18" bed under a north facing wall.phostogen is quite cheap and has trace elements but bulk buy generic 14,7,7 or 7,7,7 is very cheap and most soils have enough trace elements

on the allotment mixture was queen adjusted for season and diluted to suit each type of plant and adjusted with lime or sulphur to suit it is best

madcat

Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 1265
Location: worcester

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 14 7:08 pm Post subject:
A pillowcase half full of sheep shit suspended in a closed lid container of water.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 14 2:34 pm Post subject:

Sheep muck in a case suspended in water was called sock and is a very good tomato feed. Don't go out and buy seaweed, go to the beach and bring some home, it is legal according to the harbour master where I go for mine! it is excellent on potato ground, if you spread it to overwinter and dig it in in the spring; it too should be good for tomatoes-related to spuds- but not sure how the tomato plant would react to the salty nature, which if spread on the ground in winter obviously washes out. When I had fruit trees I used bone meal for them.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 14 2:39 pm Post subject:

Finsky wrote:

...but many other packets with 'fancy names' are basically the same stuff but marketed differently because they can sell it for more money!

couldn't agree more.

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