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fertiliser advice

REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
in Fruit & veg

Hello I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice about feeding fruit trees and shrubs... oh and rhubarb. I am lumping things together because I have read (online) that 10-10-10 should be good for soft fruit (although I appreciate they might not all have exactly the same needs) and rhubarb. However googling for a source of 10-10-10 suggests that it's not that easy to get hold of, unless I am getting the wrong end of the stick about it. (Is it maybe not available in the UK?) Should Growmore be ok or should I go for something different. Ideally I would rather not go down the bone, blood etc. route - I am a longstanding vegetarian...

I have the following:
gooseberries
black, white and redcurrants
jostaberries
raspberries - summer and autumn varieties
loganberries
All of these are in the ground.

Rhubarb - in a raised bed - although the raised bed was been placed straight on the ground.

Dwarf cherries in large pots.

All of the above are at least 2-4 years old.

Last year I think I just used some generic general fertiliser (may have been Growmore - it's down the bottom of the garden in the shed right now, and it's late and dark, and it's very squelchy down there, so I can't go and look :) )  and things have been ok, but last year the rhubarb and raspberries were not brilliant... although I realize that this may have been as a result of the hot summer and me not watering things enough. (Plus I let some bushes in the vicinity of the rhubarb get too big and overshadow them - now cut back.)

Apologies for such a long post!

At least I do know what to do with my strawberries and blueberries :) However listing all these things makes me realize what small crops I get... :( It sounds like I should be getting enough to set up a fruit stall.

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Would well-rotted farmyard manure be out of the question?  If so, that's a shame as I would highly recommend it.  Manure dropped onto the soil by animals is completely natural and needs to happen in a balanced ecosystem.  The problem with non-organic fertilizers is that they don't do a lot for the vast amount of life within the soil which is actually already providing food for plants, often in a symbiotic relationship.  If you feed the soil organisms, the whole system will look after itself and all it takes is putting down a mulch of manure a few inches deep now and again.  Since I've been doing this my crops of all types have been very significantly improved.
    However, I'm digressing.  For everything you ever wanted to know about the NPK ratio (and probably many things you didn't!), see here: http://www.gardenfundamentals.com/fertilizer-selecting-the-right-npk-ratio/

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • MeomyeMeomye Posts: 949
    Great link BTG  :)  
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I agree with Bob. Manure is the best thing for soil. I can't see any objection to it as horses are not kept for food.
  • REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
    That does look like a great link, Bob. Thanks very much. I am about to go to work so just skimmed it, but I will look at it more carefully at lunch time.
    Yes manure is fine. I'd like to be organic, so works well for me. Will see if I can source some locally. I just spotted a thread asking where it can be obtained in the area I live in on this forum.
    I suppose I should be paying most attention to my potted cherry trees.


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