Feeding confusion

Lincs-Newbie · April 2022

Good morning all.

I hope you are all waking up to a beautiful day ahead. And if not, you need some support. A problem shared is a problem halved as they say.

So, I have never been one for feeding much, I guess it is laziness BUT I have realised that really it is something I need to be doing to get the best from our garden.

I started doing some research and it quickly became a mind field of super conflicting information. Different food for different plants, different frequencies etc, only water if no rainfall in X days, feed even if there has been rainfall ... OH my

It led me to ask myself these questions.

1. Is there a feed that is kind of universal, something like seaweed extract that maybe you can use on all fruit, veg, flowers, shrubs etc / and at the same frequency.

2. Is it better to just feed say once per week during April - August regardless of rainfall?

3. Should you feed seedlings?

4. Has anyone had any experience in a good adjustable hose-end sprayer, I read you can get these that have dosage settings?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through the above.

Pete.8 · April 2022

In spring I use Blood, fish and bone.
I get a 25Kg sack and chuck handfuls over the borders - just enough to give everything a light dusting. I done that last week just before rain, and that's all that will be needed for the season, but can be re-applied every 6ish weeks. I never do.

Seaweed extract is great stuff, but it is not a proper fertilizer - it's packed with micro nutrients that are vital for plant health and that may be missing from you soil. It gives plants a boost and helps protect them from disease.
You can dilute it and pour on the soil, or use diluted as a foliar spray - which is fast acting. I use it as a soil drench about once a month on all plants. It's great for houseplants too.

Mulching in the Spring is also very good - just put a 3" layer of compost (not Multipurpose compost) around plants to help retain moisture and improve soil texture. I use home-made compost or well rotted manure of some sort.

That all that's needed for plants outside.

If you plant seedlings in multi purpose compost there's enough fertilizer for 6 weeks in the compost, then start feeding a little if they need it.

I tried a hose end sprayer, but I didn't get on with it

Fairygirl · April 2022

The vast majority of plants need very little food if the soil is in good condition, so mulching regularly with organic matter is the best method - certainly for shrubs, hedging and trees.
Extra food is helpful for heavy flowering plants - whether it's annuals or perennials or climbers, but too much extra food can often just create a lot of soft growth which is more vulnerable to pests.
Like @Pete.8 I use BF&B in spring, mainly for things like clematis, or anything newly planted, but I don't bother with mature shrubs as they get the aforementioned mulching.
I only use seaweed for foliage plants as it's good for that.
Seedlings don't need fed. They get moved on into new compost, so they need nothing until they're in their final positions, again depending on what they are.
Your soil type also has an influence. I garden on clay, which is already improved with manure etc, and it's a great source of nutrients. Sandy soil is more difficult.
I've no experience with those hose sprayers. I think it's better to get to know your plants and what they need, as that varies with location, climate and conditions. Might be handy for grass.

JennyJ · April 2022

I have sandy soil and the only things I feed once a week are plants in containers, after the first six or eight weeks when they'll have used up the nutrients in the compost. Generally I use tomato food for the containers, whatever brand I can get hold of , not usually the expensive well-known one. Everything else gets a general sprinkling of chicken poo pellets in spring (I did it about 3 or 4 weeks ago) and maybe another, or BFB instead, in May or June if the weather's wet enough for it to be useful. I don't water stuff that isn't in containers either, except for newly-planted things. The lawn areas get specific lawn food spring and autumn usually. I do use as much homemade compost as I can manage and sometimes bought-in soil improver for mulching any time there's soil showing and it's damp, and for forking into any area that I've cleared and will be replanting, and I add a bit of bone meal to the soil if I'm planting a shrub in the autumn/winter. It's more about improving the soil than feeding the plants, except for the containers.

GardenerSuze · April 2022

It is very important not to over feed it promotes soft growth just what slugs and snails love.

Nollie · April 2022

Aside from mulching, a sprinkling of an organic slow-release fertiliser such as BFB or chicken manure pellets is probably the best all-purpose fertiliser. Most plants in the ground don’t need anything more. The only plants that benefit from additional fertiliser during the growing season are heavily flowering shrubs and perennial climbers, e.g. roses and clematis, and some fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes.

punkdoc · April 2022

I also regularly feed Cannas and Dahlias, they seem to need a lot.

Lincs-Newbie · April 2022

Hey.

Sorry for my slow response here, firstly let me thank you all for replying to my question.

So what I can get from this is that actually most of the time plants don't really need anything extra unless in containers and then its usually helpful to give them a little.

Other than that, maybe if once a year in spring I use Fish and bone meal or chicken manure pellets spread around all borders etc.

Recently I put bark over ALL of my borders. Should I not have done this? I am wondering how I can add Fish and Bone or chicken manure pellets now I have done this.

What do you think?

Thank you in advance.

Fairygirl · April 2022

It's always better to add the BF&B before a mulch. I wouldn't worry too much, but if you really want to add the food, you can pull back the bark and tickle a little bit into the soil and replace the bark.
The chunky bark is fine around shrubs and trees, or anything woody, but it isn't so good around perennials, as it's easy for them to be covered by it if applied in winter conditions, when they're dormant, and it can cause a bit of rotting or damage to emerging stems. It's also a great place for slugs to hide. Composted bark is fine, or just compost, as they're a finer texture anyway.
If you're adding anything during the growing season, it's more difficult to apply unless there's a lot of gaps, which is why it's usually better to wait until autumn/winter. Home made compost is highly beneficial as is leaf mould, as they're great soil conditioners

Novice23 · May 2022

This is all great stuff. Like you Lincs-Newbie I get totally confused about feeding plants. I use BF&B in the spring and when I plant anything new, but have realised that is what is responsible for the luxuriant foliage and lack of flowers. So have decided to add Potash this year to try and increased the flowering. Is this likely to help.

I am sorry to sneak into your post Lincs-Newbie, hope you don't mind, but all this information has been so helpful and in an understandable way. Thanks everyone.

Fairygirl · May 2022

BF&B isn't necessarily the cause of poorer flowering. It's general purpose, slow release feed ,which is fine for virtually every plant, and is a good choice to get plants off to a good start.
Anything newly planted can take a while to be mature enough to flower, so it would depend on the maturity of the plant, and the type, as well as the general growing conditions, as to how quickly and how well it flowers.
Many plants need poorer soil to do well, as opposed to the ones @punkdoc mentions, which need loads. Many perennials start to diminish over time and need dividing to get them happy again. It's why they're often more labour intensive than shrubs.
It's really about doing a bit of research re the needs of individual plants.

Feeding confusion

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