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Raised beds top dressing - what do you recommend in spring?

jpbragatti92867jpbragatti92867 Posts: 12
in Fruit & veg
Hey everyone,

I have 8 large raised beds, and my greenhouse, which I used to grow vegetables and flowers this year.
What do you recommend doing in spring to get the soil good to go for another season?
This year I bought bags of rotted manure and mixed it in the top layer of the soil in spring, but I was wondering if it has all the nutrients that need replacing?

Thank you so much!

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Rotted manure will add just about all your soil needs for a season.
    It may lack some vital micronutrients so I supplement it with seaweed meal.
    I also use seaweed extract 3 or 4 times over the season.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • jpbragatti92867jpbragatti92867 Posts: 12
    Pete.8 said:
    Rotted manure will add just about all your soil needs for a season.
    It may lack some vital micronutrients so I supplement it with seaweed meal.
    I also use seaweed extract 3 or 4 times over the season.
    So would you say the manure, plus some seaweed extract, and I wouldn't have to use liquid fettulizers for my vegetables? 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Yes - You only need to use fertilizers ever in the garden if there's something missing from your soil.
    Manure adds organic matter that will be broken down by bacteria and fungi into plant foods - feed the soil and the soil will feed your plants.

    Seaweed isn't a proper fertilizer but it does contain lots of micronutrients vital for plant health that may be missing from your soil.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • jpbragatti92867jpbragatti92867 Posts: 12
    Pete.8 said:
    Yes - You only need to use fertilizers ever in the garden if there's something missing from your soil.
    Manure adds organic matter that will be broken down by bacteria and fungi into plant foods - feed the soil and the soil will feed your plants.

    Seaweed isn't a proper fertilizer but it does contain lots of micronutrients vital for plant health that may be missing from your soil.
    That's good to know, so would you say that it would be OK to use liquid fertilizers only for tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and as for "leafy" things like kale, cabbage, to just have the manure in spring + seaweed meal 3-4 times in the season? That would make it much easier
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    The type of feed depends on the plant.
    For something that provides fruit e.g. tomatoes, peppers and chilli a high potash fertilizer is best. That encourages flowers. More flowers = more fruit.
    It's also fine for cucumbers, but I find a feed with more nitrogen works better.

    For leafy plants, nitrogen is the leaf-maker.

    I use high potash feed for tomatoes and the like.
    For the rest (cucumbers, lettuce etc.) I use ordinary Miracle Gro (or phostrogen).
    Plants in the ground shouldn't really need additional fertilizers though if the soil is good.

    Kale and cabbage doesn't really need any additional fertilizers other than what is in the soil.

    Read up a bit on NPK that should clarify things for you

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • jpbragatti92867jpbragatti92867 Posts: 12
    Yes, thank you. Ive read about that before, my only question was whether they still needed it if I used the manure at the start of the season. 
    Trying to avoid having to use liquid fertilisers as I find it a bit annoying to apply to so many plants. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    No - unless your plants are showing a deficiency of some sort, then no - additional fertilization is not needed.

    I feed plants in pots and plants in my greenhouse border with liquid feed and that's it.
    Everything else gets manure and/or blood fish and bone and some seaweed meal a couple of times a year.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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