Fertilising flower and veg beds

Posts

• B3 Posts: 27,505

  17 February

  Be careful using BFB if you have foxes. They will dig up your plants to get at it.

  In London. Keen but lazy.

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  17 February

  It largely depends on what you're growing. Manure mainly helps the soil structure, and has some nutrients, while BF&B is a general feed. 
  Not all veg needs that extra food, and some won't appreciate rich soil at all - carrots are a prime example. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• Fire Posts: 19,096

  17 February

  What type of flowers are you going to grow?
  

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• Salsmithy Posts: 28

  17 February

  Good point about the carrots. Mod if my flowers are perennials. Rudbeckia, astrantia, Achilles, hydrangea, Lillie’s, Japanese anenome but was going to try some annuals this year and dahlias. 

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  17 February

  Heavy flowering plants like dahlias would need something like tomato food - a high potash food. BF&B wouldn't do it, although a rich soil [ie with the manure] is very helpful.
  Most of my lilies are grown in containers, and would get an occasional feed as they die back, but the foliage is the main food source for bulbs, so any in the ground get nothing. Rudbeckias would also get tomato food as they're heavy flowerers, but there are varying types of those - annuals and perennials, and in good soil, they'd be fine. Mine are mainly in containers, so it's similar to he lilies, but mine are annual types, so again - that's where the difference can be with the treatment.  
  I never feed Achilleas, Hydrangeas, Astrantias or J. anemones, as the soil I have is clay, and has plenty of nutrients. The occasional addition of organic matter would be enough for most of those, unless there was somehting wrong with the soil mix.  

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• DaveGreig Posts: 189

  23 February

  I’ve learnt from experience not to top dress hydrangea with manure. When I’ve done it the flowers have been over large on weak stems and have keeled over. I will however top dress Lillies with manure because positive experience, tells me it does make a difference. Like Fairygirl I don’t feed the rest.
  When planting dahlias in open ground I’ll dig well rotted manure into the planting hole and would probably give them a wee dusting of blood fish and bone as well. The biggest enemy (and there are a few) with dahlia is slugs and snails so you need to get the feeding right because if you over do it the resulting soft juicy growth is a magnet for them. 

  There I go digressing and not answering the question. Sorry. BFB and manure both  have their uses  so I’m unable to say what’s better because they’re both useful in the right situations.
  The general rule of thumb with fertiliser is less is better. If I had to choose one of the 2 I’d have well rotted manure any day of the week but like everything else gardening related it’s all up for argument. It’s fun to experiment though.🙂
  
  

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• Liriodendron Posts: 8,328

  23 February

  If you grow annual flowers in rich soil, or feed them, they produce lush growth at the expense of flowers.

  Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.

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