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Fish blood and bone for herb seeds?
EMulingani
Posts: 2
Hi there - about to plant out herb and salad seeds (parsley, coriander, chives, rocket etc) and was going to work some fish blood and bone into the soil first. Is it OK to do this, and should I water it in and leave it for a few days before seeding? Or will it be too strong for seeds?
0
Posts
It's too early. There are special, low nutrient composts for sowing seeds. Once they get their first pair of true leaves or a bit bigger, you can pot them on into small cells or trays of compost with a bit more feed in ot but save the BF and B for when they're bigger.
If you're sowing directly into the ground then sow thinly. Once they reach the true leaf stage you should thin out the weaker ones leaving space for the stronger ones to develop in a decent growing space. Feed them BF and B only when they're small plants and growing well.
Last edited: 21 March 2017 11:00:20
If you think the soil really needs fertilizer I'd fork a little BFB in now but (like Obx) I'd probably start the seeds off in modules so you can plant little plugs out in a few weeks time. Go easy with it though - it is a bit strong for seedlings - I don't really use it where I'm sowing seeds.
If you have to direct sow (perhaps no room for seed trays etc) you could still do the BFB now (only a little!) but cover the soil to warm it up and sow the seeds in 2 to 3 weeks time.
Of course, if you're somewhere warm and mild like Cornwall this advice might not be pertinent.
Last edited: 21 March 2017 11:09:02
Ah, thank you both! I'm in Brighton, and it's quite mild at the moment, but I'll do as you suggest. I prefer to direct sow as I've not got much room for seed trays.