The need for feed...

Too many of us have a deep aversion to using fertiliser. If we can overcome it we’ll see plants prosper, blooms burgeon and fruits flourish

HAVE you ever wondered just how the council manages to grow and maintain such enormous, healthy-looking plants at your local park?

It might look like magic but there’s really no trick to it. The answer is judicious use of fertilisers.

Strong, healthy plants, shrubs and trees will come from feeding – a crucial and often overlooked aspect of gardening which overwhelms many people.

I don’t know if it’s our natural aversion to putting things on to the soil or the fact that there are so many different products on sale.

But many British gardeners simply don’t seem to have the knowledge or confidence to buy and use fertilisers on a regular basis.

The truth is, applying fertiliser is one of the easiest and most inexpensive tasks to do in your garden and the impact has to be seen to be believed.

This is also the perfect time of year to do it. And the faster- growing the plant, the more it will benefit from fertilising. So here’s a crash course in feeding plants.

Generally, they require three basic nutrients. There are loads of others but the main ones are nitrogen to help foliage; phosphorous for root growth; and potassium – potash as it is known – which helps produce fruit and flowers.

Keep those three simple ideas in mind when it comes to your garden and you should know what kind of fertiliser to look for in your garden centre.

Now you know what kind of growth you want to encourage, there are two basic types of feed on offer.

One is compound fertilisers also known as solids. The other is liquid, which needs to be mixed with water.

Granular fertiliser lasts longer because it breaks down slowly in the soil – the nutrients leach out of it over time and are taken up by the roots. Liquid is quickly taken up by the plant, giving an instant boost but it will need repeating more often and can be the more back-breaking of the two. For a general fertiliser that will work across the entire garden – flowers, borders, veg, trees and shrubs – I suggest classic UK brand Growmore. It’s got a good balance of those three key nutrients. Apply it to your borders by scattering, as if you’re feeding chickens. The rain and the sun will slowly break it down and the nutrients will dissolve and spread slowly into the soil. If you’re happy to spend a bit more, there are slow-release fertilisers. Miracle-Gro makes them. There are clever inventions like gobstoppers that you apply to the roots of each plant. They won’t release during the winter – only during the growing season – as they need moisture and warmth to activate.

Like a gobstopper which reveals different levels as you dissolve it, these slowly release nutrients and give months of feeding.

With liquid fertiliser, simply mix it in your watering can, or use a hose attachment that will dilute as you’re watering your garden.

You should definitely be using it on hanging baskets, containers and tubs with bedding plants such as geraniums and fuchsias.

Tomatoes and chillies are the same, because they’re working very hard and liquid feed is good for that.

Whichever type you choose, avoid leaf contact when applying if you can – it can cause scorching.

There are specific foliar fertilisers that you apply to leaves, but otherwise avoid it.

For the many people interested in organic gardening, feeds containing only naturally occurring ingredients can be the answer.

But do keep in mind that organic fertilisers are not a quick and easy fix in the way that chemical fertilisers are.

The reason is that organics need more time for moisture and beneficial organisms to break down their contents before the plants can use them.

The good thing is they’ll potentially continue to feed and condition your soil for years to come as they slowly break down.

Indoors, the Baby Bio bottle is as famous as Perrier, so don’t forget houseplants.

The key point to remember is that fertiliser is relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

If you do nothing other than buy Growmore and apply it on your borders you will still get great results.

It takes a couple of minutes and the benefits are enormous.

It won’t make up for bad soil structure (plenty of farmyard manure will do that), so don’t think of it as a shortcut.

Think of it as a wonderful boost of energy – we could all do with one of those sometimes.