Get the best results from your vegetables by feeding them growth-boosting nutrients
In most greenhouses and polytunnels, the most familiar object at this time of the year are those big red bottles of fertiliser that are used, in diluted form, to encourage tomatoes to ripen. Tomato food is high in potassium, which encourages bigger fruit and it should only be used once the flowers have started to set fruit.
Prior to this, a fertiliser that’s high in nitrogen should be used in order to encourage leafy growth.
All plants need nutrients, including traces of calcium, magnesium and other elements, and one of the best ways of adding these to flower and shrub borders is by mulching in spring and autumn with garden compost or well-rotted manure. If that’s in short supply, then a sprinkling of general purpose fertiliser, such as Growmore, will top up nutrient levels in the soil.
Vegetable gardens have a high nutrient demand because cropping removes goodness from the soil, so as well as mulching regularly, these should be given a top-dressing of slow-release fertiliser in early summer.
There are sufficient nutrients in most composts to keep plants in containers fed for around six weeks, but after that levels will need topping up. You can use a slow-release fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone that will last for up to four months or a controlled release fertiliser which will last even longer.
The alternative is to apply quick-release fertiliser in liquid form every two weeks. Use it more frequently than this and you risk promoting spindly growth.
Organic fertilisers including chicken manure and seaweed have become more popular in recent years and you can also make effective fertiliser at home using comfrey that’s been crushed and squeezed, and the juice diluted in water, and while highly effective, this is also a bit of a smelly option.
Meanwhile, keep adding grass clippings and other garden waste to the compost heap in order to provide your garden with a good supply of mulch.
And while leafmould is low in nutrients, it is also worth making as much of this as possible, as it will improve the texture of your soil, which will in turn lead to better crops.