Show Us Your Veg Patch - You Know You Want To!! (Merged Thread)

hathor

I was thinking of using Tomorite liquid as a general feed for my veggies, which include tomatoes, strawberries, mange tout peas, dwarf French beans (if they come up!), carrots, onions, and herbs various, but all in small quantities. Two questions strike me:

(1) Is this suitable for all the above, or should I restrict it to tomatoes & strawberries?

(2) Will the made-up solution keep? Reading the bottle while still in the shop, 'cos I haven't bought it yet, I see that I need to dilute it 20 parts to one (or whatever it said; obviously, I'll check carefully if I buy the stuff!) which might yield more than I need. Can I keep this to one side and apply it weekly till it's used up - I have no pets or sprogs to worry about helping themselves to anything poisonous - or will it go "off"/lose its potency? Obviously my thrifty impulses make me reluctant to chuck out any unused solution if I don't need to, plus, how to "chuck" when I don't have a garden?

Advice, please.

Jack's_mummy

I just use tomato feed on everything! I got a bottle in poundland and just put a cap full in a watering can of water.

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

i use tomato food for things that flower and then fruit, so beans, peas, corgettes etc..but have never used it on things like carrots, lettuce, etc as i always believed it was to encourage flowering and thus more fruit..which you don't want with carrots etc...but i could be wrong im just following what my grandad did when i was tiny and what my mum does now..so im sure someone with more experience will come and set me straight soon

Don't forget that you feed tomatoes in a morning and at ground level and if possible water them from below ...in the under pot etc...as they have different roots for the 2 jobs

ceridwen...
Glad you like the idea ... i was trying to get as much on the potio as possible

Primrose

Hathor - I too use liquid Tomorite for everything (one capful approx to a watering can) although I also do use chicken manure pellets on the veggie patch as well around mid July just to give plants a boost. And I never worry about Before Before dates either. I just keep using it until the container is empty.

wattapain

liquid seaweed is also very good & I use it as a general purpose food for everything!

hathor

Hi All

Having a sudden crisis of confidence, I thought I'd get back to basics and run this one by you all.

Taking some of the advice from Square Foot Gardening - ie compost from more than one source will have more nutrients, and coarse vermiculite helps with drainage/water retention - I have filled my existing containers with one third house plant compost, one third John Innes soil-based compost, and one third coarse vermiculite, all well blended before being piled on top of a layer of gravel, and well-watered. The containers all have drainage holes at the bottom.

I am about to fill a new, deeper storage crate type of container, so should I add in a handful of pelleted chicken poo to the mix, or "sow" a layer of it towards the bottom of the compost, then top up with more compost to add more nutrients to start things off? I think this time I will try to get some general-purpose compost of 2 different brands to mix with the vermiculite, but I had to use what I could get last time.

What do you think?

Primrose

When I put chicken manure pellets into patio containers I normally fork them into the top few inches of the soil on the basis that as they disintegrate and the pots are watered, the nutritional elements in them will dissolve and slowly drain downwards. If you put them in the lower part of the container, they may be too low to provide any benefit to the more shallow rooted plants. I also chop up banana skins very finely and rather than add them to the compost heap, stir them into the top few inches of the soil in containers. They quickly rot down and add a little extra humous and potassium to the soil.

shopaholictiedtheknot

Jack's_mummy wrote: »

I just use tomato feed on everything! I got a bottle in poundland and just put a cap full in a watering can of water.

Me too, I got some tomato feed for a quid too :T I love poundland!!

hathor

Good point, Primrose.
Rather than mix the pellets so they'd be evenly-distributed through the potting mix, maybe I'd to better to scatter a layer close to the top, then "bury" it as the container is filled up before planting. That way, the watering process will distribute the goodness downward as the roots spread toward the bottom of the box.

hathor

Hi folks
As you may recall, I only bought my potted strawberry last Sunday – it’s a fragaria ostara, perpetual-fruiting variety, with two flowers on – and put it on a sunny-in-the-mornings window ledge, inside.
It looked a bit droopy, but I put that down to it’s not having been well cared for in the greengrocer’s where I bought it from, and thought it would perk up with a drink or two. (Don’t we all?) The medium it’s in is fast-draining, as when I apply water it drips out the bottom of the pot almost straight away, so I stood it in a saucer.
I now realise it wasn’t thirsty, it’s poorly. The larger leaves are curling inwards, even though the “soil” is moist, and I spotted this morning that many of the leaves had a sort of white fungus or dusty stuff on them, plus the dreaded greenfly, or similar.
As it only has a couple of dozen leaves, I have given it a bed bath, and carefully wiped each of the leaves with damp kitchen towel to remove both white stuff and bugs.
Will this do the trick, or does it need further treatment or – fingers firmly crossed, I hope not – is it destined for the bin?
Heeeeeeellllllpppppp!