Fertiliser newbie

[Bethkay12]

Hey guys!
I'm fairly new to the gardening scene, I have a small garden box out in my backyard.
I've seen a lot of people talking about fertilisers, but I have no idea when to fertilise, what kind to use, or how to do it really!
Any tips would be appreciated - I'm currently growing a tomato seedling, chilli seedlings, strawberries, carrots, basil and a wildflower assortment. My spinach and rocket have just bolted!

Thanks for your help!
Beth xx

[PaulF]

Next time you water add some plant food (Miracle-Gro or another similar brand). The regular or most common formula has high nitrogen which will give a quick boost to the foliage. I prefer to use "bloom booster" or whatever each brand calls their formula with lower N and higher P and K. That formula will be like 8-20-20 or close to it. That will increase root growth and flowering rather than leaf and stem growth.

Then every ten days or two weeks repeat the plant food addition to your watering. As you water the nutrients will wash out of the soil so you have to replace the food. You could use granular fertilizer and sprinkle it on the soil and work it in a little and watering will break down the granules gradually. For me, liquid is easier. I recommend about half the rate the box says to use. They are in the business of selling product rather than growing plants. (My opinion and not backed up by anything but experience)

[imafan26]

What kind of soil did you put in the box? The type of potting soil you used matters. Most commercial potting mixes like miracle grow potting mix already has some fertilizer in it as well as some dolomite lime to get past throug the first couple of months. After that I like to side dress. Tomatoes need more fertilizer than other plants because they are heavy feeders so I fertilize them with a tablespoon a month of tomato or citrus food. Carrots and other root crops don't need a lot of nitrogen but do need a well drained soft sandy soil. The use more phosphoruss and potassium and less nitrogen. Peppers are fed like tomatoes once they start blooming. Wild flowers probably don't need much fertilizer but some flowers prefer either and acidic or alkaline soil. The important thing to remember when putting plants together in one area is that they all like the same kind of soil conditions and that each plant will have enough space to grow and get enough light once everything grows up.

Eventually you will need to move some of those plants out. A tomato needs at least a 5 gallon container to itself and it will grow up unless you have a midget variety like red robin. Chili peppers should be spaced at least a foot apart but I like to give mine 18 inches for better air circulation. Carrots need to be spaced about 1-2 inches apart and unless you have a short variety it should have 10 inches minimum depth. Wild flowers depends on the variety.

You need to space plants according to their mature size. It looks tempting to plant more when they are small and we all have been guilty of overplanting. Follow the package guidelines for spacing.

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publica ... P291-N.pdf