Using Fertilisers and Quality Composts

Very few plants can achieve rapid growth without a healthy boost of nutrients during their optimum growing season. Feeds and compost are some of the obvious choices to boosts the plants opportunity for a healthy development. As plants develop and the shoots and leaves begin to appear the plant itself suffers a huge depletion of resources which need to be replenished through the surrounding soil or by physical intervention through the application of natural or artificial fertilisers.

Fertilisers can come in a variety of forms including dry or liquid fertilisers. Whilst these would be applied to the plants surrounding soil you can also use foliar fertilisers that can be applied to the plants leaves and foliage. Foliar fertilisers that contain magnesium are particular good at assisting fruiting vegetation whilst the iron based fertilisers are particularly good for acid loving plants.

Whenever you use fertilisers always:

• Read the manufacturers instruction for use
• Only feed the plant when it is actively growing
• Avoid sunlight when applying fertiliser, many can scorch the plant
• Always water the soil first, avoid fertilising dry plants

Composts are particularly good for providing plant food and can be home produced or bought directly from quality outlets that stock quality manufactured composts with well  documented garden advice. Well degraded plant and animal waste provide excellent sources of nutrients and they also assist activity of earthworms and other soil creatures.