nutrients

Hi, last summer I completely redid my front garden including importing an organic mixture of better quality soil, compost and a little sand, I also included some well rotted manure for good measure. All the new plants loved it and grew and flowered superbly; now I am wondering if all the rain we are having will wash the nutrients out of the soil and how will I know? I am also wondering if you are having the same thoughts and what you will do about it.
Appreciate any replies,
Brian.

Re: nutrients

Hi Brian I think some nutrients are water soluble so leach out.
Improving the quality and texture of the soil is a good thing to do but I also add a top dressing of nutrients each year before planting like Blood and bone,Growmore or a plant specific fertiliser to replace those taken up by plants the previous year or the weather.

You can get soil testing kits of various kind but the things you plant will often give you warning they are deficient in some nutrient by the colour of their leaves etc.

Re: nutrients

I have the same thing every year Brian - you get used to it and adapt.

I tend to use Chicken Manure more now but I too swap-out some soil and make up my own mix of top soil, compost and sharp sand in some beds, bi-annually usually, depending on performance the previous year.

I grow my own limited supply of vegetables so that is where I tend to use the most Chicken Manure or Fish, Blood & Bone.
You have to be careful though or it can have effects on your produce so for root veggies I bulk-up best as I prepare them at the end of the year usually if I'm using Chicken Manure.

I've tried Growmore and Miracle Grow too but to be honest I've not see a great improvement in veggie yields but I have had far too much vegetation on both veggies and flowering plants.

I've also used various types of soluble feeds with some good results but that all depends what you are growing for, for show or for eating.

I grow a lot from seed or cuttings so my plants are quite hardy by the time I plant-out as I often start them off at work because there's a glass greenhouse that rarely gets used to it's full potential there, simply because I don't get that much time to garden at work.

If it were me Brian, I'd just add Fish, Blood & Bone when I plant-out this year - then keep an eye on 'em! stevmk2

Re: nutrients

Thanks Meg, I hadn't thought of the possibility of a testing kit I will look into it. A top dressing seems a good idea.

Re: nutrients

Hi Steve, thanks for the thoughts on Growmore and Miracle grow I will bear it in mind, I have mostly perennial flowers in the front garden so will need to look for something specific I suppose. I do wonder about feeding afresh in the spring if I may be overdoing it considering the new soil was so fertile just a few months ago. Megs idea of a testing kit could be the way to go.

Re: nutrients

Brian, I use an acidity tester only - a simple gadget with two prongs that you insert in the earth to give an acidity reading.
It also gives the moisture content, which is handy for raised beds & pots so you don't inadvertently over-water.
Another handy option is a light meter that's built into it.

I use that quite a lot too because my garden's North-facing so planting sun-lovers can be a problem so checking light levels is a good double-check.

I bought my tester at a garden centre and it wasn't expensive either.

I used to use soil testing kits but this gadget gives me all I really need to know about each area I test; to do that with soil testing kits can be very fiddly!

I'm quite lucky with my home garden because it's Neutral soil so doesn't really need a lot of tweaking for flowering plants and my raised beds are maintained and fed for veggies only so they'll tend to be more alkaline anyway.

I have acid-loving plants in the ground here because I monitor their acidity and use acid fertilisers if they need it but I use a general fertiliser most of the time, like Tomato Food.

This is cheap, well-balanced feed and it doesn't have to be an expensive name brand either - I buy about 3 - 5 litres at a time and just about everything gets some because I put it in one of my water butts with acid feed in another now.

By the way, acid feed can sometimes help with plants that do not need an acid soil because it has some ingredients at greater concentrations than a non-acid plant fertilisers.

Yellow or reddish coloured leaves, stunted growth and poor flowering are all common symptoms of nitrogen deficiency, potassium deficiency or magnesium deficiency!

I tried it on one of my 8 Tomato plants this year - better and stronger foliage on that one and the Tomatoes seemed sweeter - could be my imagination though! stevmk2

Re: nutrients

Seems to me Brian, you've done all that is necessary to make perfect conditions for all this years new plants.
I'd go with hoeing in some fish blood and bone etc., unless you are expecting to grow shrubs or trees with deep roots. (over a spade deep)
An easy (and cheap) test for soil is put some dry soil in a container and add half a cup of vinegar, if it bubbles or fizzes it is alkaline.
In another container put dry soil then half a cup of water, then half a cup of baking soda and again if it bubbles or fizzes it is acidic

Re: nutrients

Janela that sounds very scientific and a lot cheaper than the expensive tests ,
People used to use litmus paper but it isn't so readily available these days...

The colour of a hydrangea in the garden is meant to be a good indicator of acid/alkaline soil too .

Re: nutrients

Meg, I read it somewhere quite recently It stuck in my brain because we all have those ingredients in the store cupboard
Yes, I'd forgotten litmus paper!
The yellow leaves on my Camelia tell me it needs a special feed!

Re: nutrients

Heavy rain will leach away the nutrients. I used to use soil testing kits years ago but it was quite a bit of trouble to do so. For many years now I've taken to spreading a 25kg bag of Growmore balanced fertilizer over all my garden except the lawns in early spring - it seems to do the trick as I normally get a decent crop.