fertilizer

ive been looking at tomato fertilizer and im amazed at how many there are and wondered what other growers would recommend

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on February 29, 2012 at 12:04

SNAIL.................I am currently battling to get rid of Horseradish from my plot, which is invasive like Comfrey .

Though i am aware of the virtues of Comfrey, not on my plot mate..But feel free to ask away, we're all here to help each other...

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Permalink Reply by samm on February 29, 2012 at 12:16

Stephen I like weeds, well some weeds lol, bindweed and ground elder are not my faves lol

you're talking to a girl who created a 100% wildlife garden outa nothing in a grey concrete urban environment lol, and to this day my friends are speechless that I get excited at the british wildflowers I've managed to grow lol 'where's the flowers?/ oh is that it??' lol but I realise in this forum I am surrounded by 'kings and queens of veg growing' and I didnt know if they might think that I was wasting my time growing comfrey....anyway I planted it on the 16th feb....I'll leave it in there a few more days and then do you reckon I should take it out and see if it does any better 'un-heated'?? or start again??

and I just got your comment Fred, OMG should I stick it in a pot like the mint??? I take it you dont use it?? but I'm with you with horseradish blurgggggg :}

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on February 29, 2012 at 13:02

Samm you've changed your name...I think it will need a large container not a pot....

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Shirley on February 29, 2012 at 15:13

That's my point - a weed is only a plant in the wrong place.

As to the Comfrey I would personally grow in the ground so you get maximum leaf growth etc. But what I would do is grow it in its own bed. Either create a planting pit by going down 3 feet or so and lining the sides with something the roots wont go through - or (easier) plant in a bed surrounded by grass that will a) make spreading less of an option for the plants and b) make any that do sucker through easily controllable with the mower.

samm said:

Stephen I like weeds, well some weeds lol, bindweed and ground elder are not my faves lol

you're talking to a girl who created a 100% wildlife garden outa nothing in a grey concrete urban environment lol, and to this day my friends are speechless that I get excited at the british wildflowers I've managed to grow lol 'where's the flowers?/ oh is that it??' lol but I realise in this forum I am surrounded by 'kings and queens of veg growing' and I didnt know if they might think that I was wasting my time growing comfrey....anyway I planted it on the 16th feb....I'll leave it in there a few more days and then do you reckon I should take it out and see if it does any better 'un-heated'?? or start again??

and I just got your comment Fred, OMG should I stick it in a pot like the mint??? I take it you dont use it?? but I'm with you with horseradish blurgggggg :}

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on February 29, 2012 at 21:23

Stephen is right.. Horseradish & comfrey should be grown in a pit, with 12" reinforced concrete walls, lead lined and with an Agent Orange overhead sprinkler system.....

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Permalink Reply by samm on March 1, 2012 at 9:17

ok Fred, I'm sensing a theme here, agent orange??/really??? lol...well the seeds aint growing anyway so it all might be a mute point...and if I've gotta find some big plot for it all on it's own with concrete bunker sides 10ft down..I grow on clay for goodness sake, to get that far down I'd need a mechanized digger!!!!!!, its not gonna happen, my garden's too full of plants as it is, hence a lot of container growing going on this spring.....not much gardening today though, it's sooo misty I cant see the other side of the road.... :(

and my name is Samantha Fred, dont fall over, lol snail is used in other forums on the web, but when you were typing it it looked kinda daft for some reason so I changed it for you..

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on March 1, 2012 at 9:50

Good morning Samantha Weather in the centre of the universe is slightly misty, early start up the farm today, peas, garlic & shallot sets to put in, plus construct a cloche over the shallot seedlings, frost is forecast for Sat / Sun. nights..To my mind when growing invasive / hard to get rid of plants you want a big plot where you can afford to lose a section..We have a local farm who deliver a tractor trailer load of manure (3 cubic yards) for £35, so i just go down that road for a general fertiliser...Anyways we are of up the farm.......Later..

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Permalink Reply by samm on March 1, 2012 at 11:01

aq farm and an allotmen??t, gosh I'm feeling a bit inadequate...so you've been at this veg growing a long time then?? I must be as annoying as a kid keep asking 'why's the sky blue mum?' so thanks for your patience

I havent stuck anything in outside yet, though my peas (greenhurst shaft) have sprouted already inside (that soaking them overnight was like a miracle, they sprouted within a day and are already about 2inches high 3 days later, just got the 12 plants (6 in a bed and 6 in containers) and the only onions I'm doing are pink spring onions (yes a bit girlie!! and definately not 'super prize winning onions) but they'll do the job....

when do you reckon the spuds can go in???especially as we're still having frost as you said for the weekend?? mine are definately ready to be planted but I dont want to kill em by being too eager

ok, see ya tomorrow...chores then digging...there's no helpers round here (you said 'we are going to the farm'), husband would rather die than garden lol and son would concrete for his cars lol

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Permalink Reply by Colin Dixon on March 1, 2012 at 13:36

Regarding Comfrey. Bocking number 14 is the variety to go for if you dont want it to be invasive. This has to be grown from root cuttings which are easily available on E-bay. If you buy now (up to 10x root cuttings for maybe £5 or so) then you should get about 2 or 3 cuttings later this year, then even more next year. Bocking number 14 is a sterile variety so does'nt self seed i.e one plant will remain in its own space. You can of course then take as many root cuttings as you want from your plants once established. To make tomato fertiliser just chop up the leaves and add to a container and steep in water for a few weeks (ensure you've got a lid on it as it will smell like nothing else on earth - maybe a couple of foreign cheeses??). Once you've got enough comfrey then just chop it up and use as a mulch around your plants. Great as a compost activator too.

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Permalink Reply by Bobby on March 1, 2012 at 14:06

I just ordered some bocking 14 cuttings. I knew they are the best nutrient-wise, but I didn't reaslise they are also less invasive and sterile - that's great to know.

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Permalink Reply by Fred Hogg on March 1, 2012 at 22:02

Samm..... if you look on my blog, you will see, the name and number of my 5 pole allotment plot........It might explain a few things

Also i am a one fingered typist....

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Permalink Reply by Catherine on March 1, 2012 at 22:37

I didn't buy any liquid fertilizer last year. I cut all the new tops off my ditch of nettles and put them in a big container and filled with water, after 2 weeks you can use it. Then just keep topping it up with more water! I also got some seaweed and did the same with that.

I bought some Comfrey roots last year too , they seem to grow better than seeds. I had a small crop, but they are about an inch high this year already!