Giving plants an extra boost

Supplements help plants reach their potential, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

WE are at an exciting season, as we watch this year’s plants come back into growth, sow our seeds and plan our edible cultivations for the coming months.

However, while giving plants a good start is important, it is also only a fraction of what needs doing through the year.

While plants do well in nutrient-rich soil that has been improved with well-rotted manure and compost, they will do even better if given extra nourishment through the growing season.

In particular, flowers and crops in containers and growbags need extra feeding as they soon gobble up the goodness in their compost and show signs of starvation. These include poor cropping and flowering, plus pale or yellowing leaves, known as chlorosis.

As well as container plants needing an extra boost, anything growing in light soils may be undernourished because watering and rain washes away nutrients (though you can help prevent this by digging in well-rotted compost or manure to bulk up the soil and help it hold on to moisture and goodness).

There is a fertiliser or supplement for every general and specific need, and it can be confusing if you don’t know what to look for.

The main components of most feeds are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, seen on labeling as ‘NPK’.

Nitrogen (the ‘N’ on labels) is essential for plants grown for their leaves, such as foliage shrubs and leafy veggies. Sulphate of ammonia would be a go-to fertiliser here.

Potassium (K) boosts flowering and cropping and can be found in sulphate of potash, homemade comfrey feeds (see right) and liquid tomato feeds.