Topic: No wonder my Exhibition onions weren't growing well !

[vegmandan]

My big show onion attempt this year has had mixed fortunes to say the least with a lot of the plants just slowly dying off one by one.

Decided to do a Nutrient and P.H test today and WOW check out the results.



This was tested on the same compost straight out of the bag.

Completely depleted Potash and Potassium. :o

A surplus of Nitrogen and a much too acidic P.H of 5.5 :o

So no wonder they weren't growing too well. >:(

[cambourne7]

i hope that you have written to the people who made the compost?

[laurieuk]

Soil test kits are really meant to test soil from your garden rather then made up compost. I doubt if you will ever get a true reading
from a mixed compost. The fact that all the feed is added means that it is bound to be in patches, not throughout as it is in garen soil that has been unaltered for months.

[davyw1]

What compost where the potted on into Multipurpose or M3 Potting compost.

[tonybloke]

Soil test kits are really meant to test soil from your garden rather then made up compost. I doubt if you will ever get a true reading
from a mixed compost. The fact that all the feed is added means that it is bound to be in patches, not throughout as it is in garen soil that has been unaltered for months.

I tend to agree! soil test 'kits' are not meant for this type of thing.
Was this a seed compost, or a multi - purpose, or a specific onion compost that you were growing your hoped-for champions in??
don't all the Onion experts make their own blends? ;)

[vegmandan]

What compost where the potted on into Multipurpose or M3 Potting compost.

It was a multipurpose with added john innes,I've never been able to get hold of any of that M3 stuff. :(

[davyw1]

What compost where the potted on into Multipurpose or M3 Potting compost.

It was a multipurpose with added john innes,I've never been able to get hold of any of that M3 stuff. :(

This should be availible

Humax Medium Blend Sphagnum or
Potting Compost

[tonybloke]

loads of online suppliers of M3

[vegmandan]

Soil test kits are really meant to test soil from your garden rather then made up compost. I doubt if you will ever get a true reading
from a mixed compost. The fact that all the feed is added means that it is bound to be in patches, not throughout as it is in garen soil that has been unaltered for months.

I tend to agree! soil test 'kits' are not meant for this type of thing.
Was this a seed compost, or a multi - purpose, or a specific onion compost that you were growing your hoped-for champions in??
don't all the Onion experts make their own blends? ;)

But if there was any Potash or Potassium in it in the form of powdered fertilizer it should have shown up in the test, as it is water soluble in compost as it is in soil.

If,as stated above that fertilizer will only appear "In Patches" then presumably if you potted 100 tomatoes up then you should expect some to be planted in infertile compost ?

I don't think so myself,the fertilizer should be adequately mixed so as to be evenly distributed throughout a bag.

I must have just got a duff bag.

Far from considering myself an Onion Expert,I do know that a lot of the real experts use M3 compost and don't blend their own compost like you suggest.

Wink Wink. ;) ;) ;) ;)

[realfood]

Which was the make of the compost that caused you all this trouble?
Were these the onions that you were growing from "Pips" for your challenge to grow the biggest onions? I hope that enough have survived for you to have a reasonable chance.