Topic: Fertiliser application

[tim]

xx oz/sq yd

Yes - but how much per 'running' yard - a much more usual need??

[lincsyokel2]

1 good handful per square yard = 100 grams.

Trust me. Works for most top dressings.

[goodlife]

Tim what kind of fertilizer are you going to apply and for what?

[tim]

Mainly before planting Brassica. Growmore or BF&B.

Two different things.

I know the sq yd figure = 2 1/2 - 5 oz sq/yd.

How does this relate to a running yard??

Or per plant, for that matter!

[goodlife]

Ah..then I would measure like mention before..good handfull per plant or over sq yrd...either kind of feed.
With brassicas its relatively safe measure..they are greedy feeders and even if you over do it..they don't get hurt.
Suppose if you know your bed length and width..you know how many sq yards= same amount of 'good' handfulls spread over the area before planting.
Is that the answer you were looking for?

[lincsyokel2]

Mainly before planting Brassica. Growmore or BF&B.

Two different things.

I know the sq yd figure = 2 1/2 - 5 oz sq/yd.

How does this relate to a running yard??

Or per plant, for that matter!

Whats your definition of  'running yard'?

Its usually used in the clothes making industry to indicate yards  off a roll of fabric, which is usually 54" wide.

Cant see what it has to do with fertilizing square yards of allotment. All you need to know is square yards and grams per sq/yd, and off you go. Most of my beds are a metre wide and seven metres long, so seven good handfulls does it. Its rarely ever that critical.

[davyw1]

Why scatter your fertilizer onto parts of the soil where you are not going to grow anything, whats wrong with just sprinkling some around the plant so it all goes where it is needed.
If you you use growmore just make sure it does not touch the stem

[goodlife]

When I prepare bed for planting I do spread fertilizer like BFB over the bed and rake it in..the later applications I do however sprinkle just around each plant.
I assume that is what Tim is doing too...he did mention 'as preparation before planting'
As for 'running yard' ...there is still some agricultural packaging where this term is used. But as for relation with the application rate or method..it depends with the rest of the instruction contents how it is referred. As for allotment/garden use..it should not apply as the count is done in different scale.

[Tulipa]

Tim, do you mean along a planting line?  Say you were sprinking fertiliser in a 6" band, then the amount advised per square yard would cover 6 yards, a 3" band would cover 12 yards? Or a 1" line of fertiliser would cover 36yards with the amount recommended for a square yard.  I'm not sure if that is what you are asking, ignore me if it isn't! :-[ :-[  Hope all is well with you x

[lincsyokel2]

Why scatter your fertilizer onto parts of the soil where you are not going to grow anything, whats wrong with just sprinkling some around the plant so it all goes where it is needed.
If you you use growmore just make sure it does not touch the stem

Because it doesn't make a blind bit of difference, it all goes into the soil and it can all be drawn up by the plant, even a metre from the plant.

When nutrients sit in  the soil it forms a free radical gradient of ionised nutrients. If a plant draws nutrients from one spot, the nutrients will flow across to fill the hole. The further away they are, the slower this happens.

The level of nutrients in a growing medium is measured  at the simplest level by the eC or Ionic conductivity of the medium.

[tim]

Careless talk costs lives. Especially in face of the experts on this Forum!!

Back to square one. Yes - what I meant was a yard run in the row. I had assumed that a plant only fed from - say - a foot around it. It therefore seemed a huge waste to cover large areas elsewhere with quite expensive stuff.

Surely it is more economical to give each plant its own ration - especially during long periods of drought when feed cannot move far in the soil??

[Digeroo]

good handfull per plant

Must depend on the size of your hand.

I agree with Tim on free draining soils it does matter because unused fertilizer will simply in the end be washed out and not be available in the future.  Any

free radical gradient

is much more likely to be downwards rather than sideways.  Though personally I have no space between plants. 

[lincsyokel2]

Careless talk costs lives. Especially in face of the experts on this Forum!!

Back to square one. Yes - what I meant was a yard run in the row. I had assumed that a plant only fed from - say - a foot around it. It therefore seemed a huge waste to cover large areas elsewhere with quite expensive stuff.

Surely it is more economical to give each plant its own ration - especially during long periods of drought when feed cannot move far in the soil??

Like most things to do with allotments, ask 8 people a question and you'll get 10 opinions. Im all for a handfull in the hole when you plant it, but after that any top dressing might as well go all over, it all enriches the soil.

I wouldn't disagree entirely with your last remark.

[lincsyokel2]

good handfull per plant

Must depend on the size of your hand.

Thats why i like imperial measures rather than metric. They're common sense and dont need special measuring instruments.

Most adult six foot males hands will hold 4 ounces of powder.
His foot will be a foot long
a yard will be the tip of his nose to the end of his finger, or one stride long, hence a cricket pitch is twenty two strides.
an allotment is seven yards wide and 70 yards long, traditionally, because you need seven yards to turn  horse and plough in, being 5¹/₂ yards from the ploughmans heel to the horses nose, and is called a pole
etc etc.

[tim]

Amazing what one learns every day?

[pigeonseed]

Most adult six foot males hands will hold 4 ounces of powder.

But how to persuade them?