Topic: Vitax potatoe fertiliser

[Marlborough]

Hi, has anybody used Vitax potatoe fertiliser when growing potatoes in containers? I know it is expensive but it gets good reviews and contains twice as many nutrients as blood and bone meal. Any advice appreciated.

[galina]

If it really only contains the same nutrients as blood and bone meal just in higher concentration, why not use twice the amount of cheaper blood and bone?  Maybe I am missing the point (wouldn't be the first time    )  I just don't believe in 'reassuringly expensive' products and their marketing without very good reason. 

[Ellen K]

I'm with G on this.  When you look at the NPK ratios, Growmore is a good product and you can often pick it up at £1 per kilo or less.

But I did buy something fancy from B&Q - they are selling their Verve "soluble potato plant food" for £2 for a 1 kg box - NPK = 6:12:36 plus a load of trace metals which probably don't do much.  Good for tomatoes and onions too I reckon.

You can also buy "organic potato fertiliser" in 1 kg boxes from Poundland.  I've used that too and it's good stuff to bung in when planting.

[Digeroo]

I bought some in a sale.  I did not notice anything different. 

I buy BFB in 25 kg sacks so works out quite cheap.  About 60p a kilo. 

But I have been pleased with their root veg fertiliser (also being sold off), carrots have done well but there were other factors.

I would not buy it full price. 

[Gavin63]

Potatoes require large amounts of potassium to get a high yield . fertilisers such as growmore and fish blood and bone have a relatively low nutrient content and would  need to be applied in large quantities(8 oz Yd2)to apply sufficient nutrients for a good crop!.This would need to be suplimented with around 1oz Yd2 of potassium sulphate/Nitrate. Potatoes also have a relatively large demand for calcium which is best applied as Calcium Nitrate during bulking at around 1oz Y2.

[galina]

Potatoes require large amounts of potassium to get a high yield . fertilisers such as growmore and fish blood and bone have a relatively low nutrient content and would  need to be applied in large quantities(8 oz Yd2)to apply sufficient nutrients for a good crop!.This would need to be suplimented with around 1oz Yd2 of potassium sulphate/Nitrate. Potatoes also have a relatively large demand for calcium which is best applied as Calcium Nitrate during bulking at around 1oz Y2.

according to this website
http://www.gro-welldirect.co.uk/fertilisers/general-garden-fertiliser/potato-fertiliser/vitax-organic-potato-fertiliser/

Vitax has N.P.K: 4:2.5:8

http://www.william-sinclair.co.uk/gardening/products/plant_food

Growmore  has 7:7:7

Fish/blood/bone has npk 5 - 5 - 6.5

apart fron Vitax containing much less phoshorus than Growmmore or FFB, the potassium ratio is very similar.  Vitax that has been specially formulated (so they say), does not appear to contain much potassium at all. How do we know that potatoes need so much potassium, Gavin?

[Gavin63]

Do a scientific literature search regarding potato fertiliser requirements and you will see that potassium is required in large quantities, more than any other nutrient. I followed the professional fertiliser recommendations this year and got double the yield of the standard 4oz yd2 growmore.The fertiliser I used was 12-11-18 +20%SO3+2.5%Mg+B+Fe+Zn+Mn, a professional fertiliser at£17/25Kg much cheaper per unit than Growmore/FBB.
This was supplemented with 1ozyd2 of Calcium Nitrate and Potassium Nitrate at tuber bulking.The results speak for themselves, do some research and you may be surprised!.

[galina]

Do a scientific literature search regarding potato fertiliser requirements and you will see that potassium is required in large quantities, more than any other nutrient. I followed the professional fertiliser recommendations this year and got double the yield of the standard 4oz yd2 growmore.The fertiliser I used was 12-11-18 +20%SO3+2.5%Mg+B+Fe+Zn+Mn, a professional fertiliser at£17/25Kg much cheaper per unit than Growmore/FBB.
This was supplemented with 1ozyd2 of Calcium Nitrate and Potassium Nitrate at tuber bulking.The results speak for themselves, do some research and you may be surprised!.

Would you please kindly share with us the relevant urls, Gavin?  Save us replicating all your research.  Much appreciated. 

[Gavin63]

I would if I could but using a mobile phone I can't put links on.If you do a Google search for"potato fertiliser requirements" hundreds of pages will come up look for the "official" ones not the gardening orientated ones. The ones I found most useful were the potato growers organisations(Potato council etc), Haifa, PDA and DEFRA.They may seem heavy going at first but just take your time and the information soon sinks in, I found the trouble well worth it and had a huge yield increase as a result.

[ajb]

and, where do you go to get the pro fertiliser?

[Gavin63]

At most agricultural/Horticulural merchants got my last bags from dejex nr Boston.

[Digeroo]

Does this fertiliser have a trade name?

Found all 25kg (except angus)
Elliots which is NPK: 6:10:10.
Interhort ANALYSIS: N6 - P10 - K10  £17 plus vat
Keith singleton ANALYSIS: N6 - P10 - K10  19.99 incl vat
Elixir Spuds galore 12-11-18 £32.18  This appears to included p&p
Angus [14-14-21] £24 presume plus vat for 20kg

Seems to be quite a variation about what a potato needs.

Just to compare BFB   13.80 plus vat

I have also found something called pyramid fertiliser, presume this essential if you want to grow a really large pyramid.

I actually found that watering made a huge different.  I watered one side of my patch nearest my water butt into which I put stinging nettles, and I easily got between 4 and 10 times the amount of potatoes per original potato.   Averaging about 8.   

They all were mulched up and had lots of manure.

[Gavin63]

Either Paddock royale or Yara Milla complex the same product just aimed at different markets. 12-11-18 plus sulphur, Mg, B, Zn, Mn and Fe.recommended rate for potatoes upto 125g/m2.Growmore is only 7-7-7 and FBB 5-5-6.5 so you can see that it contains double or more nutrients per unit.