What compost would you recommend please for those grown by the ring culture process? I have similar ring culture pots which dig in and sit on top of large pots and I normally use grow bag compost and sometimes spent compost with some general fertilizer mixed in.
Strangely enough I am going to be faced with a similar situation this year now that I have got rid of one of my allotments and I brought an 8' x 6' greenhouse up home where I plan to grow Tomatoes & Peppers using 'Ring Culture' on a concrete floor.
OK!
In terms of how I used them on the Allotment I think this link will be the best way to show you how I grew my plants.
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/R/Ring%20Culture/Ring%20Culture.htmNow for this year;.....First of all look at the pictures below to see my plan. The only difference from the link is I laid a timber kerb on the concrete flags and filled the void with rotted manure as a moisture reservoir at the allotment but this year I plan not to do that, only time will tell if this will be successful!
Regarding the compost I use this usually turns out to be whatever suitable material I have at hand.
Let me explain; I never throw my 'seed compost' away after I have pricked out my new seedlings, similarly if I have emptied any pots I save that compost to for re-use.
My theory as to why I don't use 'new' compost is....if I was growing in the border I would not change the soil i.e. I use the border soil time and time again.
OK I do plan my beds in a way to ensure I do not grow say Tomatoes in the same bed the following year and this tends to prevent any build up disease in the soil.
As I see it! the way I produce my compost for ring culture means I am effectively changing the soil each year.
Next I riddle all this second hand compost to remove any root systems that may be in it. Then I add some really well rotted horse manure
( it looks like chocolate cake when it comes out of the dalek compost bin) with the second hand compost at a rate of around 50-50. ( I am never exact)
Then I add some fertiliser which could be either Vitax Q4, John Innes Base mix, Fish Blood & Bone or Growmore. This usually works out at about 3oz to a 2 gallon bucket of mixed compost. What I have started using lately is slow release pellets that I get from "Pound Shop".
I am never too worried about the strength of the mix as I look upon this as just a medium to hold moisture around the root ball. The real feeding starts when the first truss sets and I apply regular doses of high potash liquid feeding.
So you see I am not to fussy with my ring culture compost other than it must be 'humus rich' so that it holds moisture! or in other words....the proverbial loamy compost on the cheap.
Talking of being cheap! When I was but a lad I asked an old fella
what is the best " Green Manure" ? His reply was "
Pound Notes" the older ones among you will remember pound notes were " green"Well as I did not have many "Pound Notes" at hand, I had to try other methods and what I have written above is one of them.
So I hope this helps Pauline
(or anyone else for that matter! )....Tg