I have read that it is recommended that you feed over-wintering onions in early spring when they start to grow strongly.
Do you also feed garlic that was planted last November?
Furthermore, what type of fertiliser is recommended for the onions?
Thanks,
Thomas
try giving them some nitro chalk this will give them a boost
Try a good all round organic fertiliser, blood fish and bone it will feed the soil and then the plant - chemical fertilisers like nitrochalk tend to produce a soft lush growth that leaves the plants prey to pests and diseases.
Phil
I have some bone meal after another project...would this be suitable?
harry our 72year old allotment president swears by those chicken pellets you can pick up for £4 for a 7 ltr bucket at b&q
he uses it for anything and everything as a booster feed (manure in the autumn).
dunno if it's any good for onions particularly though...
svea
I've been throwing chicken poo on my sub-tropical plants for years and had no complaint. ;D
(http://img91.exs.cx/img91/6461/nana5cn.jpg) (http://www.imageshack.us)
I love the pelleted chicken poo! (apart from the smell!)
When should I apply it and how often?
Good, blood fished and boned about 2 weeks ago. Should I apply again in a few weeks time??
Quote from: aquilegia on February 28, 2005, 09:40:55
I love the pelleted chicken poo! (apart from the smell!)
When should I apply it and how often?
If its to go in your garden, I add one measure to a bucket of water, stir occasionally for half an hour to avoid the pong and pure it around your plants once a month in the growing season. 8) You will get a proportion of grit residue in the dregs but that must improve drianage long term I would think ??? 8)
I will just mix it in the compost up the lottie and add some to the compost bins as I read on here that its a good activator. ;D
Quote from: aquilegia on February 28, 2005, 09:40:55
I love the pelleted chicken poo! (apart from the smell!)
When should I apply it and how often?
Do you hold your nose as you are eating it then? ;D
Quote
Do you hold your nose as you are eating it then? ;D
Quote
;D Tee hee Snork ;D
;D ;D ;D
Lovely, Roy.
Thomas - I have always believed that n/c in the Spring is good for onions. (RHS - Research has shown that for autumn sowings of onions, a lack of nitrogen in early spring can also induce bolting, so topdressing such crops with 70-100g per sq m (2-3oz per sq yd) of nitrochalk in January is helpful.)
Garlic - the Garlicfarm recommends a good helping of Potash (2oz/sqyd) in February.
BF&B? I would say NO - one dressing will be fine for the life of the crop.
I added bone fish and blood . Can anybody tell me how to get rid of the cats and dogs please
;D
Rosemary
Bone meal 3:20:0 N:P:K
Chicken poo lots of Nitrogen and other bits
Both are "better" than nitrochalk as I said about BF&B above - less of a burst of nutrients
BF&B 5:5:6
Tim's right once, at this time of year once is enough for the organic fertilisers
Phil
I have found a feeding of tomorite makes them sit up and grow ...
Don't tell anyone but the show onion men around here use it too ..
But they hide it in fairy liquid bottles to add a squirt to watering can.. .Jim
Sorry to disagree with you Phil but my family were market gardeners for 4 generations,and since the sixties the over wintering spring onions were given a dressing of nitro chalk, and no problems with soft lush growth, nitro chalk was also given to the spring cabbage, a process we called dotting, as we had to bend are backs and give each plant a helping of nitro chalk. It made your back ache like hell especially after doing 10 acres.
Quote from: Roy Bham UK on February 28, 2005, 09:16:45
I've been throwing chicken poo on my sub-tropical plants for years and had no complaint. ;D
(http://img91.exs.cx/img91/6461/nana5cn.jpg) (http://www.imageshack.us)
I hope it had left the chickens by then Roy............ ;D ;D ;D
Richard - that's my teaching - but are there now better ways??
There were fewer 'controls' in those days?
Hello Tim-that is a good question about better ways personally myself I think not, I still use nitro chalk on my spring cabbage and think that it cannot be beaten.
By the way do you think these additives in food is a better way especially after the food scare last week
We'll have to agree to disagree on the chemical/organic fertiliser debate. I've done it both ways and now avoid chemical fertilisers. Gardening does generally boil down to "if it works for you ...." and any home grown veg is better than the supermarket stuff.
Those growing on alkaline soils should note that the chalk in nitrochalk means more calcium
Phil
Just searching on what to feed my overwintering garlic and found this thread.
If we use chicken manure pellets what dose should we use?
Ant, sorry can't advise about pellets, don't know - as Tim wrote before, the Garlic Farm recommends potash and that's what I did last week (and last year..and the year before.. cont.p92 :D). Praps others have used pellets & can give you the OK...otherwise a box of potash is a good buy I reckon.
Okay, but do you give them a high nitrogen feed as well or just the pot ash?
I only give potash for garlic....onions I don't know - only grow spring set ones :-\