Allotments 4 All

Am I right in thinking that to top dress, you just put it on top of the ground?  Or do I have to dig it?
Sorry I don't really come from a background of growing soft fruit.

Yes, you just scatter it around the plants, it will wash into the soil as it rains or you water.

Quote from: Paulh on May 10, 2018, 13:21:06
Yes, you just scatter it around the plants, it will wash into the soil as it rains or you water.

Thanks for that, that is what I did, but it still seems to be there despite heavy rain in the first few weeks of April.  I suppose it is possible that the nutrients washed into the soil

This is how I carry out top dressing prior to planting out.

If applying later in the season spread it similarly between the rows and hoe it in!

Thanks for that, I don't have a hoe, but I will try with a trowel.

Quote from: davholla on May 10, 2018, 20:37:25
Thanks for that, I don't have a hoe, but I will try with a trowel.

If you have a rake or garden fork, drag it back and forth. The object is to place the granules just below the surface, so they absorb some water and soften.

Incidentally a ring of growmore will put slugs off in anything except really wet weather (it is a mixture of salts including nitrates and phosphates and works just  like salt as long as it is still visible as little balls) - sorry if I left this late - but it turned out to be useless until now anyway.

It's worth sieving the little balls out of the mix for this purpose - I just shake them to the top and cream them off - I keep them dryer in a plastic bottle. The dust that remains is fine for normal uses (but don't scatter it if there's wind - absolutely none of it will go where you want). I've no idea if the balance of nutrients changes - I've never noticed any difference.

Cheers.