Lol wrote in message
...

"Spider" wrote in message
...
-snip-

Welcome to the wonderful world of gardening, and to this group.

thank-you

As has been suggested, do talk to your wife ..

one does not talk to my wife - one listens intently (and interestedly) :-)

Your neighbour's plants may be more established .. more well fed ..

What should I feed them on please ?
(the plants, not the neighbours) :-0

Before digging or planting, ask your wife if she has bulbs (hidden
underground!!) in that area. This way you'll avoid damaging these
latent
plants, and marital bliss will be assured. Similarly, if your wife has
always ruled the garden, it would be considerate (*essential*) to
discuss
allocation of jobs, intended plantings and so on.
A lady friend of mine is always struck with terror when her husband goes
into the garden. Fortunately, she is not struck dumb .. he now knows
his
place!

Unfortunately one of my earlier posts has disappeared - it explained that
my
wife has no gardening ambitions beyond having a newly mown lawn to
sunbathe
on, under well trimmed hedges that do not shade the sun and to smell sweet
fragrances (not normally associated with dandelions) - so have no concerns
for my safety :-)

Oh yes .. do buy your own tools, especially hand tools, and make sure
they're comfortable and safe to use.

Spider

many thanks - :-)

Lol


Hi again, Lol

I did see your previous post which describes your wife's gardening
'ambitions'; it appeared after I posted, though. Most amusing.

There are various feeds for the garden:-
For the lawn, there is a spring feed and an autumn feed. The latter is
obviously the most appropriate just now. Feed in September.

For borders and pots, there are 3 different types of feed:-
Phosphate (bonemeal) promotes root growth. It is used mostly for trees and
shrubs at the planting stage. However, it can be scattered on the soil
surface and forked in gently to avoid damage to surface roots.
Nitrogen promotes stem and leaf growth. This can be used on most plants,
but sparingly. Use it in spring to promote growth. Do not apply after the
end of June, otherwise the new, sappy growth which follows application will
be killed by autumn frosts. (I say 'sparingly' because many inexperienced
gardeners overfeed with nitrogen, get lots of leafy growth, but no flowers.
This is because the plant is so happy with its lush leafy state that it
doesn't need to make flower - and ultimately, seed - to propagate itself).
Potash (Potassium) promotes flowering and, particularly relevant in crop
plants, subsequent fruits. It does this by ripening (and 'hardening' in
woody plants) stem growth. At this time of year it is the only feed you can
reasonably give your flowering border plants, since it will improve
flowering. At the same time, it will be ripening your plant material so
that it is better able to deal with the frosts.

There is also General Fertiliser; this is a compound containing all 3 of the
above. It is a good basic fertiliser. I personally tend to use a general
fertiliser in spring. As the season progresses and I see buds and flowers,
I use a high potash feed (tomato or rose fertiliser) to promote this growth.
By the end of June, after the first bout of flowering, I feed with potash
again to encourage flowering and ripening for the remainder of the season.

Another type of feed, Ericaceous, is specially for plants which need acid,
or ericaceous, soil. These include the Rhododendron tribe, Camellias,
Magnolias, Pieris, most heathers, Acers and many other plants.

Most important: *do not overfeed*. Overfeeding is counter-productive and
can kill sensitive plants. If you've ever put salt on the cut surface of a
cucumber and seen the sap drawn out (that resulting surface liquid), that is
exactly what you're doing to a plant when you overfeed. You are drawing out
its sap. Not a good idea.

This is, of course, a very rough guide. You need to learn more about the
plants you're growing, and what they need. Some plants only do really well
on poor soils, so feeding is very limited or non-existant. Also, you need
to learn the ph value of your soil; this will tell you whether it is acidic,
neutral or alkaline.

Hope this has been of some help.
Spider