Yes linda I guess you do :-) look i'm an organic man myself so that sways my adice and experience. Buit basicly if you're growing leaf vegtables they'll need a more fertile soil and ornamentals need to get off to a good start and just a , 'as the mood takes' regime after that. it all depends on what you want to grow and whether for fun or profit and how much land you have etc. Vegtable growing is usually done on a rotation of high need (spinach, cabbage, lettuce) medium need (carrots , turnips parsnips) and then legumes (like peas and beans). The most economic fertilizer i believe to be 'meat meal' this is blood 'n bone that's used for feeding stock. it's usually cheaper to buy than when it's labelled Blood 'n bone.

It contains all the main nutrients and has a prolonged effect. If I was planting a major woody perrenial i'd make yp a mix in a bucket of eight parts meat meal, two parts chicken manure, and one part urea. mix that up and dig a hole at least twice as deep as the pot you're plant is in. For a 200mm pot i'd fill a 130mm squat pot and tip that in the hole and then half fill the hole mixing the fertilizer through that half. Always leave a buffer of feww mm of soil over the top so that the plant 's roots are not in direct contact with fertilizer. Then plant and fill the hole this will leave excess soil that is displaced by the volume of the root ball. use this to make a bowl shape so that water is directed to your plant. Use this method and you'll notice in a couple of weeks that new growth is happening. And then that plant will grow like buggery:-) . If you want to let me know what your plans are i'll give you some more tips , e mail me direct if you like.

- godwin





I guess I just gotta experiment, huh?

Maybe I should ask one of the spud or brocolli farmers up the road
because I'm yet to learn how to keep the soil good & rich (the levels
you mention.) I don't know what the levels should be.

Thanks heaps for your help, Godwin.

L.