Alistair Macdonald said:

Thanks again for the advice. I think you have hit the nail on the head. I
would appreciate it if you could describe the balanced organic fertilizer
mix After pruning at the beginning of the year I apply phosphates, bone
meal and Growmore,

I usually use Espoma brand Garden-tone on the raspberries in the spring.
I apply that, then a layer of alfalfa pellets topped with shredded leaves as a
mulch. The alfalfa give a boost of nitrogen as well as potassium.

Your routine sounds very high in phosphorous (which can accumulate in
the soil) and maybe short of nitrogen and potassium (which can become
depleted and/or leach away, especially in sandy, well-drained soils).
My soil tests to have a fairly high level of P to begin with. That's why the
bulk of my spring fertilizer is alfalfa (for the N and K).

During the growing season, the only fertilizer that gets applied to the
raspberries is what hits them when I fertilize the surrounding lawn with
high nitrogen, low phosphorous organic lawn fertilizer (end of May,
end of June, beginning of September, and late October -- this last being
a high potash, 'winterizer' formulation).

and give regular Miracle Grow feeds during the growing
season. Is this enough

I'm not so keen on liquid fertilizers even for potted plants, where I instead
use something like Osmocote Plus (or similar products). That is, an
encapsulated, slow-release fertilizer with micronutrients.

One heavy rain, and the water soluable fertilzer could be washed away.

...or should I be better following your mix? If so what
exactly does it consist of?

It's not my mix, just a commercial mix whose brand name I didn't mention
in the first go-around (as other brands of balanced, organic fertilizers could
be substituted).

Ingredients and analysis of the brand I frequently use he

http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/pdf...Esp_Garden.pdf

If there is any 'trick' to what I'm doing, it would be the alfalfa + leaf
mulch, I guess...


--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"So, it was all a dream."
"No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell."

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