Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi all - please help a novice

My beans are doing back stroke, breast stoke and butterfly - 3 different types of bean, my courgettes are crawling and my toms at treading water.
Now I'll be serious. As all my planting is in pots and they are in serious trouble of becoming waterlogged how can I feed them. I know some gardeners water in the rain but with mine it could be overkill. Instead of Tomorite which is water based can I use a dry (granular) feed on them. They are all flowering well and I have a yellow 1Ball courgette the size of a petit pois and I don't want to loose all through not feeding. Any advise please

Ta eversuch I know you won't fail me
JJ

Yep, you can top dress pots.

Mix some fertiliser with compost and top up the pots. If you don't have much room in them loosen the top a little - be careful with any surface roots - and work in some of the fertiliser.

Did you put some good drainage material at the bottom of the pots (crocks, stones, polystyrene etc)?

Try and make sure they are on pot feet or raised in some way - the water will drain much better.

Many thanks for that. They have good drainage and feet but still are to soggy to use liquis feed at present.

Hello JayJay. I drill holes in the sides of my pots near the bottom. That way I can see if the water is draining out.
If your plants are very wet and you want to feed, you can sprinkle some phostrogen powder on the surface and let it dissolve in itself - or some blood, fish and bone.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Alice, can you sprinkle growmore on the top of pots as well? Will it do for tomatoes? I'm worried that all the rain is leeching nutrients out of my pots but am wary of adding yet more water with the liquid feeds I've been using?

If I don't want to add liquid I use a few pelleted chicken manure granules. They soon soften up and release their goodies. I would think you could use growmore in the same way.

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Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

Thanks Flum - I bought a huge box of growmore in the spring so will get asprinkling this evening!!