Can I feed my others with organic tomato and pepper food?

[AvidNewBee]

The others are loads of flowering perennials, various squashes which have just started to bud and strawberries in flower.

I have Eco Charlie organic tomato and pepper food.

Thanks in advance

[SaraJH]

Anything that develops a fruit will benefit from a tomato feed when they are fruiting so yep, strawbs, potatoes, courgettes, squashes etc. Not forgetting the toms lol

[AvidNewBee]

Oh thanks so much Sara <3 what would I do without you hehe

[Ryez]

I read that tomato fertilizer is good for flowering plants. Although I have plenty of non-organic slow release flower fertilizer, I use instead organic tomato and vegetables granules as well root vegetable pellets in my flower beds... as it is better for the soil.

[SaraJH]

I'm also a newbie, please do wait for the experts to walk in!

But yep, what I have learned from this forum is that anything labelled as good for a tomato is good for any fruiting veggie

[Kirk]

In general they all increment the Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (K) levels.
Cannot recall which is more beneficial for the assorted bits of a plant (Nitrogen is for foliage/leaves). So I would have said you will be increasing the available levels to the others simply by whatever the mad chemists have determined is optimum for a tomato.

The plant will not use whatever is best for flowers if it is not in flower or developing flowers but it will like the proportion that is for roots and leaves. There will exist the chance that getting a "flower" boost may confuse it a bit.

I use/have a more general plant food, in a box happily printed with "Plant Food" on the side. Everything gets that. Makes decisions easier.

One day I will find out what the difference between 7:7:7 and 14:14:14 is on these things. They are ratios and all reduce to 1:1:1.

[SusieG]

Thank goodness, Kirk, that one has always stumped me re the ratios ......

[KairdiffKid]

One day I will find out what the difference between 7:7:7 and 14:14:14 is on these things. They are ratios and all reduce to 1:1:1.

The "ratios" are really simple, it's just an indication of strength.

So a 7:7:7 fertilizer is 7% Nitrogen, 7% Phosphorus, 7% (K)Potassium. So a 1:1:1 fertilizer is not as strong as a 7:7:7.

Specifically the % refers to the % of the volume of the fertilizer that is N, P or K.

[Muddy_Boots]

You learn something new every day with this plotting lark, now if someone can give me a recipe so I can eat all the weeds that seem to grow better than most of my stuff I'd be really happy.

[bario1]

The "ratios" are really simple, it's just an indication of strength.

So a 7:7:7 fertilizer is 7% Nitrogen, 7% Phosphorus, 7% (K)Potassium. So a 1:1:1 fertilizer is not as strong as a 7:7:7.

Specifically the % refers to the % of the volume of the fertilizer that is N, P or K.

So a 7:7:7 fertilizer is 21% NPK... what is the other 79%?

[SusieG]

So a 7:7:7 fertilizer is 21% NPK... what is the other 79%?

Aaaaarrrgggh..!! Stop confusing me

[KairdiffKid]

So a 7:7:7 fertilizer is 21% NPK... what is the other 79%?

Stuff

NPK is a simplification of what is going on. What the fertilizers contain are chemical compounds (synthetic or naturally occurring) - if your fertilizer contained pure potassium (K) you might be in for a surprise when you water it in (potassium is a metal that burns when exposed to water)! Pure N would be a pain as well as Nitrogen is a gas so good luck putting that in your growmore.

Potash is a compound so <100% will be actual potassium (it potassium + stuff), the K value states how much of it actually is potassium. Nowadays for commercial fertilizers it's a mined mineral called potassium chloride, so the NPK of pure "potash" is around 0-0-60 (60% potassium, 40% stuff ).

Bet you wish you'd never asked

[bario1]

Yeah I assumed the other 'stuff' would be an inert 'carrier' for the chemicals. I'm pretty sure the potato fertilizer I bought from Pound�and is 79% Go-Cat.

[SusieG]

Thanks KairdiffKid for clearing that little conundrum up .......

I'd like to say I understand, now .........

[KairdiffKid]

Yeah I assumed the other 'stuff' would be an inert 'carrier' for the chemicals. I'm pretty sure the potato fertilizer I bought from Pound�and is 79% Go-Cat.

I wonder what the NPK of Go-Cat is