We have arranged deliveries of green waste from a local florist/green grocer. This is free for all. It is located in the bay for grass clippings near the wood chips. I use it to make compost. The flower stems are a brown and the veg a green.
Someone has dumped some soil in the bay which will be removed on a workday.
May Horticultural News
Here is a list of most elements plants need to grow.
Nitrogen
Required for green growth. Too much will give soft sappy growth suseptable to insect damage and frost damage. It will inhibit flower development and fruiting. Nitrogen is used to make the amino acids and proteins the plant needs for growth. It is important as a constituant of chlorophyll the green pigment used to make sugar from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. This is why nitrogen will make leaves go greener.
Phospherous
Needed for strong root development, it is used in plants in many ways. It is used in the plants metabolism to form adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the molocule that plants and animals use to release energy to live. Its also needed for tip growth.
Potassium
Helps ripening wood so it can resist frost and strengthening of stems. Potassium is about 2% of a plants weight
Its component of many cell structures. It is needed for regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and activation of enzmyes (proteins that speed up chemical reactions inside the plant). Also regulation of the stomata which act like pores on the underside of leaves,so it is important for water regulation in the plant. Potassium promotes flowering and fruiting
These three macronutrients potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus are created in nature from decomposing plants that have died.
Oxygen, carbon and hydrogen all found from water or air.
magnesium, calcium and sulpher.
micronutrients such as zinc, molybdenum, copper, manganese, cobalt, iron and boron.
Most fertilizers have differing proportions of the three macro nutrients. The amounts of each is stated in their NPK values.
NPK
Fertilizers are marked with an NPK value. This stands for:
Percentage of (N)itrogen whos' chemical symbol is N.
Percentage of (P)hosphate whos' chemical symbol is P.
Percentage of (K)alium. Kalium is the latin name for potassium whos'chemical symbol is K.
A fertiliser with an NPK of 3-4-5 contains 3% nitrogen 4% phospherous and 5% potassium.
You need to use this value to decide which fertiliser to use to perform to help your plants to grow or fruit/flower as needed in different stages of their life.
If your summer cabbages are about to heart up but need a boost. A high nitrogen feed like sulphate ammonia which has an NPK of 21-0-0 will produce lot of soft green growth and not encourage flowering. Applying sulphate of potash a rich potassium source instead at this time would be of very limited benefit.
In January strawberry plants are given a high potassium feed . This promotes flower buds to be formed, it does not cause soft sappy growth, suseptable to frost damage. Sulphate of potash has an NPK of 0-0-50. It contains 50% potassium and no nitrogen or phosphate. You would not want to apply nitogen it inhibits flowering and soft green growth in January is not a good idea with frost and cold short days.
A cheaper alternative that I use is a generous application of wood ash. Wood ash contains up to 3% potassium. However no nitrogen as it is turned into oxides of nitrogen when the wood is burnt. These are gases so blow away in the smoke. It also contains calcium phosphate which acts like lime and reduces the soil acidity making other nutrients bound in the soil more readily available. Keep it off the leaves, it is lime like so will burn them. Do not use with acid loving plants!
Slow release v's fast release fertiliser
As a general but not absolute rule of thumb organic fertilisers are slow release and synthetic inorganic fertiliser are fast release. Liquid fertilisers are very fast acting of short duration. Inorganic fertiliser in granular form may take a week or two to act as they disolve and are of short duration.
Slow release provides a release over a long period of time which is constantly available for plants, organic fertilisers act like this, blood fish and bone is an example of this.
Excessive use of inorganic chemical fertiliser can cause polution of waterways producing excess algae growth depriving the water of oxygen which is bad for fish etc.
Also relying on these fertilisers at the expense of manures and compost leads to a fall in organic matter in the soil. This reduces the capacity of the soil to hold nutrients and water. Also organic matter buffers against changes in acidity, loosing this buffering will lead to acidification of soils.
Things to sow in May.
Dont forget with some plants like lettuce sow in small batches fortnightly. Then you can enjoy a succession of crops instead of a glut.
Also you can interplant quick growing vegetables like lettuce with slow growing vegetables that need more space. The quick growing vegetable being harvested before the slow growing vegetable is big enough to compete for resources with the quick growing plant.
Sow
French Beans
Runner Beans
Beetroot
Broccoli and Calabrese
Cabbage and Cauliflowers
Chicory
Kale
Kohl rabi
Peas
Turnips and Swedes
Lettuce and Leaves such as Rocket
Radishes
Spring Onions
Sowing under cover
Sweetcorn
Courgette
Marrow
Pumpkin
Squash
Plant out
Brussels sprouts
Summer cabbages
Celery
Celeriac
Leeks.
Aubergine more likely of success in a greenhouse
Peppers
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Someone has dumped some soil in the bay which will be removed on a workday.
May Horticultural News
Here is a list of most elements plants need to grow.
Nitrogen
Required for green growth. Too much will give soft sappy growth suseptable to insect damage and frost damage. It will inhibit flower development and fruiting. Nitrogen is used to make the amino acids and proteins the plant needs for growth. It is important as a constituant of chlorophyll the green pigment used to make sugar from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. This is why nitrogen will make leaves go greener.
Phospherous
Needed for strong root development, it is used in plants in many ways. It is used in the plants metabolism to form adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is the molocule that plants and animals use to release energy to live. Its also needed for tip growth.
Potassium
Helps ripening wood so it can resist frost and strengthening of stems. Potassium is about 2% of a plants weight
Its component of many cell structures. It is needed for regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and activation of enzmyes (proteins that speed up chemical reactions inside the plant). Also regulation of the stomata which act like pores on the underside of leaves,so it is important for water regulation in the plant. Potassium promotes flowering and fruiting
These three macronutrients potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus are created in nature from decomposing plants that have died.
Oxygen, carbon and hydrogen all found from water or air.
magnesium, calcium and sulpher.
micronutrients such as zinc, molybdenum, copper, manganese, cobalt, iron and boron.
Most fertilizers have differing proportions of the three macro nutrients. The amounts of each is stated in their NPK values.
NPK
Fertilizers are marked with an NPK value. This stands for:
Percentage of (N)itrogen whos' chemical symbol is N.
Percentage of (P)hosphate whos' chemical symbol is P.
Percentage of (K)alium. Kalium is the latin name for potassium whos'chemical symbol is K.
A fertiliser with an NPK of 3-4-5 contains 3% nitrogen 4% phospherous and 5% potassium.
You need to use this value to decide which fertiliser to use to perform to help your plants to grow or fruit/flower as needed in different stages of their life.
If your summer cabbages are about to heart up but need a boost. A high nitrogen feed like sulphate ammonia which has an NPK of 21-0-0 will produce lot of soft green growth and not encourage flowering. Applying sulphate of potash a rich potassium source instead at this time would be of very limited benefit.
In January strawberry plants are given a high potassium feed . This promotes flower buds to be formed, it does not cause soft sappy growth, suseptable to frost damage. Sulphate of potash has an NPK of 0-0-50. It contains 50% potassium and no nitrogen or phosphate. You would not want to apply nitogen it inhibits flowering and soft green growth in January is not a good idea with frost and cold short days.
A cheaper alternative that I use is a generous application of wood ash. Wood ash contains up to 3% potassium. However no nitrogen as it is turned into oxides of nitrogen when the wood is burnt. These are gases so blow away in the smoke. It also contains calcium phosphate which acts like lime and reduces the soil acidity making other nutrients bound in the soil more readily available. Keep it off the leaves, it is lime like so will burn them. Do not use with acid loving plants!
Slow release v's fast release fertiliser
As a general but not absolute rule of thumb organic fertilisers are slow release and synthetic inorganic fertiliser are fast release. Liquid fertilisers are very fast acting of short duration. Inorganic fertiliser in granular form may take a week or two to act as they disolve and are of short duration.
Slow release provides a release over a long period of time which is constantly available for plants, organic fertilisers act like this, blood fish and bone is an example of this.
Excessive use of inorganic chemical fertiliser can cause polution of waterways producing excess algae growth depriving the water of oxygen which is bad for fish etc.
Also relying on these fertilisers at the expense of manures and compost leads to a fall in organic matter in the soil. This reduces the capacity of the soil to hold nutrients and water. Also organic matter buffers against changes in acidity, loosing this buffering will lead to acidification of soils.
Things to sow in May.
Dont forget with some plants like lettuce sow in small batches fortnightly. Then you can enjoy a succession of crops instead of a glut.
Also you can interplant quick growing vegetables like lettuce with slow growing vegetables that need more space. The quick growing vegetable being harvested before the slow growing vegetable is big enough to compete for resources with the quick growing plant.
Sow
French Beans
Runner Beans
Beetroot
Broccoli and Calabrese
Cabbage and Cauliflowers
Chicory
Kale
Kohl rabi
Peas
Turnips and Swedes
Lettuce and Leaves such as Rocket
Radishes
Spring Onions
Sowing under cover
Sweetcorn
Courgette
Marrow
Pumpkin
Squash
Plant out
Brussels sprouts
Summer cabbages
Celery
Celeriac
Leeks.
Aubergine more likely of success in a greenhouse
Peppers
Cucumber
Tomatoes