[new_2_veg]

hi,

anyone use these?

just wondering if it would be a cheaper alternitave for me compared to potato fertaliser?

i havent used either but im looking for something to use this year that would maybe boost my crops.

anyone got any advice?

i can get 15kg of  Organic Poultry Manure pellets for 10.50 at the moment

thanks

nathan

[JayG]

The RHS gives the following information:

Typical analysis of dried and pelleted poultry manure:*
N** (nitrogen)         4%
P** (phosphorous)  2%
K** (potassium)     1%

Typical analysis of Growmore:
N** (nitrogen)         7%
P** (phosphorous)  7%
K** (potassium)      7%

I believe that potato fertilizers have a higher percentage of potassium than either of these, but that doesn't mean that your potatoes will fail as a result of using pelleted poultry manure; it's a good, sustainable, organic product which will benefit most crops apart from ericaceous (because it tends to be a bit alkaline).

Only drawback is the pong, especially in warm weather and until it has been wetted a few times (better to hoe it into the soil if possible).

[new_2_veg]

ok thanks,

so am i right in thinking i would get more good-ness from using growmore than the pellets?


nathan

[JayG]

Not really, the dosage for growmore is a little less per square metre than for most pellets to produce a similar effect, which is what you would expect.

Main difference is the higher Nitrogen content of the pellets which means they are particularly (but not exclusively) suited to leafy plants and vegetables.

[Yabba]

From the horses mouth :

Earlier pottatoes needing high nitrogen was mentioned does this mean my compost would be wasted on my potatoe plot? sorry if supid question.

The thing to remember is that nitrogen grows what is above the soil which is the Haulm.
Phosphate/potash grows what is below the soil.
The balance for potatoes is 1-1-1.5 so an Ideal fertilizer would be 6-6-10 or 4-4-7 or my stuff which is 13-13-21 for example.

„

[galen]

From the horses mouth :

Earlier pottatoes needing high nitrogen was mentioned does this mean my compost would be wasted on my potatoe plot? sorry if supid question.

The thing to remember is that nitrogen grows what is above the soil which is the Haulm.
Phosphate/potash grows what is below the soil.
The balance for potatoes is 1-1-1.5 so an Ideal fertilizer would be 6-6-10 or 4-4-7 or my stuff which is 13-13-21 for example.

„

And to quote from the same thread, from Iain@JBA, (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=31465.0) :

"Good products are Vitax Q4 which I would sprinkle onto the bottom of the potato trench and fork into the soil.
It is quite powerful stuff.
There are also lots of organic mixes which are half the strength and are slow release pellets. They could be added to bottom of trench and forked in and some added to a layer of soil on top of spuds.
No fertilizer should touch the spuds directly.
Potatoes do not need high nitrogen it is the phosphates that they require and that is why manure is good for the job."

[DavidT]

I`d use superphosphate, which is very good for ALL rootcrops.

[solway cropper]

Superphosphate for me as well. My tattie patch was well covered with home-made compost and I'll give a dressing of superphosphate before planting. Once they are well away I'll top dress with a little sulphate of potash and regular feeds of my own seaweed liquid feed.

[JayG]

Not for the first time we have range of opinions on which fertilizer is best suited to which crops, some based on tradition and experience and some more on chemistry.

No matter what fertilizing regime you use the end result, meaning what is actually available to the plant, will also depend on what was already present in your soil and local conditions such as rainfall and your soil type.

Although I've been growing fruit and veg for a number of years (including 11 years at my present address) it took a long time to dawn on me that my very light sandy soil needed much more in the way of added nutrients to grow good crops because nutrients leach away very quickly from this type of soil.

"Hungry" crops such as spuds, sweetcorn, and even parsnips were far better last year after feeding (usually with pellets but sometimes growmore) 3 or 4 times during the growing season instead of perhaps the recommended once before sowing/planting out.

Yes, lots of added compost/manure helps the soil retain nutrients. but even that washes away faster than you would wish, and not all of us have reliable access to large quantities of safe manure.