[Grasshopper]

I hope that I will be putting my shallot and onion sets in within the next few weeks but my soil is starved of nutrients. I realise that there is nothing better than compost but I will not have anything ready until next year. Would it be okay to give a dressing of Fish, Blood and bone a week or two before to improve things?

[Trillium]

Yes. The fish meal should break down quite quickly, same with the blood meal. Bone meal, however, takes about 3 months to become available to plants so it will fill that later nutrient gap for the plants. The ideal mix is a combination of all 3.

[Goosegirl]

Yes - that's good stuff. Also, a dressing of calcified seaweed if you can get it to make up for any lack of trace elements.

[Grasshopper]

Once again thanks for your help and advice

[Yorkie]

Just one point about compost - as it's organic matter, it's great for the soil structure but isn't that good on the nutrient front.  As you identified, you need a fertiliser of some sort to enhance nutrient levels.