[Elaine G]

OK so I have been reading in the advice section that you should feed cucumbers with high nitrogen feed, not tomato food. It makes sense as they do normally produce well for a while then run out of steam.

I have no comfrey, and am not in a position to gather nettles - foot op 2 weeks ago, handicapped for next month!!
I see you can buy chempak, but does anyone know of an organic feed that I can buy, as daughter is going to the garden centre tomorrow!

Thanks
Elaine

[steved]

Scats/Moles country store sell large bags of dried blood powder, this is what ive used for the last few years, beware though, it stinks and I wouldnt recommend using it outside if there are foxes around.

[JayG]

As I've mentioned a few times, including recently, feeding cukes much earlier and more often than usually suggested made the difference between success and failure for me.

I mix some Growmore in with the compost, then subsequently give the same tomato feed I give all the other flowering crops.

Not high nitrogen, so John's article is quite interesting - high nitrogen fertilisers tend to be inorganic (e.g. Phostrogen and Miracle Grow) - high nitrogen chemically organic fertilisers tend to be animal-based (e.g. dried blood products) which might not be the sort of 'organic' you were thinking about.

Might be worth just settling for dried chicken manure, which is relatively high in nitrogen, although not fast-acting.

[lettice]

Always mix a small handful of growmore with the compost.
But do not feed them again until the first flowers start appearing.
Use the tomato fertiliser aka tomatorite (used the doff one for the last decade), but do give them a good tumble full in the watering can of homemade nettle liquid feed every fortnight during their growing season for the indoor and outdoor cucumbers.

[mumofstig]

The easiest way of adding Nitrogen - is to collect some pee, dilute it (about 1 part pee to 10 parts water) and water the plants with it. Easy peesy 

Bob Flowerdew always recommended it...

https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/how-use-your-pee-planet

[Elaine G]

Thank you for your replies.

mum I quite like your idea, I can manage that even with my foot strapped up!

steved we have a family of foxes, they dig anywhere with BFB so think that is risky!

JayG they are in grow bags, if I chuck some chicken pellets in a watering can, will they dissolve? Otherwise it will have to be phostrogen, I might have some of that in the depths of the shed!

Elaine

[JayG]

Thank you for your replies.
JayG they are in grow bags, if I chuck some chicken pellets in a watering can, will they dissolve? Otherwise it will have to be phostrogen, I might have some of that in the depths of the shed!

Not really - you may be able to get them into a suspension which (if you are quick  ) you can water your cukes with, which should speed things up a bit, but like all organic products the elements you are trying to give your plants are mostly bound up chemically and take longer to be made available than with inorganic fertilisers like Phostrogen.

[yorky]

Phostrogen isn't a high nitrogen fertiliser, it contains nearly twice as much more potassium than nitrogen. I have always had good results with cucumbers by using tomato feed. Too much nitrogen and you end up with a jungle of growth and very few cucumbers.   

[JayG]

Just happen to have bought a pack of 'all purpose' Phostrogen the other day, and the NPK analysis on the bottom is 16:4.4:19.9, so it's high in nitrogen and potassium compared with truly balanced fertilisers.

In deference to John's researches into how the pro's do it, I'll probably hedge my bets by alternating Phostrogen feeds with normal tomato feed - I won't of course know whether it delivers any overall benefit or not, but it's unlikely to do any harm so I might as well try it.

[John]

I was always told to use tomato feed and even T&M have an article saying to use tomato feed BUT the show growers use high nitrogen, the professional growers (farmers) use high nitrogen and just looking at the plant's leaf area in comparison to tomatoes or peppers it's obvious they need more nitrogen (when you think about it)

If you use tomato feed you'll most likely get a decent crop but swapping to a high nitro feed and you'll get a great crop.

As Mum reminded me, pee is a fair source of nitrogen - don't forget it's sterile when delivered. A lot of people worry about health risks.

Phostrogen isn't a high nitrogen fertiliser, it contains nearly twice as much more potassium than nitrogen. I have always had good results with cucumbers by using tomato feed. Too much nitrogen and you end up with a jungle of growth and very few cucumbers.   

Keep the foliage under control