Planting a tree yesterday afternoon, I shovelled back the topsoil while Bill scattered pelleted manure fertiliser.
Adding fertiliser when planting trees and shrubs is a debatable topic, the argument against being it discourages them from pushing their roots into the surrounds to find their own nutrition.
However, I’ll concede that a tree planted by Bill recognises it’s expected to get going and grow, and it does. I guess there’s nothing wrong with this philosophy of covering every base, even though our garden’s overall appearance doesn’t indicate any shortage of essential nutrients in the soil.
Also, using an organic fertiliser avoids the danger of the plant choking on too much of anything, which can happen if it ODs on a chemical product.
Whether or not you fertilise when planting, August is a good time to fertilise the garden in general, as spring is almost here and a well-fed plant can take fullest advantage of the advent of longer daylight hours, warmer weather and the thrilling season of maximum growth.
When thinking about what to fertilise, ask yourself why you’re doing it. Nutrients in the garden rotate between soil and plants, so by adding fertiliser you are essentially replacing those that were lost from the cycle when you removed plant material in the form of flowers, vegetables and prunings.
This provides the best clue to where to add fertiliser: to the vegetable garden, to flower beds and near any heavily pruned shrubs, roses being top of the list. If you recycled the plant material you removed into compost you have the perfect fertiliser ready to hand: simply spread it on the surface of the soil and earthworms will do the rest.
This is a tiring and time consuming procedure though, and if you’re anything like me you never have enough compost anyway, so the next best thing is organic mulch, lucerne hay being the preferred option for most gardeners as it adds nitrogen as it rots.
If you recycled the plant material you removed into compost you have the perfect fertiliser ready to hand: simply spread it on the surface of the soil and earthworms will do the rest.
Lucerne comes onto the market after harvesting in late spring, but November or December is way too late for the garden: it should be spread on damp ground and before your plants have jumped into growth. If you don’t have any left from last year, horse establishments are often happy for you to cart away whatever you can carry. If all else fails spread grass clippings, fallen leaves and annual weeds, with blood and bone to speed break down. The Big Three soil nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, represented by initials NPK on fertiliser packets. So whether you go down the organic or chemical path, it’s vital to read the label. Vegetables love nitrogen for leafy growth, while flowers and fruit benefit from extra phosphorus. Don’t confuse them.
- Spring is a lovely time for garden visiting. Crookwell Garden Festival (half an hour from Goulburn) includes nine town and country cool climate gardens and a Garden Lover’s Market. W/e 5/6 November (market Saturday only), 10am to 4pm, further details phone 02 4837 3117 or visit www.crookwellgardenfestival.com/