Can I overfeed my seedlings with liquid fertiliser?
Home » Blog » Zoe Carafice » Can I overfeed my seedlings with liquid fertiliser?Email your gardening questions to editor@good.net.nz and every question answered in Good or on Zoe's blog will receive a fab prize from Tui Garden Products!
Q: Can I overfeed my vegetable seedlings with liquid food? What is the normal frequency to do this? –Ros
A: More important than liquid feed frequency is the concentration you use. It’s really important to dilute the liquid feed with enough water so that it doesn’t burn the sensitive new feeder roots of the vegetable plants. It depends on the food you’re using; I use worm juice from my worm farm and dilute that at the ratio of one part worm juice to ten parts rain water.
It’s a good idea to water the garden well before you apply the fertiliser (or do it after rain). Then, water on the liquid feed in a circle around the perimeter of the plant so that the new feeder roots get the nutrients. Vegetable seedlings love a good feed during their growth period (especially extra-hungry plants such as tomatoes and pumpkins) and you can feed them up to once a week.
There are lots of easy ways to make organic liquid fertilisers. A fun one at this time of year is to make seaweed ‘tea’ by visiting the beach on a wild, stormy day and gathering bags of seaweed. When you get it home, wash off the salt and put it in a large bucket or barrel filled with fresh water and cover it for 3-4 weeks. Dilute the tea down and water it on your veggie garden. Seaweed has heaps of important trace elements that your plants will love.
–Zoe Carafice
Ros has won a bag of Tui Mulch & Feed from Tui Garden Products!
Tui Mulch & Feed is an organic, 100% weed free, bark based mix with healthy additions of pea straw, blood & bone and powdered sheep manure. Use to protect plant roots from extremes in temperature and suppress weed growth.
Meet Good's new gardening expert
Zoe Carafice is a landscape designer and photographer. She won gold at the Ellerslie Flower Show in 2007 and has a keen interest in sustainable design and organic gardening.
Email your gardening questions to editor@good.net.nz and every question answered in Good or on Zoe's blog will receive a fab prize from Tui Garden Products!
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