After I’d said hello to the cats I made a bolt for the back door. I had seedlings to say hi to. I like to sow seeds before going away – something promising to come home to. Sometimes they are slugged, sometimes nibbled, but more often than not there is a fine flush of new growth. It’s a good antidote to the post-holiday blues.
I ran my fingers over the young pea shoots (always a fail-safe holiday sowing) and cast around to see what other pots I could claim for salads. I have finally accepted that this year I’ll be doing a lot of container gardening. Now I’ve come to terms with this, I’m actually quite excited by it.
It can’t be stated enough that containers are reliant on you for food and water. More often than not rain does little to drench a pot in full growth.
After watering, the next most pressing issue is food. The secret of all those resplendent hanging baskets, pots and containers that you admire is that the gardener feeds regularly throughout the growing season. Shop-bought compost has about six weeks’ worth of food incorporated into it; after that it’s up to you.
Most plant food is based on nitrogen, essential for leafy growth, phosphorus for healthy roots and shoots, and potassium to promote flowering and fruiting. There are two main organic fertiliser options: liquid food or slow-release.
Slow-release options usually need to be applied only once or perhaps twice in a season. The most readily available natural choice is chicken manure pellets; cheap versions tend to be full of battery hens’ crap. Another option is worm casts, which you can produce yourself from a worm bin – an ideal composting solution for small spaces. Or they can be shop-bought. Mix one part worm cast to four parts compost and you shouldn’t have to feed again for the rest of the season. If you can’t mix the worm casts in because the plants are already established, top-dress using the same 1:4 ratio, topping up again later in the season.
Liquid feeds are used more regularly as part of your watering regime, either weekly or fortnightly depending on the type, and are diluted with water. Overfeeding isn’t helpful and can be harmful, so stick to the instructions.
The cheapest liquid feed is free (other than your time) and is made by rotting down nitrogen-rich comfrey leaves. There are hundreds of online tutorials for making concentrate feed (which is best for those with limited spaces, otherwise you need a waterbutt). Add nettles for a slightly more rounded feed. You’re aiming for roughly the colour of black tea once the feed has been diluted in the watering can.
Otherwise, I stand by seaweed feed, which has a lot of nitrogen and macronutrients but is not rounded in the way inorganic fertilisers are. Seaweed on its own is just a tonic that promotes overall plant health. For this reason, seaweed feed for tomatoes or specific crops will have extra nutrients mixed in. I give all my leafy vegetable crops in pots a weekly helping of seaweed feed and comfrey.
