First time gardening need help plzzz
DrGreenThumb31
Posts: 30
in Talkback
Hey guys im new to gardening im going all organic. So at this moment im using ancient forest humus soil.im growing tomatoes, kale, and green beans just wondering if i need to put any fertilizer or not.
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Where in the world are you DrGreenThumbs?
DrG, hope you are in a warmer climate than the UK. Are you on the Equator or in the Antipodes? Or South Africa? Here in UK we will not be sowing toms etc until about February (in a greenhouse) and we don't expect to plant them outside until about May.
We can still advise you, but we need to know your approximate location for the climate.
Generally, plants need fertiliser when they're in active growth - spring/summer in the UK. A good general organic fertiliser is blood, fish & bonemeal, applied in earlyish spring at a handful or two to the square yard; it breaks down in the soil and the nutrients are released fairly slowly, unlike fully soluble chemical fertilisers.
Tomatoes need extra potassium when they start to produce fruit: ash from burning young wood (such as rose and soft fruit bush prunings) is the usual source. Beans generally just want lots of compost/manure under them, partly to hold water; they add nitrate to the soil so are best followed in the rotation by leafy stuff like brassicas, including kale.
I'd've said it's too early to start off tomatoes indoors now. They'll get tall and spindly instead of short and stocky. Best to sow them in gentle heat in January or February then they can go into an unheated greenhouse in March and/or outside after the last frost if your climate will allow a long enough ripening season in the early autumn. Any frost will kill them.