Vitax Q4 Fertiliser,4.5kg

Product Information

I notice there's a big difference in price but which is the most beneficial to plants at this time of year, then again in late April/early May? Contains all the vital plant foods and trace elements essential for vigorous growth, abundant flowering and ripening of fruit Use 140 g/m2 (4 oz/sq yd) before sowing and planting, or for established plants as an annual dressing in the spring. Chrysanthemums: Apply 200 g/m2 (6 oz/sq yd) before planting in soil. For ericaceous plants, Vitax recommend their Azalea and Rhododendron, or Conifer and Shrub fertilisers.

Vitax's TraditionalQ4 Universal Compost is ideal for all year round growing of bedding, pot plants, hanging baskets and tubs produced from graded Irish Moss Peat. I didn't say you are lying to me, I said I'm receiving conflicting advice. If you are correct, you are saying the others are lying. What I usually do is broadcast growmore in the latter half of March or early April, turning it in lightly to provide a readily available 'fix' for the plants, then apply composted materials as a mulch over the top - no need to dig it in (though you can if you prefer) it gets taken down into the soil anyway over time, to take care of longer term plant and soil health. If you're a follower of 'no dig' gardening, then broadcast the growmore and apply a mulch over the top, without digging the soil, provided there's no weed/moss growth present.

Thanks for all your replies and advice, particularly Bamboo for a straightforward answer relevant to the question.

Some products may be delivered straight to your door from one of our suppliers and these products will be labelled within the product description.The confusion in this thread seems to be caused by conflating two things - feeding plants and 'feeding' soil. Chemical fertilizers such as Growmore or Vitax feed plants directly but do little for the soil. Soil health is important, and that is improved by adding composted materials such as animal manures, good garden compost, leafmould, any humus rich material basically, which will naturally increase bio diversity; that bio diversity will naturally provide more trace elements and more nutrients to your plants, but over time rather than in a week or three. Even if you use Vitax Q4 as a general slow release fertiliser at the beginning of the season the Vitax Premium liquids range will really help to give your plants a boost. Just dilute in the watering can and apply when watering. It’s ideal for pots and containers and on all newly planted subjects. Originally developed for the commercial grower, Q4 Fertiliser is the trusted choice for producing bigger, brighter blooms and bumper crops. Apply before planting or for established plants, in early spring. When top dressing, apply evenly to the soil surface beneath the leaves and branches of the tree. Apples, Pears, Plums: 175 g/m2 (5 oz/sq yd). Currants, Gooseberries, Raspberries: 140 g/m2 (4 oz/sq yd). Strawberries: 70-100 g/m2 (2-3 oz/sq yd). An outstanding all-purpose fertiliser, Q4 Pelleted Fertiliser is a favourite amongst experienced gardeners and a ‘must have’ product.

Of course all solid fertilisers need to break down in the soil to release their nutrients; organic fertilisers do that slowly. So what if you want to supply readily available nutrients to your plants to get them going and give them a real boost? Some plants, such as tomatoes, are greedy feeders and need topping up with nutrients throughout the season. In these instances you use liquid fertilisers: ones that you dilute in water and apply. The nutrients are in solution and are therefore readily available to the plants. I wouldn't recommend fish, blood and bone - its highly attractive to animals such as foxes, cats,dogs and rats, and they'll be rootlling around to eat it, so its best used in planting holes, below ground. I'm going to use Growmore although I assume Vitax Q4 may produce more flowers because of the higher Potash content. I'll also mulch with rotted manure or leafmould to improve the soil texture and add nutrients. Can anyone else agree that Growmore or Vitax Q4 are good fertilisers that do what they say and feed your plants consistently well? Vitax Q4 won a Which? Best Buy award because plants produced better growth and more flowers than with other fertilisers during trials. For roses Vitax Q4 should be mixed with the soil prior to planting and then used as an annual dressing every Spring. With flowers and vegetables it should be applied prior to planting. Vegetables should be top dressed with Vitax Q4 once or twice during the growing season.The instructions on Growmore and Vitax Q4, for example, say feed in early March then again 6-8 weeks later but you say this may result in a toxic build up. Chemical fertilizers tend to leach, or filter away from the plants, requiring additional applications.

Fertilizer depends on what you plan to grow. Root crops and fruiting plants have different requirements then leafy greens. A few inches of good organic compost is much better then those "even number" fertilizers which are only salts and kill the microbes in the soil that plants rely on. The ideal situation is to have the best of both worlds: an organic-based fertiliser with enhanced nutrient content which includes all of those plant nutrients that are required in smaller amounts, but are nonetheless essential for plant growth and performance. I should also mention that ericaceous plants such as rhododendrons and camellias need specific fertilisers; they are fussy feeders and cannot cope with the high nutrient levels of general fertilisers.

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