tomorite or miracle grow?

Can anyone give me advice on feeding herbacious beds and runners, potatoes and onions.

I have been using miracle grow, but have noticed the potatoes are beginning to flower. Should I now switch to tomato feed? And can I use it on everything?

Also, weekly or fortnightly? My dad says weekly, but wanted to check.

 

I shall be interested in any replies you get Victoria

 

I am sure Marley is right in that you can use anything.

However I never bother to feed my flower beds. I am on clay, which has a lot of goodness in it. A mulch of manure, or just compost from your own heap, would be helpful. Or you could use some Growmore, which is the cheapest and has a somewhat delayed action. But I don't think you need to use Miraclegrow or Tomorite on a border - though it will certainly not do any harm.

Flowers in pots are a different matter. Bought compost has no natural goodness. The only goodness it has comes from an initial application of liquid fertiliser before the compost is bagged, and then what you feed it after.

I don't grow fruit or veg, but I do know that they need feeding. The simple reason is that you are removing a lot of material in the form of produce. And this takes elements away from the soil permanently. The purpose of feeding is to replace what you have taken away. I don't think people normally use Miraclegrow on veg growing in a border. Solid material is more usually used such as manure, Growmore or 'Blood, Fish and Bone'.

You can certainly use Tomato feed on everything. It is exactly the same as Miraclegrow but has extra Potassium (K), which is especially helpful for fruits and flowers. Beans, as a fruit (though we call it a veg), will like Potassium. But I don't think potatoes or onions need extra Potassium - they are not fruits. In fact they are both swollen stems (and potential leaves in the case of onions). But I am sure a veg grower will know more.

 

Thank you so much Marley and Peter.

That all makes sense, and I think it would make sense to look for an alternative for my spuds. I did put manure in the bed before I planted them, and sprinkled some growmore in the trenches and raked it in as they got bigger. Maybe that will be enough for them.

I might give tomorite a go for my pots and my flowers, if it encourages flowers!