How to top dress?

1. Calculate how much fertiliser to use.

Recommendations:

Potted Plants

1-6ml per litre of soil

We recommend using 2-3 ml per litre of soil to begin with. 

 

 

Soil Beds/Outdoor

50-150g per metre squared of soil

We recommend using per square metre of soil to determine fertiliser amount rather than ml per litre when using pots that are larger than 80 litres in size.

1 teaspoon = 5ml, 1 tablespoon = 17ml

 

Example

3ml per litre

30 litre pot size

3 x 30ml per litre = 90ml

Approx. 5.5 tablespoons

Mix outdoors or in a well-ventilated area with a face mask.

You can aid the breakdown of nutrients by mixing the fertiliser with an equal amount of worm castings or good-quality compost. This will also help to reduce the amount of dust when applying. If you simply want to reduce the dust when applying you could also use moist coco.

Ready to use.

 

2.Top dress the plant.

Sprinkle the fertiliser evenly over the surface of the soil in the pot. Lightly work into soil with your fingers or a fork/trowel.  

 

3. Water the plant

We recommend watering approximately 10% of pot volume. So if using a 30 litre pot, water each pot with 3 litres. 

Water using any one of the following:

 

1. Water - Preferably filtered

Can be purchased here from UK Water Filters. 

 

2. Ecothrive Biosys

Find it in our shop here.

3. Soil Smith’s Goop compost extract

Can be purchased here from Soilsmiths. 

4. Compost Extract with Vermicompost

Buy it here.

Or learn how to make your own here.

5. Compost Tea

Find it in our shop here. 

Or learn how to make your own here. 

 

 6. EM-1 (Acti-Ferm) Application

Find it in our shop here.

 

Using any of these will add beneficial microbes that will speed up the breakdown of the nutrients, making them available for the plant. 

 

Frequency of top dress:

Smaller pots of 20-30 litres will require feeding every 2 weeks. If you grow in larger pots you will be able to get away with feeding every 3-4 weeks.