Best Organic Feed for fruit trees

Hi,

I've just planted a miniature pear, plum and apple in raised beds and an apple and cherry in 20" pots. I'm advised to give them a balanced fertiliser though spring and summer and a high potash feed after flowering and fruit swell so just wondered if anyone had tips on the best organic feeds to buy?

I was wondering about liquid seaweed for the former and sulphate of potash for the latter. Would these be adequate?

Cheers,

 

Anyone??

 

Seaweed is good, lots of trace elements. I make my own liquid feed from it.

For Potash I use wood ash, although thats only 2-3% so not exactly high.

 

Does Sulphate of Potash qualify as Organic in your book? Different people take different views of course I see it as a simple chemical, and in a different bracket to some complex herbicide ... purist Organic growers might disagree with me?

Blood, Fish and Bone would be a good choice for organic, slow release. Although, again, if we are talking properly Organic you need to find a CERTIFIED organic source / brand - the fact that it says "Organic" on the box means nothing I'm afraid; unless it is certified (by the "Soil Association" or a similar organisation) then Blood, Fish and Bone will come from any old abattoir - and the animals will have been subjected to hormone / vaccination / etc. treatments, all of which are the sorts of things that Organic folk seek to totally exclude.

Another, slightly more long term, route would be to grow some Comfrey and use that as your high Potash fertiliser (ideally by steeping the leaves to make Comfrey Tea). If you want to go down that route make sure you start with the Bocking 14 variety because it is sterile - the regular (fertile) variety is a menace and will self seed all over your garden :( If you have a local allotment it would be worth asking the Old Boys down there as most allotmenteers grow Bocking 14 Comfrey, and it is dead easy to grow from bits of root, so I'm sure they'd be able to spare you some.

 

Thanks for the advice.
I have a comfrey plant which is currently getting big and bushy, but as I only have room for one plant I'm not sure if I'll get enough foliage to make it worth trying to make tea...would cutting up leaves and digging in around the trees as part of a mulch a couple of times a year suffice? If so when would you advise doing this?
Also not sure of comfrey's variety....guess I'll see if it starts seeding everywhere later this year!

So sulphate of potash needs to go on soon and through the season too? Advice on the packaging said high potash feed only 'after fruit swell' (I take it this means as the fruit is growing in late summer/autumn?)

Thanks again for your ongoing help

 

Oo, forgot about Banana skins, they've got potassium in too.

 

Good tip, we get through plenty of those. Cheers.