Giving my pots a bit of a boost after the winter

I do the same and put a couple of chopped up skins in an empty large coffee jar with water to the top and leave mine for a week. It must have been strong because the first time I used it on a previous house plant it died 🫣 Since read it should have been diluted.

I leave banana skins in water for a couple of days then add some to my watering can, had good results last year.

Please be very careful using Blood and Bone Meal, as it will attract foxes.
They will dig up your pots to eat it. They can smell over a long distance.
It is heartbreaking to find all your hard work distorted overnight.
You will find your pots upturned and all the plants trampled.

I love Foxes, but not Blood and Bone meal.

Chicken manure pellets or blood, fish and bone, stinks to high heaven but just a handful, mixed in with tired compost rejuvenates it for the growing season. If, once you've opened the box, empty it into an airtight container and it will keep even to next season. It's brilliant stuff!

You need to get some well rotted horse manure. It’s the best!
We used to give away tons of it to gardeners and allotment holders. Some people bag it and charge a small amount. It does need to be well rotted though not fresh or it will kill your plants.

A local tea room was giving away bags of round coffee but when I researched how to use, discovered they can be fatal for dogs and badgers so as I have both in my garden gave them away to a friend without pets. I've seen my spaniel eating the radishes and raspberries so couldn't risk it.

Fuchsias benefit from Tomatorite .
Make up according to the directions and water in every fortnight .

Hydrangeas benefit from Rose food.

Cut off any spent parts of the plants with sterile secateurs.
Top up the soil in the pots.

We give our roses, peonies and other plants a good scoop of blood fish and bone and follow up with manure around the roots. Our roses look very healthy this year and the peonies are full of buds. In our pots we put chicken pellets, plus quality compost. We like to use Jacks Magic which the plants seem to like.

Rocketstop2

Banana skins are great for Lavender that is in a pot. Just cut the skin up so it's in about 2inch cubes and bury it beneath the compost or if room, add more on top.My Lavender looks so much better in the spring. I do this mid to end of summer.

I’ll try and remember that. Thanks for the tip Rocket 😃

Banana skins are great for Lavender that is in a pot. Just cut the skin up so it's in about 2inch cubes and bury it beneath the compost or if room, add more on top.My Lavender looks so much better in the spring. I do this mid to end of summer.

I give my plants - and especially my roses - a handful of blood fish and bone and a top dressing of fresh compost to kick start them in the Spring. Seems to do the trick.

Can you remember the name of the plant. Some are more hardy than others and over winter better
Mind you I am no fuchsia expert I have a weedy looking thing in the ground and it’s been struggling for years. Others need hacking back regularly
When I have tried growing in pots they don’t seem to like it but it could be the variety

Organic chicken pellets are good. You should dig tgem in or at least rake them into soil. When planting put a little amount in the hole and cover with soil/compost then place plant in. When scattering on soil or top of pots you'll notice the "farmyard"smell for a couple of days. Good luck, gardening is definitely a learning process.

Westland make a pelleted rose feed which has manure it it, I find it works well for the first feed of the year for anything that isn't ericaceous.

petra

grandMattie

Coffee grounds are useful against slugs and snails 🐌

I haven’t seen a slug for years. I spray with nematodes every March.
I don’t like the thought of what I’m doing ( killing the baby slugs) 😥 but I like even less what they can do to my beautiful plants.

I have far less slugs / snails now I don't have a cat & there are far more garden birds.
When I find one that's managed to hide, I put it in full view on the patio / middle of lawn, confident that it will be lunch for one of them.

Well there you are Allira no good deed goes unpunished 🤭

Oreo

Allira

Get a hedgehog!!

We use liquid seaweed as a feed.

Feeding liquid seaweed to hedgehogs makes them explode☹️

Oh Duh!! 😁

I've tidied up the plants in boxes, should have chopped the pelargoniums back but they are starting to flower now. Given them a top dressing of compost and watered them with liquid seaweed!!

Left the snails for the hedgehog, who had left me some nice poo on the path as a thank you.

😂

Allira

Get a hedgehog!!

We use liquid seaweed as a feed.

Feeding liquid seaweed to hedgehogs makes them explode☹️

Fuchsias should really be chopped right back in late winter, eg about March. However, I don't often get around to doing it , particularly if the weather is bad, so they just get a trim about now.

Yes, we have chicken manure pellets somewhere too, must find them.

Agree with suggestions of cutting off dead looking twigs of fuchsia.
If you can get chicken manure pellets, they make a good slow release fertiliser when mixed with compost - not too much, just a couple of scoops.
Coffee grounds are OK but don't provide much nutrition for plants. I wouldn't use too often. I think banana skins might take a while to break down if just added to soil in pot- better to compost, but it sounds like you don't make compost.
Good luck and don't hesitate to ask for advice here- plenty of keen gardeners on Gransnet!

Get a hedgehog!!

We use liquid seaweed as a feed.

grandMattie

Coffee grounds are useful against slugs and snails 🐌

I haven’t seen a slug for years. I spray with nematodes every March.
I don’t like the thought of what I’m doing ( killing the baby slugs) 😥 but I like even less what they can do to my beautiful plants.

Coffee grounds are useful against slugs and snails 🐌

Regular watering and feeding through the summer. Dead looking bits of fuschia should be cut off.
Take off the first 10cm of compost and replace it. Use granular feeds, Gromore or equivalent.
Good luck