Fertilizers for Home Gardens E.g. No 17 Lawn Food

ihbh on 20/04/2020 - 08:26
Last edited 28/04/2020 - 15:06 by 1 other user

If you use fertilizers for your garden in addition to mulch, etc., do you use it based on:

1. Label/direction - e.g. citrus fertilizer
2. NPK ratio and trace elements

The reason I ask is my elderly neighbor has given me a lot of Shirley's No 17 Lawn Food. Now I don't want to feed the grass say on the council strip to have to mow it more frequently. I don't need to feed the lawn in the back as we're converting these to edible garden beds. Can I use the rough NPK ratio and add it to citrus trees (at relevant times during the year) or initial garden beds that I'm building up from hot compost? Would it help, do nothing, or be counterproductive?

It wouldn't go to waste if I didn't use it. I could leave it out and the many landscape gardeners would pick it up around where I live (although I'd wait until the neighbor was on holidays to not disappoint him).

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  Hithere on 20/04/2020 - 10:15

  Lawn food is generally high in Nitrogen which is not ideal for many garden plants and shrubs as it encourages leaf growth, however in small amounts, or 'shandied' with more suitable fertilisers should be OK.

  A fellow gardener would appreciate it being donated or you may find one interested in swapping for a more suitable product.

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    ihbh on 20/04/2020 - 10:24

    Yes, I was thinking of leafy green veg with the high N. But it has a good amount of K, so would this help fruit trees (but not excessive use)?

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  Hithere on 20/04/2020 - 10:48

  Potassium will help your fruit trees, encouraging flowering and fruiting which is what you want.

  As long as it's not an excessive amount I can't see it doing any harm but I'm no egg-spurt.

  I usually go approximately by what the packet says, relying on what the manufacturer suggests.

  I did once ignore the packet suggestions and all my Roses ended up being nodders for the season due to the wrong NPK ratios.

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  GangGang on 20/04/2020 - 11:01

  Ratio & price. you have the same ingredients & ratio in different brands with different prices. Find the ratio you need & get the cheapest brand.

  For eg, seaweed solution comes in two brands @ bunnings. You can purchase the expensive seasol that has the same active ingredients in another brand that's nearly half the price.