Vegetables, herbs and flowers are almost all annuals which means that they grow very fast but for just one season. But, the faster they grow the more they need to be fed!
In gardening, feeding plants is called fertilising. To fertilise plants we use fertiliser which has lots of nutrients in them.
Liquid fertiliser is packed with nutrients and because they are already dissolved in the water, the plants take it up very quickly and it has a fast result. Liquid fertiliser is useful if vegetables or flowers are turning yellow from not having enough nutrients.
There are two main types of liquid fertilisers. One is for flowering plants and the other is for vegetables. You should make sure you choose the right one for your garden as you don’t want to encourage your vegetables to flower as you will be left with nothing to eat.
Liquid fertiliser is mixed with water in a watering can according to the instructions on the packet and then applied over the leaves and on the soil at the base of the plants. Most of the nutrients are taken up very quickly by the leaves and the plants will start to perk up within a day or two. Liquid fertiliser can be applied once a fortnight but if there’s lots of compost in the soil and the plants look healthy, don’t bother using it.