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For a simple gardener, knowledge is accumulated from his own experience, and something else from advice from neighbors, acquaintances, from bloggers. Someone reads complex scientific literature, scientific articles. But not everyone understands these articles, someone does not have time to do this at all. Advice is also not always useful and even more justified. So you have to rely more on yourself, as they say, «learn from your mistakes.» And I must say, this is not the worst choice and it really works. Meanwhile, among gardeners, there is no consensus on the need to use dressings for seedlings. Some argue that there are enough nutrients in the soil and top dressing is not required. Some prefer to use only organic top dressing, believing that it is environmentally cleaner and healthier for the plant and for humans. To be objective, I personally have not seen strong and strong seedlings grown without top dressing. Let’s figure out which top dressing works best.

Once upon a time, we all just started planting. They sowed the seeds in the first soil that came across, and many didn’t even have a question about any top dressing, the “fashion” for different bags, bottles with miracle remedies came later. And now there are so many offers on the horticultural market, advertising, bloggers’ advice on both soils and fertilizers that you will use them willy-nilly. Is it necessary? After all, earlier in the villages they sowed directly into the garden soil and good seedlings grew and there were no fertilizers for the seedlings. I’ll tell you a secret that my mother never bought more than one pack of purchased soil and always sowed seedlings in ordinary garden soil, harvested it in buckets from autumn, never processed or treated it with anything. Some will say that this is impossible and garden soil is too heavy for seeds to germinate. Partly it is but the fact remains — the seeds germinated and not badly, and the seedlings turned out to be quite decent — without purchased soils and even without top dressing! It would be possible to stop at this, not to talk not about soils, not about dressings, when you can do without all this, but since we are talking about top dressings and soils, let’s talk.

Over the years of my experience, I had to buy both expensive land and cheaper land, after which a certain conclusion was formed. And the conclusion is this: it’s not the price that matters, the composition is important, and it’s also very important to pay attention to the acidity of the soil. Take the tighter hydrangea, it will never fully develop in soil with weak acidity, but try sowing the seeds of the same tomatoes in acidic soil, so they will not even sprout. Have you experienced such failures? If yes, then great! There is experience, and for the future, when buying soil for seedlings of tomatoes or peppers, be sure to pay attention to at least the acidity of the soil indicated on the package. And when planting hydrangeas, add acidic soil (PH 2.5-5) or high-moor sour peat to the planting pit. And someone planted the same peonies in the shade or next to large shrubs or trees — and it never bloomed, and transplanting it to a new sunny place — did he surprise you with gorgeous flowering? But we are not talking about peonies, but about seedlings and dressings.

There is an opinion that the seedlings for the period of their growth have enough nutrients from the soil and there is no need to fertilize the seedlings at all, it is enough to plant the seedlings in a larger container and the seedlings will be provided with nutrition until planting in the ground. But no! We went and tried. Approximately 2-3 weeks after picking during a period of intensive growth, seedlings in cups of absolutely any volume become not decently pale, not beautiful, stretch, droop or slow down development, and with it, the gardener’s motivation to grow something decreases. After all, when we sow something, we involuntarily and subconsciously imagine strong, stocky seedlings of this kind, with certainly a thick stem, bright and rich foliage, and subsequently huge brushes with no less huge red tomatoes that ripened right on the bush already in the middle of summer.

The arguments in favor of large containers for growing seedlings are fully justified, but only partially. Indeed, from my own experience, and even without it, it is clear that in a large capacity the root system of a plant develops better, it has room to grow, but this is only one side of the coin. It has room to grow, but the more powerful the root system, the stronger and more powerful the plant, that is, its above-ground part, and all this mass needs food. And of course it will be enough, but not for long. We will still face the fact that the plant, even in a large capacity, at a certain stage of development will slow down development, lose its externally attractive appearance. And here we will come to the need to use mineral or organo-mineral dressings, after which the seedlings will rise and become prettier before our eyes. This is an absolutely indisputable fact.

There are gardeners who advocate exclusively organic farming and in every way refuse to use mineral fertilizers. It’s their business. And here I had experience, I tried to water and feed organic liquid fertilizers in the seedling period and, to be honest, I was not very impressed. I tried to use only organic matter for adult plants and everything is also not bad, but only the yield is low, but the bushes are beautiful, fresh and strong, again, if you do not overdo it. And the reason for this is the high content of nitrogen in organic matter, and we need nitrogen only at the very beginning, and then strictly dosed, or even without a crop, you can remain, the seedlings simply “get fat” with all the consequences, to the detriment of productivity. Here is an explanation for you why organic feeding is good, but only in moderation, and why the plants are beautiful, but the harvest is small. Everything goes green. Organic matter is rich not only in nitrogen, but in order to obtain other useful compounds from it in the soil, certain complex chemical processes must go through, and the summer is short and we need the harvest already in July-August, and then late blight and cold, and this is really difficult and it is not necessary and unnecessary for a simple gardener to delve into chemical processes. The same thing about the measure applies to other elements, both macro and micro. On this occasion, for myself, I exclude the feeding exclusively with organic matter of both seedlings and adult plants. and it is really difficult and it is not necessary and unnecessary for a simple gardener to delve into chemical processes. The same thing about the measure applies to other elements, both macro and micro. On this occasion, for myself, I exclude the feeding exclusively with organic matter of both seedlings and adult plants. and it is really difficult and it is not necessary and unnecessary for a simple gardener to delve into chemical processes. The same thing about the measure applies to other elements, both macro and micro. On this occasion, for myself, I exclude the feeding exclusively with organic matter of both seedlings and adult plants.

Either organo-mineral complexes or mineral complexes remain. And here I am personally, and for those and for others. «Mineral fertilizers for seedlings with trace elements» have a very favorable effect on the development of plants. What elements are mainly included in the composition of these fertilizers? Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and microelements — copper, zinc, iron, boron, magnesium, manganese and others, and humates in organo-mineral plus. Nothing superfluous, everything is balanced and in the right proportions for seedlings.

In regions with poor soil without top dressing, you cannot grow a good crop, therefore, in disputes, whether to use or not apply fertilizer for both seedlings and adult plants in the ground, I am solely for applying, otherwise all the work on growing seedlings and crops reduced to minimal success.

As for organic matter, I would use it exclusively for the long-term effect, to improve the quality of the soil. He introduced organics (brilliant green, infusions from it, manure, liquid organic top dressings from the store, etc.) and let them interact in the soil there, decompose, combine and improve. But I don’t consider organic as a mono fertilizer.

Friends, do you think seedlings and adult plants need top dressing? What top dressing do you prefer and use?

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