It is one product that combines the benefits of growmore or fish, blood and bone with added trace elements, so possesses additional benefits. WHAT IS Q4 FERTILIZER? Organic fertilizers are naturally occurring substances and include biofertilizers, green manure, organic manure and compost. They slowly leach essential nutrients into the soil and improve its overall vitality with time. Synthetic fertilizers are man-made combinations of chemicals and inorganic substances. They typically combine nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and other elements in different ratios. Synthetic fertilizers, unlike their organic counterparts, immediately supply essential nutrients to soil. Leguminous plants, such as sweet peas, beans and garden peas, make their own nitrogen through root nodules. If you apply lots of nitrogen you’ll produce lots of leaf at the expense of flower. Brassicas often follow legumes in vegetable gardens, because the soil has been enriched. Vitax Q4 Multi-Purpose Compost is based on the finest Irish Moss Peat obtained from our own peat mire in County Kildare, Ireland. All peat used in this compost is obtained from within the existing boundaries which have been worked for many years. Virgin areas of the mire are not exploited. Even if you use Vitax Q4 as a general slow release fertiliser at the beginning of the season the Vitax Premium liquids range will really help to give your plants a boost. Just dilute in the watering can and apply when watering. It’s ideal for pots and containers and on all newly planted subjects.

On shrubs and roses to produce more flowers and healthier leaves, vegetables to produce bigger crops, and on lawns to make them greener and healthier. In conifers, it can be used to produce healthier leaves.

To get the best results from this product apply the fertiliser evenly to the soil, preferably when the soil is wet. Q4 All Purpose Plant Food is perfect to use on roses, prior to planting. For established bushes it can be applied as a top dressing in the spring.

What I usually do is broadcast growmore in the latter half of March or early April, turning it in lightly to provide a readily available 'fix' for the plants, then apply composted materials as a mulch over the top - no need to dig it in (though you can if you prefer) it gets taken down into the soil anyway over time, to take care of longer term plant and soil health. If you're a follower of 'no dig' gardening, then broadcast the growmore and apply a mulch over the top, without digging the soil, provided there's no weed/moss growth present. Remember this is a non-organic fertilizer and as a result not suitable for those who wish to follow organic principles. As plants start into growth, after the dormancy of winter, it’s time to think about feeding to get the best results from your garden in the coming season. Winter rainfall (we’ve certainly had our fair share of that in the UK) washes soluble nutrients from the soil which can leave them in short supply for plants at a critical time. Insufficient nutrients mean slower, weaker, growth which can result in disease and fewer flowers. You will undoubtedly be planting some new shrubs and perennials too; these need the right nutrients in the soil to get them going, so using the best fertiliser at the time of planting is important.

Technical specifications

Use 140 g/m2 (4 oz/sq yd) before sowing and planting, or for established plants as an annual dressing in the spring. Chrysanthemums: Apply 200 g/m2 (6 oz/sq yd) before planting in soil. With 7 trace elements, it’s recommended for bedding plants, houseplants, chrysanthemums, roses, container plants, salad vegetables, dahlias, soft fruit, ericaceous plants, vegetables, sweetcorn and hanging baskets. Growmore (7-7-7) Synthetic fertilizers have long-term negative effects. Synthetic fertilizers kill beneficial microorganisms in the soil that convert dead human and plant remains into nutrient-rich organic matter. Nitrogen- and phosphate-based synthetic fertilizers leach into groundwater and increase its toxicity, causing water pollution. Fertilizers that leach into streams, rivers, lakes and other bodies of water disrupt aquatic ecosystems. Synthetic fertilizers increase the nitrate levels of soil. Plants produced from such soil, upon consumption, convert to toxic nitrites in the intestines. These harmful nitrites react with the hemoglobin in the blood stream to cause methaeglobinaemia, which damages the vascular and respiratory systems, causing suffocation and even death in extreme cases (when blood methaemoglobin level is 80 percent or more). Synthetic fertilizers damage the natural makeup of soil in the long term. Plants that grow in overly fertilized soil are deficient in iron, zinc, carotene, vitamin C, copper and protein. This product must be stored out of the reach of pets and children and away from pesticides, food, drink and animal feed. Different fertilisers contain different ratios of the three major ingredients recorded as a series of a numbers. 5-10-5 is twice as rich in phosphorous as it in nitrogen and potassium, 7-7-7 is an equal mixture of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, and 4-7-6 refers to 4 of nitrogen, 7 of phosphorous and 6 of potash.

As a gardener, you get to the point where you have tried many things and you still are not getting the results. You look to what commercial growers and professional gardeners use in growing their crops and plants and in trying to replicate the results you often see on the TV. One of the hardest things in gardening is to know whether to feed, or not, and there’s no simple answer because some plants prefer poor soil.If you have any questions or comments that you need fertilising, then drop them in the comment box below. In addition to its natural nutritional content, this compost contains Vitax Q4 quality fertiliser, which provides essential plant foods and trace elements needed for healthy root systems and abundant flowers or fruit. Although this is a water-on liquid feed for tomatoes, it’s also excellent for all container-grown bedding plants, agapanthus, dahlias etc. Use once a week once the first truss begins to set. Originally developed for the commercial grower, Q4 Fertiliser is the trusted choice for producing bigger, brighter blooms and bumper crops. The ideal situation is to have the best of both worlds: an organic-based fertiliser with enhanced nutrient content which includes all of those plant nutrients that are required in smaller amounts, but are nonetheless essential for plant growth and performance. I should also mention that ericaceous plants such as rhododendrons and camellias need specific fertilisers; they are fussy feeders and cannot cope with the high nutrient levels of general fertilisers.

Vitax Q4 Multi-Purpose Compost is suitable for use with bedding plants, bulbs and tubers, perennials, shrubs, herbs, fruit and vegetables. As well as using Q4 Pelleted Fertiliser for flowers and vegetables, it is also ideal for fruit, tomatoes and chrysanthemums. Q4 Pelleted Fertiliser can also be used on lawns prior to seed sowing or laying turf.I also use Vitax Q4 professional to add to growing media that I’ve used for growing bulbs. When I remove the bulbs from pots in spring I tip the growing medium into a barrow, add a few handfuls of Vitax Q4 professional and mix it up. I use this for potting seasonal bedding plants or even longer term subjects in containers. Vitax Q4 professional is not always recommended for use in pots, mainly because you can overdo it. Personally I do use it as a top dressing on permanently potted subjects – just a handful and then top up with some fresh growing medium. A balanced slow-release fertiliser will often have equal amounts of each and this mixture will feed a plant for several months without producing a noticeable surge of growth. Choosing your fertilisers Find out how to make your own compost heap Common fertilisers and their N-P-K ratios Vitax Q4 (5.3- 7.5 -10)