FEEDING plants is possibly one of the most misunderstood aspects of gardening, especially in pots.

Have you noticed, when using liquid fertilisers for outdoor pot plants, how much simply runs straight through the potting mix?

In reality, modern potting mixes are not the ideal medium for growing plants in pots. They have been designed to be lightweight and easy to handle and offer perfect drainage.

Quoting the respected garden writer, Nigel Colborn: “‘Feeds’ and ‘feeding’ are questionable terms. They imply that plants are sustained with regular feeds, like livestock.

“However, plants take most of what they need from the air plus water and tiny quantities of naturally occurring minerals in the soil.”

I believe that many of the hungry hybrids with outsize flowers, mainly bred for the show bench, are not what most gardeners want.

As Colborn goes on to say: “Surely, the aim is to achieve happy, long-lasting plants that are easier to look after, less disease prone and coping with adverse weather.

“This does not condone starvation as plants that are short of key nutrients will look unattractive and perform badly. But if the soil is kept in excellent heart with regular dressings of rotted compost, a healthy earthworm population and good drainage the plants will give much in return without the use of chemical manufactured food”.

Plus the use of organic mulch to minimise evaporation and keep the soil cooler.

IT is vital for our government and private schools to encourage productive gardens. Naturally, this involves the encouragement of parents with finding a space at home for their children’s garden.

In Britain, 17,400 schools are now registered with the Royal Horticultural Society’s “Campaign for School Gardening” with more than 100 achieving a five-star rating.

In the future, these “five-star gardening schools” must show they use teaching and learning across the curriculum, and to involve the wider community in growing and cooking activities.

To further show the school’s curriculum has been advanced to make use of the garden in as many subjects as possible. From art through to maths and even religious studies discussing, for example, the plants in the Bible to those in Shakespeare’s works.

A prime local example of this is the Majura Primary School at Watson, which is linked to the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation’s promotion of skills for learning and for life. More information at kitchengardenfoundation.org.au

Jottings…

? Thin fruit, especially apples, for bigger fruit, less every second-year fruiting and less broken branches in strong winds.

? Remove suckers around the base of the trunk from fruit and ornamental trees such as crabapples. Tearing the suckers off lessens the chance of resprouting.

? Finish planting out tender veggies and sow seeds of French and runner beans.

? Sow a few lettuce each week rather than a whole punnet at once for successive picking.

? Finish trimming box hedging and similar plants before the real heat of summer.