What to apply at planting, and what to apply later

A good programme is simple. It does the right thing at the right time, and skips the rest. This guide walks through the four moments in a growing season that matter most, and what to apply at each one.

Moment 1: bed preparation

Before you plant, prepare the soil. If you are starting on a tired bed, top it up with compost. Broadcast 200 g per square metre of Beyond PSP over the surface and rake it lightly into the top few centimetres. Water well. Wait five to seven days before planting.

This first step does most of the work. A well-prepared bed sets up the next three months. A poorly prepared bed makes every later application a recovery operation.

Moment 2: planting day

At each planting hole, add one heaped tablespoon of Beyond PSP into the bottom of the hole. Cover with a thin layer of soil so the root does not sit directly on the product. Plant the seedling and water in well.

For direct-sown crops like carrots, beans or salad mixes, sprinkle a teaspoon of Beyond PSP along the seed row before sowing.

Moment 3: active growth

This is where most home gardeners stop too early. Two weeks after planting, start foliar spraying with SeaBrix™. SeaBrix is a kelp-based foliar that supplies micronutrients, biostimulants and a community of leaf microbes that help plants resist disease.

Apply early morning or late afternoon. Spray the leaves until just dripping. Repeat every two weeks for as long as the plant is in active growth.

If the plants face stress — a hot dry week, a transplant shock, a pest attack — alternate a SeaBrix spray with an AminoK™ spray. AminoK is an amino-acid foliar that helps plants recover faster from stress.

At the soil, every four weeks, water in a soil drench with TinyTeam. TinyTeam is a microbial inoculant that adds beneficial bacteria and fungi directly to the root zone. This keeps the soil food web busy through the season.

Moment 4: between seasons

After harvest is the moment most growers ignore. It is also the moment that decides what next season looks like.

Spread a thin layer of compost over the empty bed. If the bed will be empty for more than four weeks, sow a cover crop — oats, rye, vetch or a quick mix — and let it grow until two weeks before the next planting. Then chop it and leave it on the surface.

The aim is to keep the soil covered, the biology fed and the roots in the ground year-round. This is the single biggest difference between a soil that improves year over year and a soil that runs down.

A simple six-month calendar

Week 0: prepare the bed with Beyond PSP, water in.

Week 1: plant.

Week 2: first SeaBrix™ foliar.

Week 4: second foliar (SeaBrix or AminoK depending on conditions). TinyTeam soil drench.

Week 6: third foliar.

Week 8: fourth foliar. TinyTeam soil drench.

Week 10 to 14: continue the two-week foliar cycle.

Harvest: note what worked. Take photos.

After harvest: compost layer, cover crop or mulch. Get ready for the next cycle.

What this looks like in a pack

The Patch Pack covers the first two moments (bed prep and planting day). The Plot Pack covers all four moments for a small plot up to 200 m². The Grower Pack covers all four moments for a small-scale grower up to 2 ha. Each pack comes with a one-page version of this calendar.

The Plot Pack gives you everything you need for a full season. Shop the Plot Pack →