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How to Feed Vegetables

Updated: October 2026

The bag is open on the potting bench, the bed was cleared at the weekend, and you need a feeding day rather than a guess. How to feed vegetables starts with the rate on your pack, then the month, then a watering. This page assumes you already own the feed. It sets manufacturer rates next to Royal Horticultural Society timing. Product choice stays on the [vegetable fertiliser comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/vegetable-fertiliser). The format choice is on the [granular versus liquid](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/vegetable-fertiliser/sub/vegetable-fertiliser-granular-vs-liquid) page. By the end you should have a base dressing, a repeat interval, and a month when you stop.

The bag is open on the potting bench, the bed was cleared at the weekend, and you need a feeding day rather than a guess. How to feed vegetables starts with the rate on your pack, then the month, then a watering.

Our top picks

Miracle-Gro Miracle-Gro All Purpose Liquid, 2 x 800 ml

Best overall

Miracle-Gro Miracle-Gro All Purpose Liquid, 2 x 800 ml
9.0/10about £7.98
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Miracle-Gro Miracle-Gro Performance Organics Fruit & Veg, 1 kg

Rank 2

Miracle-Gro Miracle-Gro Performance Organics Fruit & Veg, 1 kg
9.5/10about £7.99
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Westland Westland Growmore, 8 kg

Preis-Tipp

Westland Westland Growmore, 8 kg
8.6/10about £16.95
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On this page
  1. 1.Before you feed: water, soil and the label
  2. 2.Base dressing before planting
  3. 3.Top dressing and liquid feeding during growth
  4. 4.Raised beds, pots and no-dig beds
  5. 5.When to stop, and when to get help

Before you feed: water, soil and the label

Read the pack before you fill the scoop. Your rate overrides every example here, because brands disagree and a listing sometimes disagrees with the brand. The 2.5 L Miracle-Gro listing quotes one capful per 4 litres, while the manufacturer's page says half a cap per litre. Follow the bottle in your hand when those two doses diverge. Water dry soil first. The RHS warns that fertiliser on dry roots, or left on leaves, causes scorch. After a dry spell in May, water a dusty bed, wait until it is moist, and then feed. Wear gloves, store the bag shut, mix an organic granule into the soil, and keep it away from children and pets.

Base dressing before planting

A base dressing is the feed you work in before you sow or plant. Westland's Growmore page gives 135 g per square metre before planting. Miracle-Gro Performance Organics gives 25 g when sowing, then 75 to 100 g for medium-demand crops and 100 to 125 g for high-demand ones. Swapping those two rates misses both labels. On a bed of 2 m by 5 m, Westland's 135 g rate is 1.35 kg, and the later 70 g top dressing is 700 g. Vitax publishes 140 g before planting and 200 g for potatoes, so weigh a potato bed. The two brands are compared on the Growmore for vegetables page.
Miracle-Gro Miracle-Gro All Purpose Liquid, 2 x 800 ml

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Miracle-Gro Miracle-Gro All Purpose Liquid, 2 x 800 ml
9.0/10about £7.98
View offer

Top dressing and liquid feeding during growth

Once plants are in, the interval is where the Growmore brands part. Westland says 70 g per square metre every 4 to 6 weeks. Vitax says 70 g every 8 to 10 weeks. The dose matches and the gap does not, so keep the calendar on the tub you opened. Liquid feeding runs on a shorter clock. Fill the can, add the measured dose, and pour at the base, because a full cap doubles a half-cap mix. Switch off a nitrogen-led granule when the first flowers open on courgettes and tomatoes. More feed does not give more crop.

Raised beds, pots and no-dig beds

In a crowded raised bed, granules catch on leaves. GardenFocused, a hobby calendar with no cited sources, uses liquid only there from late March to mid-September. No-dig beds may need no feed at all, because the compost mulch is the supply, with hungry crops such as tomatoes fed as needed. A full Growmore dressing on a thick manure mulch stacks two feeds. The surface of a typical grow bag is only a fraction of a square metre, as a rule of thumb, so a full bed dose in one bag is too much. Price per application is on the vegetable fertiliser buying guide.

When to stop, and when to get help

Stop routine feeding after September, the RHS cut-off. Westland's Growmore page runs to October, so skip a late nitrogen dose when the two lines differ, and ease off in the fortnight before you harvest. A soil test is the help to get when the pack rate is already right and a whole bed is still stalling. Phone a vet if a pet eats fertiliser. The Products Compared editorial team took these rates from RHS guidance and the manufacturer pages above, on 15 October 2026, and did not run a feeding trial. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common questions

How much Growmore do I use on a vegetable bed?
Use the figure on your tub. Westland gives 135 g per square metre before planting and 70 g on established plants, every 4 to 6 weeks. Vitax gives 140 g before planting and 70 g every 8 to 10 weeks, with 200 g for potatoes.
How often should I feed vegetables?
The RHS suggests a liquid every two weeks for fruit and vegetables in containers, starting about six weeks after planting. Miracle-Gro concentrate is every one to two weeks at half a cap per litre. A weekly high-potash feed starts at the first flowers for courgettes and tomatoes.
When should I start feeding vegetables in the UK?
Follow the RHS seasons. Organic dry feeds go on in February to March, inorganic feeds such as Growmore in March to April, and liquids from April to September. Work a base dressing in before you sow or plant. Give the first liquid about six weeks after planting. Start a high-potash feed when the first flowers open on courgettes and tomatoes.
Should I water before I feed?
Water first if the soil or compost is dry. The RHS links scorch to fertiliser on dry roots and on leaves. Love The Garden says to spread granules on moist soil, water them in, and brush them off the foliage. Pour liquid at the base.
How do I mix liquid plant food for vegetables?
Follow the dilution on your bottle. The Miracle-Gro manufacturer page says half a cap per litre, every one to two weeks. Fill the can, add the measured cap, and pour at the base. Too strong a feed scorches, which is the RHS warning.
When do I stop, and do raised beds differ?
Stop routine feeding after September, the RHS month. Westland's season line includes October, and the RHS month is the stop when they differ. In a crowded raised bed, pour liquid at the stem or keep granules off the leaves. Containers still want the fortnightly liquid, because a small volume of compost runs short faster.

Related pages

Best vegetable fertiliser

Vegetable fertiliser

Vegetable Fertiliser Buying Guide: NPK, Format, Cost

Granular vs Liquid Plant Food for UK Vegetable Beds

Growmore for Vegetables: 7-7-7 Rates and the Limit

Sources

Public UK and manufacturer sources used for this comparison; last accessed 15 October 2026.

  1. RHS, Fertilisers: Types and Uses (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. RHS, How to Feed Plants (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. The Fertilisers Regulations 1991 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. Westland Garden Health, Growmore (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Love The Garden, Miracle-Gro Performance Organics (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Love The Garden, Miracle-Gro All Purpose Concentrate (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Garden Health, Westland Boost Multi-Action Granules (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Animal PoisonLine: Are fertilisers dangerous for dogs and cats? (retrieved 15 October 2026)