When should I feed my new garden?

I have just planted my first ever vege garden. Its got 2 tomato plants and some peas and broad beans that have been sprouting inside.
I bought some McGregors Vege Max food. When should I use it? Its going to rain tonight, so should I use the food tonight or wait a few days?

I don't really feed my garden much except this past winter got a whole heap of seaweed from the beach & placed it over the garden to rot & break down over the winter with the frosts. Then when I plant potatoes I put a small handful of blood & bone under each spud. Carrots & parsnip don't like too rich a soil as it causes them to fork instead of of one solid root. Brassicas - cabbage, caulis, broccoli brussel sprouts- I have a seaweed brew sitting in a large barrel & off & on pour it around the plants.Could give the broad beans & peas a dose too, wouldn't hurt. Rhubarb also love rich soil & are what is called gross feeders.Strawberries like a bit of fert too.

Any time on your tomatoes, pour the rinsing from your milk bottles/jug around the roots, they love the calcium.

Thanks. I've have just watered them with the plant food. But will definitely keep the milk idea in mind too :o)

Well we dig in the compost and manure before planting.
It doesn't really get fed during the growing. maybe a bit of trace element stuff if something shows signs of a deficiency.

hi datoo - great news that you're growing a garden!
Is your fertiliser a liquid? If so, use it after the rain, and repeat every couple of weeks as it won't stay in the soil for long. You can spray it over the leaves too as plants are able to absorb some nutrients thru their leaves (but don't do this on a hot sunny day as the leaves will burn)
If it is a granular fertiliser you wont need to use it very often, dig some in when you plant, then scatter around after about 6 weeks - do this before rain or water it in well.
Have fun!

Hi Kateley :o) I ended up using the food last night before it rained. Its a liquid one that I mixed with water and poured over the plants. I checked the plants this morning and they didnt die overnight so thats promising. lol
My orchid is still alive too. I cant say it looks any different than it did a year ago. Maybe a tiny bit bigger but no signs of flowers or anything. I think its waiting for me to stop checking every day and then when I least expect it, its going to burst out in the most amazing flowers ever. I gave it some of the plant food last night, so that might help :o)

The time to feed the "soil" is straight afer Winter, when you dig over the soil, breaking it up, adding the compost and any minerals. You can use liquid fertilizer, watered down, directly on your plants with care. You did right, but sometimes you can burn the plants putting undiluted fertilizer straight on them. I recently gave my roses a good build up of compost around the plants and unfortunately something in my compost finished off one rose! (It may have been unhealthy anyway), so always good to err on the side of caution. Good idea to do it before a rain too. I feed the veges as someone else has said, only when they show signs (just about never) of any deficiencies. Rule of thumb is if its a gross feeder (like anything that grows really big really quick, like tomatoes) then they may need a boost along the way. Yates garden guide is good, or you can google your individual veges, or the local papers are great as they usually have a gardening guide as to what you should be doing in your garden at that time of year.

Shame that orchid's not flowering for you, datoo - mine are in full flower again now and I totally ignore mine!