Animal-free fertilisers – ABC Pure Gardener Journal

Learn to use: Add a generous handful per sq. metre, every at planting and as a aspect dressing in autumn and spring.

Wood ash

In case you may have a wood hearth, you can harvest ash and use it as a provide of potassium or potash. It does alkalise soil, so solely use if soil is acidic. The smaller the sticks and the additional bark you burn, the additional potash it might embrace. Wood ash moreover includes calcium, which might help tomatoes, brassicas, apples and pears.

Learn to use: Sprinkle on prime of the soil; amount counting on the acidity of soil and whether or not or not crops like an acidic soil.

Selfmade liquid feeds

Liquid feeds current an instantaneous revenue to crops and are useful all through speedy improvement phases, or when flowers and fruits are forming. If making hand-crafted liquid feeds, assure your container has a close-fitting lid to avoid bugs breeding. Most enterprise ‘full’ liquid feeds are constructed from fish and totally different marine waste, so is not going to be applicable for vegan growers. Sometimes, all hand-crafted liquid feeds must be diluted to the colour of weak tea sooner than using.

Compost tea

Mix compost, water and molasses in an appropriate container (no lid required), and aerate with an aquarium bubbler for 3 days. Put the compost inside an earlier pillowcase to avoid blocking the bubbler. The aeration multiplies pure micro-organisms inside the compost, making a liquid that gives nutritional vitamins and as well as improves soil microbial train.

Learn to use: Use 1/2–1 half compost to 4 parts water and a teaspoon of molasses per 4L of tea.

Molasses

Although not a fertiliser, molasses promotes good microbial train inside the soil, so crops can take up nutritional vitamins increased.

Learn to use: Mix 100ml of molasses with a small amount of scorching water to dissolve it, then dilute with 10L of water and use a few occasions per yr by spraying over soil flooring.

Nettle tea

Fill a bucket two-thirds with nettle leaves and add water. Cowl and go away for 1–2 weeks.

Learn to use: When ready, stress, dilute and use to provide nitrogen, iron and potassium amongst totally different nutritional vitamins.

Weed teas

Fill a container loosely with current weeds, cowl with water and a lid and use after 3 weeks. Leftover rotted weeds may very well be added to your compost, although perennial weeds might have extra soaking to verify they may’t regrow.

Learn to use: Strain and dilute sooner than using weekly on greens or a lot much less steadily on totally different crops.

Further data:

Be taught up on pH and crops on our site at:

Testing cases

Testing soil pH

This textual content was first revealed in our Early Winter 2019 problem (OG 109) nonetheless it’s nonetheless full of naturally good ideas for us all to utilize on our gardens. Head to Pure Gardener to hunt out further once more factors or subscribe and get the journal delivered to your door!