Best fertilizer for Vegetables & Flowers

ukbill69

Phostrogen box already bought and been using, so made a good first choice then. Thanks.

Kay_Peel

Last year, my local garden centre was giving out free samples of a foliar feed made from seaweed. I sprayed some of my young veg plants, tomatoes and some sickly sweet peas and - blimey! - there was no stopping them after that.

I'm not a big fan of fertilisers in bottles and packets, to be honest. I prefer to dig goodness into the soil through green manures and the addition of humus. But the sea-weed foliar feed was exceptionally effective and I'll probably get a small bottle of it - unless more free samples are being given out this year!

Fang_3

Rot some nettles down in boiling water. That'll work like viagra on a pensioner.

skelly01

Must admit I am the same with regards to artificial packet fertilisers, at least with the chicken pellets you know where they have came from and they are also heat treated.
Badger's post is of great use and interesting. The only problem with the chciken pellets as i had posted previously is the smell.

Zazen999

There are 4 excellent fertilisers which I use.

A - comfrey rotted down in milk cartons and diluted into the watering can
B - ditto nettles
C - Well Rotted manure - both dug in and slung in a net bag into the waterbutt [Mainly used at the allotment]
D - Seaweed [this I mainly use in the greenhouse to perk up plants before I use A or B on them].

One bottle of seaweed feed lasts 2 seasons, Comfrey and Nettles are free and WRM I usually get a forkful free from one of my lottie neighbours if I haven't bought a truck load myself.

Lotus-eater

skelly01 wrote: »

Must admit I am the same with regards to artificial packet fertilisers, at least with the chicken pellets you know where they have came from and they are also heat treated.
Badger's post is of great use and interesting. The only problem with the chciken pellets as i had posted previously is the smell.

Chicken pellets don't smell, you try neat chicken manure, then you'll know what smell is.
Ten years ago when I first started growing I bought Growmore fertiliser as I had read about it, I then read a bit more and realised that it was totally artificial, it's still sitting in my shed, unused.
I've never used artificial fertiliser, I survived for years with nothing but compost and manure, maybe a bit of nettle and comfrey brew. I use a bit of FB&B now, as well as the other stuff.
I don't really want to blow my own trumpet, but I win the local show every year, best veg patch and alot of categories of veg, you don't need to use artificial fertilisers.... the companies just want you to think that you need to use them.
It depends how natural you want to be, but for me being as natural as possible for stuff I eat, is one of the main reasons I grow vegetables and fruit.

My liquid feed I make, I throw most of the weeds I dig up in it, as well as comfrey and nettles collected, I have a feeling the plants next to it grow well just on the smell

skelly01

It smells bad enough Lotus, I also have my own hens and they don't smell as bad as the pellets once its went moist.
All my fresh chicken manure goes into the compost bin which makes it breakdown a lot faster.
I should have also said that as well as the chicken pellets you cannot beat a bit of home made compost in the garden either.
I totally agree with you though Lotus that there is no need ever to buy anything artificail for your garden whether it be fertiliser, pest killers etc etc.