I'm fortunate to live near the seaside, so I collect seaweed in October/November. Leave it for a few weeks to let the rain wash out excess salt then mix it 50 /50 with dried leaves, and/or shredded cardboard and/or grass clippings. Run a lawnmower over it to shred, and lay it on your beds to overwinter. Improves the soil no end.
Thanks for this! I too live near the coast and was walking one day at low tide and the sand was covered with seaweed. I wondered about using it in my garden--bingo! Now I know where I'll be this fall :-)
I was just about to say fresh seaweed is awesome when you rinse off the salt. I actually find Alpaca, rabbit, chicken and horse are all fantastic manures but they are very different.
I'm back to the powdered potash now. I lived by the coast for 8 years and the beach was always littered with large amounts of seaweed and I did use a lot of it to get my gardens started but I didn't consider rinsing it off. Didn't seem to be a problem. Living in the driest place on earth for lack of rainfall too.
Don't forget the ultimate plant food - compost! Check out our video on how to make the no-fuss, nutritious, and beautifully crumbly compost: ua-cam.com/video/4D43HPdYHsA/v-deo.html
Great tips. I use a combination of liquid seaweed for new plants when transplanting to reduce stress, blood and bone and cow and chook manure when starting a new bed, then chook pellets along the way every 3 months. The soil is great and the plants love it.
I used home made compost put on beds in November time and then when I clear an area. I used chicken manure pellets and FBF as a pick up if needed during the season. All Toms, cucumbers, peppers and any other fruiting veg is fed with liquid comfrey feed.
I've had a goosegog Bush for years planted in a very large plant pot and feed it tomato feeder during the year but learning so much from you about looking after the soil using products like chicken pettles or blood fish n bones to help my soil plus added fresh soil on top of my old soil, the learning never ends 😀 😃😃😃 Keep up the excellent work it doesn't go unnoticed with us online green finger fokes 🥰🥰🥰
Thanks Ben, I've just turned over a lawn to gorw vegetable only to reveal poor soil. Whilst waiting for my comfrey to grow and before I put in manure this winter, your video has given me some great ideas.
I always use chicken manure pellets, Blood fish and bone and seaweed liquid form. I also make my own nettle tea and I also get worm tea from my wormery.
The best garden I ever had was years ago when I didn't know much about gardening. It fed a family of 5 and some of my neighbors. I had more vegetables than I knew what to do with. The only fertilizer I put down was grass clippings. I learned that from neighbor. As soon as I started to pit down commercial organic fertilizers my garden suffered. Maybe I should go back to the grass mine is organic. I use blood meal and all the rest you mentioned even the fish. By dog will dig up anything with the blood meal on it. Great video thanks. I have been brushing up all day on them. Thank you.
Great video, I use a combo of chicken manure pellets and blood fish and bone. More of either depending on the crop and at different times unless it’s on a bed that’s resting between planting where I use everything together. Important to stress here that chicken manure pellets can burn young plants if they’re used incorrectly: high doses too often/ too close to the base of the plant/ too much. This can happen to established plants also. No matter what fertiliser you use the the key is to distribute it lightly, regularly with enough time in between doses so the material has a chance to break down and not build up.
I've been blessed to live by a friend that raises rabbits. He gives me his rabbit poop whenever I need it for free. IMO there is no other natural manure fertilizer that works better. I always have a bag of organic off the shelf fertilizers I use during fruiting. Trifecta + and Dr Earth vegetable fert. 5-10-6 is the NPK numbers which is about perfect.
Thanks Ben. Chicken pellets are great, Fish Blood and Bone is also a fantastic all rounder. When I plant potatoes in tubs I use a combination of the two.
Recently planted my own (Russian) comfrey. I just cut it down four times a year and topdress them in the strawberry field and tomato patch. The potassium particulary stimulates fruit forming and growth. The comfrey is a wonderful plant. In the winter I fill my beds with compost made of green waste or the remaining substrate of mushroom farms. The last is a mix of horse manure, straw and lime and is dumped by the farmers in NL for very low prices. Although I prefer to minimize external inputs you cannot deplete your garden forever, you need to feed it again to put nutrients back.
Just be sure you use the right type of comfrey. It's incredibly, and I mean incredibly, invasive if it is allowed to flower and set seed. Use 'bocking 14' variety which is sterile.
Very useful info, thanks!--I am still unsure when to use different amendments I see in the garden center. One thing I do is green compost, just grow cover crops and till them under, and use lawn clippings, leaves, prunings, etc as amendments...along with kitchen scraps that are pesticide free. Sometimes I go to the beach early in the morning and grab a bit of seaweed too.
@@carladelagnomes I am only about one year into trying to grow my own food--I just keep experimenting, and if something is free of cost or little cost even better 😊
@@GrowVeg I've been using Spirulina powder which my plants do really well with. Would you say liquid seaweed or calcified seaweed is better or similar to Spirulina? I pay $10 for a 1 pound bag of spirulina. Would seaweed be a better deal? PS, I have mostly roses in large pots with part potting soil and medium to coarse sand added.
I put a big garden trug/plastic container under the compost tumbler when I water it--any run-off is great compost tea, and goes straight onto my plants. I live in the desert (NM, USA) and keeping compost moist enough is a constant challenge. I've found that a large (45 gallon), wheeled garbage can with a lid is perfect...I have two of those going in addition to my tumbler. If I have big addition of ingredients, or after it is finished, I can wheel it to where it is most convenient to load or unload--no shoveling into a wheelbarrow! I drilled a hole at the bottom and added the attachment for a hose, so when I water these bins, I can direct the 'tea' to plants, as well. The drain ensures that the bottom doesn't get anaerobic, but the inch or so of water left below the drain quickly wicks back up into the compost. (Those who live in moister climates can use the same technique...if you need more airflow to keep it from getting nasty, just drill a few extra holes around it about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up the sides.) I've been astounded at how quickly compost starts to cook with this set-up!
Thanks bro I have been studying organics for a while now and so many people over complicate things I really like how you keep it simple an have been quite helpful 👍👍👍
I always use nettle tea. I jank weeds and chuck them in there too. As it breaks down it smells awful but I dilute it and add it to the second round of watering after the plants have had a good soak first. Also, make sure to harvest nettle before any seeds mature. I have learned that the hard way lol
I. Make compost from kitchen scraps, animal poo and stuff from around the garden. Sea weed is used as a dried out mulch and to add to the heap. Lately I have been making fermented nettle gloop using brown sugar. 🥕🥔🍆🥥
@@GrowVeg got it from huw Richards channel. You just put layers of nettles Andy brown sugar in a big jar, leave for a week then funnel off into a smaller jar. Looks like baby bio. Mix it in water 50 times dilute and bobs your uncle.
Very informative Ben, thank you. My personal preference is also the organic chicken pellets. I do use comfrey tea and seaweed too (organic of course)and I use bonemeal on new shrub plantings and blood, fish and bone on my flower borders only though because being vegetarian I don’t fancy it around my food! My allotment isn’t looking too bad at the moment, the onions are huge, sweetcorn, parsnips, carrots and calabrese are all looking good and my beans coming into production. My peas have been a disappointment and this year I can’t grow beetroot. They all come thru and then vanish, so it’s either birds or slugs. I am now raising some in modules and will plant them out later. There are always winners and losers in veg growing, so I am just very grateful for what I have got.
Don't let these fiends influence you Ben. They are willing to slither beneath the gutter and remain there indefinitely. I'm just here because I like your channel and your videos
My fav was turkey poop, but alas, it’s no longer available. I use the chicken poop now and when wild bunnies visit our yard, I’ve been known to scoop it up and add it. Fish emulsion works great too! Always enjoy your vids. Blessings...daisy
I'm a big fan of fish emulsion for a liquid feed, especially if it has seaweed added in as well. Otherwise we rock alot of the same stuff you've listed here. Alfalfa meal is another good one that is listed in alot of the organic blends we use in our garden.
I use both bone meal , fish blood and bone , added to compost for my seedling propagation , and also use sea weed and tomato feed once a week in my watering cans for all of my vegetable plants . The marigolds i planted as tomato companions , have benefited so much they have grown to almost 4 feet tall .
I use grass clippings from non-chemically fertilized yards, leaf mould, all shapes, sizes, and colours of kelp/seaweed that I harvest washed up on the shore near where I live, comfrey and yellow dock leaves and stalks from plants that grow in my yard, weed leaves that I pick,, especially dandelions and yarrow which are trying to take over my yard, occasional aged chicken manure, and alfalfa meal.
I’m so glad I found this channel it’s been really useful and helpful. I’ve no doubt you know of the benefits of fertilizer from stinging nettles but I’d love to hear you compare it, as something that is free, with all those purchasable products mentioned here. Thanks again, I really love this no nonsense channel.
I love fish, blood and bone for general feeding and liquid seaweed added to my watering schedule once a week. I have the seed now to grow comfrey from next year to take the cost of the seaweed out of my budget. I do give my brasiccas a chicken manure feed once each season and fruit trees bonemeal in the spring
I'm surprised fish emulsion wasn't mentioned. 5-1-1 and 0-10-10. Combined together they also make a complete organic fertilizer. Very informative video.
Hello Ben, great job making this Video and explaning the different plantfood. 👍 I use finish dry organic veg, fruit and tomato fertiliser, make comfree and nettle tea as well as useing liquid seaweed. Everything in pots get liquid feeding weekly , fruit and veg in raised bed or in the ground get fertiliser as they need it, in spring and start of fruiting, after harvest. Some also get garlic tea. And at the base of fruittrees I always put a clove of garlic and leave it there. By the way, what do you give blueberries and how often? I was a bit unsure since they are still new to me in the garden. Lots of greetings from my garden to yours. 🌻 Marie
Hi Marie. Blueberries are often fed with an organic fertiliser specifically formulated for acid-loving plants. Many people also recommend coffee grounds as a good, natural fertiliser for acid-loving plants like blueberries.
Hi, Ben just wanted to say thanks for the video on organic fertilizers. It was really interesting and you always give a good amount of info in your videos this is why I like watching them. Thanks again Keith
I use pellets mostly. I am intrigued by the Comfrey one, never seen them, But I used to go forage for Comfrey to add to my compost bin or make tea from, which smelled so bad I gave up.
Hi Ben, what a great video! So informative as the amount of different products are available in the garden centres is really quite scary! I also love Poultry pellets and fish blood and bone. The biggest onions I ever grew were top dressed every six weeks with processed turkey poo, I'm not sure they are available to the amateur market though. I also am a big home composter, I can't believe there are dislikes for this video! Happy gardening Gary
I really like your videos,… watching from Kentucky “ The Bluegrass State “. USA 🇺🇸 I have been making a brew from pond water and Moss all the weeds that grow in the bottom of the pond ,.. and using little sun fish that i have been catching with a fly rod for my fertilizers .
This is the video I’ve been waiting for!! I’ve built my garden from scratch. 25x10 metres of newly laid lawn with beds filled with hydrangea, roses, fruit trees, buxus, elder, Jasmin, clematis, Choisya, eunimus…. Lots! I’ve picked up loads of different varieties of different feeds but it’s a minefield out there about which is best to use. I’ve been adding liquid seaweed once a week to water with. Haven’t got granular yet, but that’s now on the list for a soil improver! Lots of clay here in London. Can I ask: what sort of schedule are you feeding on? I was thinking about getting some blood, fish and bone down for my roses! Thanks again… have subbed! Jack
Thanks for the sub Jack. Most plants are fertilised with blood, fish and bone or chicken manure pellets at planting time. I top up beds with compost each season, and this does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to providing the right nutrients. I do feed tomatoes, peppers etc with a tomato feed or liquid seaweed feed regularly also.
Fantastic show Ben. I really like seeing your gardens and visual application. We have a worm tower and use worm tea as well as your suggestions. Great information. I am much clearer now. Thank you Diana in Bayfield Colorado
Wonderful video. I only use chicken manure pellets. However, I am concerned whether the chickens are organically grown. I also use potash. I use to buy a powdered form but for ease of use I now purchased granulated potash. I've been thinking recently that I should invest in fish emulsion as a liquid fertiliser for my hungry annuals but I guess the seaweed fertiliser you mentioned might be a good idea. It will depend on value for money in my case. For my indoor plants, I was thinking I'd soak the pelletised chicken manure in water.
Thank you thank you thank you 🙏🏻 I’m only in my second year of growing and have been totally confused with all the fertilisers available. I have pots and bottles of so many different ones I don’t know where to begin. So many people put the emphasis on the numbering ratios for NPK which to me has only added to my confusion 🤯 So it was great to unravel the knot in my head with this watch. Laughably I have the calcified seaweed which I add sprinkles here and there but had no idea it helps break up clay soils. My soil is very heavy compact clay with no visible life so I painstakingly dug it over mixing lots of manure, compost, perlite, bfb, chicken pellets and a sprinkle of calcified seaweed. I’m hoping now to switch to no dig but I’m wondering what sort of volume of seaweed could I add? I’ve noticed despite all the extras the soil is still really compact
Stop digging. Add a layer of WELL rotted cow manure, chopped seaweed/chopped cardboard or compost (or even better, all 3) to form a layer 3" -4" thick over your beds each autumn, and let the worms do the work. It may take a few years, but you will get there.
The Rhs stated that you should never use bone meal with trees and shrubs, as its not forcing the plant to get its own food, and to high a phosphorus is actually detrimental to beneficial fungi.
Interesting Matthew - it's always recommended for new plantings, but I have heard a counter argument that roots should be encouraged to move out into the surrounding soil and that adding compost and fertilisers can reduce the incentive to do this.
I've heard good things about coffee grounds, but also that too many can be harmful to plants. Personally I just add them to the compost heap with the other kitchen scraps to return their goodness that way.
Another great video Ben… One thing I recommend adding (or editing in), is to emphasize that people make sure they are not using manure from animal that were recently wormed. Some folks keep their animals wormed via natural methods like feeding them charcoal and that manure is perfect for the compost bin (always compost manure as the composting process kills anything bad (non chemically speaking) lurking within). But if any bad worming pharmaceuticals are used (like Ivermectin and what not), it will be in high concentrations in the manure and all of those worming poisons kill earth worms (very bad for your garden). Also, glyphosate is basically a forever chemical and can be in high concentrations in animal manure if the animal ate a lot of hay or grains that were sprayed with it (the majority of non organic grains (including feed corn) have been sprayed with glyphosate as a desiccant to speed up harvest). So I only compost organic ruminant manure from very well trusted sources. Free horse manure is very bad if it kills your garden, but good organic horse manure makes incredible compost. It is worth it to be a very picky poop snob when it comes to the crap you are willing to accept. :)
Really sage advice there Tim, thanks for sharing that. As you say, always worth asking questions about your manures - it might seem like an odd obsession, but it pays dividends!
I'd just add that it's worth keeping things in perspective. Detecting traces of substances in food or soil or our bodies is not necessarily a death sentence because modern testing methods are almost inconceivably sensitive. Beware of misinformation. Residues of herbicides and pesticides are mostly harmless. Yes, really. Being able to detect 1 part in 300,000,000,000 is very clever, but it's essentially meaningless unless you're a fanatic with... issues. Organic extremists will worry themselves sick over [for example] glyphosate in carrots, missing the significant data which calmly points out that you'd have to eat 80 lbs of such deadly carrots per day, every day, for 40 years, before a similar quantity of 'contamination' could be detected in your liver. At which point it would have NO discernible effect on your health. Hmm. That's not very scandalous, really, is it. So sometimes it's best to throw away the tinfoil hat, stop worrying about conspiracies, get out in the garden, and just grow stuff.🙂
Another very useful video, many thanks. My veggie garden is in the south of Portugal, in the Algarve hills inland from Faro. I systematically prepare my own compost and also have a big clump of comfrey (from root cuttings from a friend's Manchester allotment). The comfrey seems to like the climate here and last year I got 8 cuttings from it during the season. I started by making liquid feed but it's such an evil-smelling concoction that I went over to drying the leaves in the hot sun, then cutting them into small bits, to make a sort of 'comfrey crumble'. I then scatter a handful round each tomato, pepper, aubergine etc plant and water in. What I don't know whether this is as beneficial to the plants as liquid feed. Does anyone know? Thanks.
If you were to choose just 1 fertilizer for your whole garden would it be chicken pellets? Would that be ideal for everything? Tomatoes, squash, peppers, lettuce, kale, beans, flowers, etc.
In our area we have some invasive fish species which the biologists ask we do not return to the water if caught. I have buried some of them around flower and vegetable plants which decompose quickly. The only caveat is to plant them deeply enough to discourage varies critters from digging them up...
Hi I am new to all this and with your help it has helped me out a lot thank you. Love watching your video’s wish you could go more in-depth with some of your video’s thank you
It's best to add one type of fertiliser in most cases, as you don't want to duplicate what you are adding. In most cases, simply follow the packet instructions. Something like blood, fish and bonemeal might be added at planting time, but then in about six weeks' time you may want to top up those nutrients with something faster acting like a liquid seaweed feed. It really depends on what you are growing, the time of year, and your soil conditions, so it's hard to give a precise answer to this.
Great video Ben, really clear and informative. I tend to use a mix of garden compost, well rotted stable manure as a mulch then blood fish and bone on my veg beds mixed with a sprinkle of chicken manure pellets and seaweed feed for my cucumbers tomatoes and aubergines. I have been seeing some major tomato enthusiasts water with Cal/Mag liquid or Epsom salts to help against Blossom end rot in tomatoes. something I really suffered with last season due to it being so hot and watering was tricky to keep up with. Do you have any thoughts on those? Do they count as organic? I am not sure it they are from manufactured sources or if the seaweed feed gives enough. I decided this year to add blood fish and bone to the compost I planted my tomatoes in as that should contain more calcium for the fruits. 🤞
Hi Dawn. I don't use Epsom salts or anything like that. Blossom end rot tends to be due to infrequent/irregular watering, which makes it trickier for the plant to get everything it needs, hence the BER. I tend to just apply the occasional organic liquid tomato feed, but I'm not sure even that is needed with outdoor plants grown in well-composted beds with a few goodies added to the planting hole at planting time. I'm sceptical of the whole Epsom salts thing - there should be enough from other forms of organic goodness not to need that.
Great informative video, thanks. Normally I don't like to be told to hit the notification bell, but because I've never heard one described as cheeky, I had to do it 😀.
Great video interesting i am just trying some chicken manure pellets for my Rocket potatoes, first time i have used them so be interesting to see how they improve my veg. The last few years been getting a lot of small potatoes. Also we seem to get some green potatoes this last few years even though they are well covered with soil. Why ?
Good fertility and plenty of water during dry spells will help your potatoes thrive. Not sure why they'd be turning green if covered in soil. Maybe the covering is too shallow so light is getting through. Be sure to earth up/hill your potatoes thoroughly to avoid this.
I've never diluted/liquified soil fertilisers like that. I imagine it would speed up their uptake though, although there would be the risk of too much being taken up at once. We'll certainly look at the possibility of more videos in this area, thanks for the suggestion.
@@GrowVeg Try bat guano tea! Its very impressive but annoyingly if you search it on youtube it just comes up with canabis growing so if you could try this on tomatoes or veg I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks :) (Tip, add the guano to water rather than water to the guano as it gets dusty and avoid breathing it in as it is very toxic)
Brilliant video very good top tips are use blood fish and bone, as a new Gardner and it’s working well for me, can I give my plants are banana tea drink as well as using a plant food to top up
Yes, you could definitely use a banana tea drink as well as a plant food. The banana tea drink probably won't have that high a concentration of nutrients. I just add my banana skins direct to the compost heap.
I use my home made compost well rotted hourse manure and when planting out young plants sprinkle blood fish and bone brillant stuff. Then through the growing season use nettle liquid I make as a liquid feed one week them tom feed the following week. Also at the end of tve growing season all my runner beans plants I'll chop into small bits and dig trenches and cover back over to use in beds. Plus beds I'm not useing over winter simply clear weed and cover with card which I compost when it's time for the growing season when iv dug in horse manure and the soil has warmed up and frosts have cleared
I have recently started taking a spade full of my compost soil and putting it in a 5 gallon pail filling it with water, mixing it with my spade and pouring the water on my plants. I live on an acreage and my water is not chlorinated. I am hoping this takes all the water soluble nutrients from the compost dirt and transfers it to the area's I'm watering. I'm interested in what you think of this. Thank you
When I see chicken manure pellets labelled as organic, I do wonder if some people confuse that with being from organically raised (soil association approved) chickens
Great video!!! I just would like to double check?? Would i be able to grow vegetables with just manure an d compost??? As i feel like this is a very sustainable option :) im trying to look into permaculture and natural ways of gardening :)
I have started making Fertilsed, Nettle, Juice, or F.N.J. for short very easy to make, does not have a bad smell, outlay is cheap and the only cost is the Brown Sugar. Must have a minimum effect to the planet
Great video, thank you! You didn't mention bat guano, which is one of my favourites that I like to add at planting time, or coffee grounds and tea leaves, which are always in plentiful supply in our house. We also use quite a bit of seaweed (kelp) in cooking here in Japan; we use it to make vegetarian stock. Can the sheets of seaweed left after making stock be used to make seaweed tea, or have I already removed all the nutrients?
Just make sure that whoever you buy bat guano from they are working with the bat Conservancy people and not just knocking holes in cave walls to extract the guano and leaving the bats to fly off and die because they don't recolonize with other bats.
I have access to a lot of horse manure, my question is how much is too much? Last spring I added a 3" layer before I tilled it in and got a lot of weeds.
I know about nettle tea... but is there a benefit to putting pulled weeds and other green garden waste matter into a bucket of water to decompose in a similar way and then mix with water to be added to plants? I've been dropping my green garden waste (typically weeds or leaves that are a bit bug damaged) into a bucket of water with the notion that as they break down they should add nutrients to the water which may then be able to be used to help fertilise the garden... does that sound like it would work?
Yes, that could certainly work. I know some people make a grass clippings tea in a similar way. All those nutrients seep out into the water, which can then be applied to crops.
Could you please please please make a video on using, Urea, Triple Super Phosphate and Muriate of Potash as fertilizers? Could you please cover dosage per plant, pros and cons etc. It would be very economical to use if one knows the right way to use it. Please make a video.
I'm fortunate to live near the seaside, so I collect seaweed in October/November. Leave it for a few weeks to let the rain wash out excess salt then mix it 50 /50 with dried leaves, and/or shredded cardboard and/or grass clippings. Run a lawnmower over it to shred, and lay it on your beds to overwinter. Improves the soil no end.
I bet it's truly magic stuff!
Thanks for this! I too live near the coast and was walking one day at low tide and the sand was covered with seaweed. I wondered about using it in my garden--bingo! Now I know where I'll be this fall :-)
@@GrowVeg how do we calculate their npk if we want to mix blood meal, bone meal and banana peel together
I was just about to say fresh seaweed is awesome when you rinse off the salt. I actually find Alpaca, rabbit, chicken and horse are all fantastic manures but they are very different.
I'm back to the powdered potash now. I lived by the coast for 8 years and the beach was always littered with large amounts of seaweed and I did use a lot of it to get my gardens started but I didn't consider rinsing it off. Didn't seem to be a problem. Living in the driest place on earth for lack of rainfall too.
Don't forget the ultimate plant food - compost! Check out our video on how to make the no-fuss, nutritious, and beautifully crumbly compost: ua-cam.com/video/4D43HPdYHsA/v-deo.html
I use rabbit manure. I love it.
Great tips. I use a combination of liquid seaweed for new plants when transplanting to reduce stress, blood and bone and cow and chook manure when starting a new bed, then chook pellets along the way every 3 months. The soil is great and the plants love it.
I used home made compost put on beds in November time and then when I clear an area. I used chicken manure pellets and FBF as a pick up if needed during the season. All Toms, cucumbers, peppers and any other fruiting veg is fed with liquid comfrey feed.
Nice to see you use homemade compost for your plant , vegetable , happy gardening
I've had a goosegog Bush for years planted in a very large plant pot and feed it tomato feeder during the year but learning so much from you about looking after the soil using products like chicken pettles or blood fish n bones to help my soil plus added fresh soil on top of my old soil, the learning never ends 😀 😃😃😃
Keep up the excellent work it doesn't go unnoticed with us online green finger fokes 🥰🥰🥰
Cheers for that. And it's so true - you never stop learning when it comes to gardening!
Thanks Ben, I've just turned over a lawn to gorw vegetable only to reveal poor soil. Whilst waiting for my comfrey to grow and before I put in manure this winter, your video has given me some great ideas.
So pleased it has been helpful. Hope you manage to improve the quality of your soil over the next few years. :-)
Thanks Ben.I use bone meal which I find plants love,then follow up with general liquid feed at watering time,also epsom salts if needed along the way.
I always use chicken manure pellets, Blood fish and bone and seaweed liquid form. I also make my own nettle tea and I also get worm tea from my wormery.
The best garden I ever had was years ago when I didn't know much about gardening. It fed a family of 5 and some of my neighbors. I had more vegetables than I knew what to do with. The only fertilizer I put down was grass clippings. I learned that from neighbor. As soon as I started to pit down commercial organic fertilizers my garden suffered. Maybe I should go back to the grass mine is organic. I use blood meal and all the rest you mentioned even the fish. By dog will dig up anything with the blood meal on it. Great video thanks. I have been brushing up all day on them. Thank you.
Grass clippings are a very handy addition for sure.
Great video, I use a combo of chicken manure pellets and blood fish and bone. More of either depending on the crop and at different times unless it’s on a bed that’s resting between planting where I use everything together. Important to stress here that chicken manure pellets can burn young plants if they’re used incorrectly: high doses too often/ too close to the base of the plant/ too much. This can happen to established plants also. No matter what fertiliser you use the the key is to distribute it lightly, regularly with enough time in between doses so the material has a chance to break down and not build up.
thank you your info is so helpful
I'm with you chicken and cow manuer is my go to.Happy growing and stay safe.
I used them all my Brother, they all work great ✌️
Thank you for all your advice, lovely little dog helping you too.
I've been blessed to live by a friend that raises rabbits. He gives me his rabbit poop whenever I need it for free. IMO there is no other natural manure fertilizer that works better. I always have a bag of organic off the shelf fertilizers I use during fruiting. Trifecta + and Dr Earth vegetable fert. 5-10-6 is the NPK numbers which is about perfect.
Sounds like a potent combination - great stuff!
Thanks Ben. Chicken pellets are great, Fish Blood and Bone is also a fantastic all rounder. When I plant potatoes in tubs I use a combination of the two.
Great combo, thanks for sharing. :-)
@@GrowVegdo you have an email address,?
Thanks, been gardening for over 50 years but always good to get tips and hints.
Thanks Frank. :-)
I knew if i called in to watch your video i would find the best advice with regard to which Fertilizer to use . Thank You for your sound advice .
So pleased you've found it helpful - cheers for watching.
Recently planted my own (Russian) comfrey. I just cut it down four times a year and topdress them in the strawberry field and tomato patch. The potassium particulary stimulates fruit forming and growth. The comfrey is a wonderful plant. In the winter I fill my beds with compost made of green waste or the remaining substrate of mushroom farms. The last is a mix of horse manure, straw and lime and is dumped by the farmers in NL for very low prices. Although I prefer to minimize external inputs you cannot deplete your garden forever, you need to feed it again to put nutrients back.
Comfrey's a fantastic plant - every garden should have a clump for sure Stefan.
Just be sure you use the right type of comfrey. It's incredibly, and I mean incredibly, invasive if it is allowed to flower and set seed. Use 'bocking 14' variety which is sterile.
Very useful info, thanks!--I am still unsure when to use different amendments I see in the garden center. One thing I do is green compost, just grow cover crops and till them under, and use lawn clippings, leaves, prunings, etc as amendments...along with kitchen scraps that are pesticide free. Sometimes I go to the beach early in the morning and grab a bit of seaweed too.
the very fact that you're consciously thinking about it and adding it, is good in itself , well done
Seaweed is magic stuff - really good source of nutrients.
Sounds like you have it figured already! Many people are just now learning to use cover crops...
@@carladelagnomes I am only about one year into trying to grow my own food--I just keep experimenting, and if something is free of cost or little cost even better 😊
@@GrowVeg I've been using Spirulina powder which my plants do really well with. Would you say liquid seaweed or calcified seaweed is better or similar to Spirulina? I pay $10 for a 1 pound bag of spirulina. Would seaweed be a better deal?
PS, I have mostly roses in large pots with part potting soil and medium to coarse sand added.
I put a big garden trug/plastic container under the compost tumbler when I water it--any run-off is great compost tea, and goes straight onto my plants. I live in the desert (NM, USA) and keeping compost moist enough is a constant challenge. I've found that a large (45 gallon), wheeled garbage can with a lid is perfect...I have two of those going in addition to my tumbler. If I have big addition of ingredients, or after it is finished, I can wheel it to where it is most convenient to load or unload--no shoveling into a wheelbarrow! I drilled a hole at the bottom and added the attachment for a hose, so when I water these bins, I can direct the 'tea' to plants, as well. The drain ensures that the bottom doesn't get anaerobic, but the inch or so of water left below the drain quickly wicks back up into the compost. (Those who live in moister climates can use the same technique...if you need more airflow to keep it from getting nasty, just drill a few extra holes around it about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up the sides.) I've been astounded at how quickly compost starts to cook with this set-up!
That sounds interesting, especially directing the compost tea liquid off to the plants.
What an excellent idea!
Thanks bro I have been studying organics for a while now and so many people over complicate things I really like how you keep it simple an have been quite helpful 👍👍👍
I always use nettle tea. I jank weeds and chuck them in there too. As it breaks down it smells awful but I dilute it and add it to the second round of watering after the plants have had a good soak first. Also, make sure to harvest nettle before any seeds mature. I have learned that the hard way lol
Great suggestion, thanks Liz.
I. Make compost from kitchen scraps, animal poo and stuff from around the garden. Sea weed is used as a dried out mulch and to add to the heap. Lately I have been making fermented nettle gloop using brown sugar. 🥕🥔🍆🥥
Love the sound of your fermented nettle gloop Fred!
@@GrowVeg got it from huw Richards channel. You just put layers of nettles Andy brown sugar in a big jar, leave for a week then funnel off into a smaller jar. Looks like baby bio. Mix it in water 50 times dilute and bobs your uncle.
Very informative Ben, thank you. My personal preference is also the organic chicken pellets. I do use comfrey tea and seaweed too (organic of course)and I use bonemeal on new shrub plantings and blood, fish and bone on my flower borders only though because being vegetarian I don’t fancy it around my food!
My allotment isn’t looking too bad at the moment, the onions are huge, sweetcorn, parsnips, carrots and calabrese are all looking good and my beans coming into production. My peas have been a disappointment and this year I can’t grow beetroot. They all come thru and then vanish, so it’s either birds or slugs. I am now raising some in modules and will plant them out later. There are always winners and losers in veg growing, so I am just very grateful for what I have got.
That's the spirit Vanessa - you lose some and win some! Starting vulnerable plants off in modules is a great idea.
Don't let these fiends influence you Ben. They are willing to slither beneath the gutter and remain there indefinitely. I'm just here because I like your channel and your videos
My fav was turkey poop, but alas, it’s no longer available. I use the chicken poop now and when wild bunnies visit our yard, I’ve been known to scoop it up and add it. Fish emulsion works great too!
Always enjoy your vids. Blessings...daisy
I'm a big fan of fish emulsion for a liquid feed, especially if it has seaweed added in as well. Otherwise we rock alot of the same stuff you've listed here. Alfalfa meal is another good one that is listed in alot of the organic blends we use in our garden.
I use those as well, they are excellent
I use both bone meal , fish blood and bone , added to compost for my seedling propagation , and also use sea weed and tomato feed once a week in my watering cans for all of my vegetable plants . The marigolds i planted as tomato companions , have benefited so much they have grown to almost 4 feet tall .
Those are enormous marigolds!
I use grass clippings from non-chemically fertilized yards, leaf mould, all shapes, sizes, and colours of kelp/seaweed that I harvest washed up on the shore near where I live, comfrey and yellow dock leaves and stalks from plants that grow in my yard, weed leaves that I pick,, especially dandelions and yarrow which are trying to take over my yard, occasional aged chicken manure, and alfalfa meal.
A great selection of wholesome, natural feeds Anne.
I’m so glad I found this channel it’s been really useful and helpful. I’ve no doubt you know of the benefits of fertilizer from stinging nettles but I’d love to hear you compare it, as something that is free, with all those purchasable products mentioned here. Thanks again, I really love this no nonsense channel.
Thanks for watching Andrew.
I love fish, blood and bone for general feeding and liquid seaweed added to my watering schedule once a week. I have the seed now to grow comfrey from next year to take the cost of the seaweed out of my budget. I do give my brasiccas a chicken manure feed once each season and fruit trees bonemeal in the spring
Sounds like a very thorough and healthy feeding regime Andy.
@@GrowVeg Thanks Ben, this is what I have found works best for me during my almost sixty years of gardening.
I'm surprised fish emulsion wasn't mentioned. 5-1-1 and 0-10-10. Combined together they also make a complete organic fertilizer. Very informative video.
Hello Ben, great job making this Video and explaning the different plantfood. 👍 I use finish dry organic veg, fruit and tomato fertiliser, make comfree and nettle tea as well as useing liquid seaweed. Everything in pots get liquid feeding weekly , fruit and veg in raised bed or in the ground get fertiliser as they need it, in spring and start of fruiting, after harvest. Some also get garlic tea. And at the base of fruittrees I always put a clove of garlic and leave it there. By the way, what do you give blueberries and how often? I was a bit unsure since they are still new to me in the garden. Lots of greetings from my garden to yours. 🌻 Marie
Hi Marie. Blueberries are often fed with an organic fertiliser specifically formulated for acid-loving plants. Many people also recommend coffee grounds as a good, natural fertiliser for acid-loving plants like blueberries.
Hi, Ben just wanted to say thanks for the video on organic fertilizers. It was really interesting and you always give a good amount of info in your videos this is why I like watching them. Thanks again Keith
You're welcome Keith, I'm pleased it was useful. :-)
Great explanation Ben. I’m a big fan of blood, fish and bone along with comfrey tea and chicken manure
The holy trinity of organic feeds/fertilisers Mark.
I use pellets mostly. I am intrigued by the Comfrey one, never seen them, But I used to go forage for Comfrey to add to my compost bin or make tea from, which smelled so bad I gave up.
Hi Ben, what a great video! So informative as the amount of different products are available in the garden centres is really quite scary! I also love Poultry pellets and fish blood and bone. The biggest onions I ever grew were top dressed every six weeks with processed turkey poo, I'm not sure they are available to the amateur market though. I also am a big home composter, I can't believe there are dislikes for this video!
Happy gardening
Gary
Cheers Gary. That turkey poo sounds like potent stuff!
I have been using organic tomato feed but I will also try chicken pallets and seaweed for variety
My favorite is composted horse manure, and mushroom compost, last but not least seagulls manure. (guano de las islas).
Thanks Ben I found your video really useful thank you. I have been using blood fish and bone and in the process of making nettle concentrate 👍
Blood and bone meal and chicken manure that’s my fertiliser for everything.. plants + vegetables
I really like your videos,… watching from Kentucky “ The Bluegrass State “. USA 🇺🇸
I have been making a brew from pond water and Moss all the weeds that grow in the bottom of the pond ,.. and using little sun fish that i have been catching with a fly rod for my fertilizers .
Hey Kelly, thanks for watching. Your brew sounds wonderfully potent!
@@GrowVeg have you used egg shells for the calcium. ?
This is the video I’ve been waiting for!! I’ve built my garden from scratch. 25x10 metres of newly laid lawn with beds filled with hydrangea, roses, fruit trees, buxus, elder, Jasmin, clematis, Choisya, eunimus…. Lots! I’ve picked up loads of different varieties of different feeds but it’s a minefield out there about which is best to use. I’ve been adding liquid seaweed once a week to water with. Haven’t got granular yet, but that’s now on the list for a soil improver! Lots of clay here in London. Can I ask: what sort of schedule are you feeding on? I was thinking about getting some blood, fish and bone down for my roses! Thanks again… have subbed! Jack
Thanks for the sub Jack. Most plants are fertilised with blood, fish and bone or chicken manure pellets at planting time. I top up beds with compost each season, and this does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to providing the right nutrients. I do feed tomatoes, peppers etc with a tomato feed or liquid seaweed feed regularly also.
I use chicken manure tea to boost my vegetable production, as well a compost around the roots of the plants.
Wow.. Really amazing video.. 🌿🌸🌸🌸🌸👍👍
Fantastic show Ben. I really like seeing your gardens and visual application. We have a worm tower and use worm tea as well as your suggestions. Great information. I am much clearer now. Thank you
Diana in Bayfield Colorado
Thanks Diana, appreciate that. Worm tea is marvellous stuff!
Brilliant. So much valuable info in a short video, thank you!!
Wonderful video. I only use chicken manure pellets. However, I am concerned whether the chickens are organically grown. I also use potash. I use to buy a powdered form but for ease of use I now purchased granulated potash. I've been thinking recently that I should invest in fish emulsion as a liquid fertiliser for my hungry annuals but I guess the seaweed fertiliser you mentioned might be a good idea. It will depend on value for money in my case. For my indoor plants, I was thinking I'd soak the pelletised chicken manure in water.
I find liquid seaweed is more of a kind of multivitamin to plants. It does t usually state any NPK value on the bottles I've bought
We use fish emulsion, compost, & blood meal.
We encourage worms, as well.
Oh yes, it has been confusing. Thank you Ben 👍🏼
Thank you thank you thank you 🙏🏻 I’m only in my second year of growing and have been totally confused with all the fertilisers available. I have pots and bottles of so many different ones I don’t know where to begin. So many people put the emphasis on the numbering ratios for NPK which to me has only added to my confusion 🤯 So it was great to unravel the knot in my head with this watch. Laughably I have the calcified seaweed which I add sprinkles here and there but had no idea it helps break up clay soils. My soil is very heavy compact clay with no visible life so I painstakingly dug it over mixing lots of manure, compost, perlite, bfb, chicken pellets and a sprinkle of calcified seaweed. I’m hoping now to switch to no dig but I’m wondering what sort of volume of seaweed could I add? I’ve noticed despite all the extras the soil is still really compact
Organic matter would have the biggest impact - keep adding it and slowly but surely your soil should improve. But it does take time.
Stop digging. Add a layer of WELL rotted cow manure, chopped seaweed/chopped cardboard or compost (or even better, all 3) to form a layer 3" -4" thick over your beds each autumn, and let the worms do the work. It may take a few years, but you will get there.
Really informative video. Thanks! I like to use earthworm castings for a fall/spring soil amendment.
My favoutite is kelp meal.
If you are ever having problems finding these products for sale as fertilizer most can be found as aqatic feed.
That's really helpful to know, thanks Jeff.
The Rhs stated that you should never use bone meal with trees and shrubs, as its not forcing the plant to get its own food, and to high a phosphorus is actually detrimental to beneficial fungi.
Interesting Matthew - it's always recommended for new plantings, but I have heard a counter argument that roots should be encouraged to move out into the surrounding soil and that adding compost and fertilisers can reduce the incentive to do this.
I ever tried fish pellet,,and the result good, because in my area chicken pellet not common,
I'm with you on chicken manure pellets, our corn is growing beautifully with this addition! Have you any thoughts to using coffee grounds?
I've heard good things about coffee grounds, but also that too many can be harmful to plants. Personally I just add them to the compost heap with the other kitchen scraps to return their goodness that way.
@@GrowVeg I add them to my compost heap too but I have heard that Coffee grounds are a great slug/snail deterrent too.
i always appriciate ur tips on fertelizers, compost and boosting plants in generel. Keep up the great vids! :)
Loved this one! Many thanks.
It's good to get tips. 51 and still need advice.
You never stop learning!
Another great video Ben… One thing I recommend adding (or editing in), is to emphasize that people make sure they are not using manure from animal that were recently wormed. Some folks keep their animals wormed via natural methods like feeding them charcoal and that manure is perfect for the compost bin (always compost manure as the composting process kills anything bad (non chemically speaking) lurking within). But if any bad worming pharmaceuticals are used (like Ivermectin and what not), it will be in high concentrations in the manure and all of those worming poisons kill earth worms (very bad for your garden). Also, glyphosate is basically a forever chemical and can be in high concentrations in animal manure if the animal ate a lot of hay or grains that were sprayed with it (the majority of non organic grains (including feed corn) have been sprayed with glyphosate as a desiccant to speed up harvest). So I only compost organic ruminant manure from very well trusted sources. Free horse manure is very bad if it kills your garden, but good organic horse manure makes incredible compost. It is worth it to be a very picky poop snob when it comes to the crap you are willing to accept. :)
Really sage advice there Tim, thanks for sharing that. As you say, always worth asking questions about your manures - it might seem like an odd obsession, but it pays dividends!
I'd just add that it's worth keeping things in perspective. Detecting traces of substances in food or soil or our bodies is not necessarily a death sentence because modern testing methods are almost inconceivably sensitive. Beware of misinformation.
Residues of herbicides and pesticides are mostly harmless. Yes, really. Being able to detect 1 part in 300,000,000,000 is very clever, but it's essentially meaningless unless you're a fanatic with... issues.
Organic extremists will worry themselves sick over [for example] glyphosate in carrots, missing the significant data which calmly points out that you'd have to eat 80 lbs of such deadly carrots per day, every day, for 40 years, before a similar quantity of 'contamination' could be detected in your liver.
At which point it would have NO discernible effect on your health. Hmm. That's not very scandalous, really, is it.
So sometimes it's best to throw away the tinfoil hat, stop worrying about conspiracies, get out in the garden, and just grow stuff.🙂
Another very useful video, many thanks. My veggie garden is in the south of Portugal, in the Algarve hills inland from Faro. I systematically prepare my own compost and also have a big clump of comfrey (from root cuttings from a friend's Manchester allotment). The comfrey seems to like the climate here and last year I got 8 cuttings from it during the season. I started by making liquid feed but it's such an evil-smelling concoction that I went over to drying the leaves in the hot sun, then cutting them into small bits, to make a sort of 'comfrey crumble'. I then scatter a handful round each tomato, pepper, aubergine etc plant and water in. What I don't know whether this is as beneficial to the plants as liquid feed. Does anyone know? Thanks.
I would imagine it would be as beneficial, as all those nutrients are still there, in the leaves. I guess it wouldn't be as fast acting, that's all.
Amazing video with a clear information and very detailed. Thank you!
Brilliant information Ben Thanks
If you were to choose just 1 fertilizer for your whole garden would it be chicken pellets? Would that be ideal for everything? Tomatoes, squash, peppers, lettuce, kale, beans, flowers, etc.
I think it would come very close to being a good, all-purpose fertilizer. That or perhaps blood, fish and bone.
Shared your video with my FB gardening groups. Thank you
Thanks for sharing it Paula.
I make my own fish fertilizer in a drum. Bunch of shad, some Epsom salts and sugar or molasses
Can you add a bit more detail about how you do this- like a recipe- and more info on storing it. Sounds interesting.
@@hansonrh Please do!
Really helpful! Thank you 😊
In our area we have some invasive fish species which the biologists ask we do not return to the water if caught. I have buried some of them around flower and vegetable plants which decompose quickly. The only caveat is to plant them deeply enough to discourage varies critters from digging them up...
That's a clever way of making use of them.
Hi I am new to all this and with your help it has helped me out a lot thank you.
Love watching your video’s wish you could go more in-depth with some of your video’s thank you
Thanks for the feedback Martyn, it's appreciated.
Thank you so much. How often and is it ok to add a couple of them and do we add them at different times ? Thanks
This is what I want to know too. I never know when to fertilize and how often!
@@dccraig3222 Me too
It's best to add one type of fertiliser in most cases, as you don't want to duplicate what you are adding. In most cases, simply follow the packet instructions. Something like blood, fish and bonemeal might be added at planting time, but then in about six weeks' time you may want to top up those nutrients with something faster acting like a liquid seaweed feed. It really depends on what you are growing, the time of year, and your soil conditions, so it's hard to give a precise answer to this.
Great video Ben, really clear and informative. I tend to use a mix of garden compost, well rotted stable manure as a mulch then blood fish and bone on my veg beds mixed with a sprinkle of chicken manure pellets and seaweed feed for my cucumbers tomatoes and aubergines.
I have been seeing some major tomato enthusiasts water with Cal/Mag liquid or Epsom salts to help against Blossom end rot in tomatoes. something I really suffered with last season due to it being so hot and watering was tricky to keep up with. Do you have any thoughts on those? Do they count as organic? I am not sure it they are from manufactured sources or if the seaweed feed gives enough. I decided this year to add blood fish and bone to the compost I planted my tomatoes in as that should contain more calcium for the fruits. 🤞
Hi Dawn. I don't use Epsom salts or anything like that. Blossom end rot tends to be due to infrequent/irregular watering, which makes it trickier for the plant to get everything it needs, hence the BER. I tend to just apply the occasional organic liquid tomato feed, but I'm not sure even that is needed with outdoor plants grown in well-composted beds with a few goodies added to the planting hole at planting time. I'm sceptical of the whole Epsom salts thing - there should be enough from other forms of organic goodness not to need that.
Great informative video, thanks. Normally I don't like to be told to hit the notification bell, but because I've never heard one described as cheeky, I had to do it 😀.
Haha - the cheekiness worked! Thanks for doing that. :-)
@@GrowVeg 😄you cheeky devil.
Awesome video, I’ve always wanted to know the difference between them all
Cool video keep it up!!
Cheers Michael.
I'm brand new to gardening/allotment work. Acquiring one 2 weeks ago.
Your channel is fantastic I love your videos Ben. Thanks.
Thanks so much - and congratulations on your new allotment!
Great video interesting i am just trying some chicken manure pellets for my Rocket potatoes, first time i have used them so be interesting to see how they improve my veg. The last few years been getting a lot of small potatoes. Also we seem to get some green potatoes this last few years even though they are well covered with soil. Why ?
Good fertility and plenty of water during dry spells will help your potatoes thrive. Not sure why they'd be turning green if covered in soil. Maybe the covering is too shallow so light is getting through. Be sure to earth up/hill your potatoes thoroughly to avoid this.
Thank you. So helpful.
Hi I use two large drums one filled with comfrey and one with nettles , this gives me gallons of feed every year
I have a rather smaller container of nettle feed because I got fed up of being stung. Colour me coward!
Whats your take on liquifying NPK fertilizer?
Can you make a video about the lack of certain substances like Iron, Bor and Calcium?
Cheers
Nin
I've never diluted/liquified soil fertilisers like that. I imagine it would speed up their uptake though, although there would be the risk of too much being taken up at once. We'll certainly look at the possibility of more videos in this area, thanks for the suggestion.
@@GrowVeg Try bat guano tea! Its very impressive but annoyingly if you search it on youtube it just comes up with canabis growing so if you could try this on tomatoes or veg I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks :)
(Tip, add the guano to water rather than water to the guano as it gets dusty and avoid breathing it in as it is very toxic)
Worm castings and bat guano rock!!
Collecting bat guano gives us novel zoonotic diseases though.
Protien is high in nitrogen, bones are high in phosphorus, potassium is harder to distribute, aim for composting deep rooted plants
Brilliant video very good top tips are use blood fish and bone, as a new Gardner and it’s working well for me, can I give my plants are banana tea drink as well as using a plant food to top up
Yes, you could definitely use a banana tea drink as well as a plant food. The banana tea drink probably won't have that high a concentration of nutrients. I just add my banana skins direct to the compost heap.
I use my home made compost well rotted hourse manure and when planting out young plants sprinkle blood fish and bone brillant stuff. Then through the growing season use nettle liquid I make as a liquid feed one week them tom feed the following week. Also at the end of tve growing season all my runner beans plants I'll chop into small bits and dig trenches and cover back over to use in beds. Plus beds I'm not useing over winter simply clear weed and cover with card which I compost when it's time for the growing season when iv dug in horse manure and the soil has warmed up and frosts have cleared
That's a great system you have there - and wonderful to make the most of nature's bounty like that.
I have recently started taking a spade full of my compost soil and putting it in a 5 gallon pail filling it with water, mixing it with my spade and pouring the water on my plants. I live on an acreage and my water is not chlorinated. I am hoping this takes all the water soluble nutrients from the compost dirt and transfers it to the area's I'm watering. I'm interested in what you think of this. Thank you
I'm not sure this would have much more of an impact than simply laying the compost directly onto your garden beds Darren.
Thanks great information
When I see chicken manure pellets labelled as organic, I do wonder if some people confuse that with being from organically raised (soil association approved) chickens
Good point. Free range birds are the key. Thanks
Hi, very nice video. I make my own like Jadams, labs and fermented plant juice.
Very impressive to be making your own. :-)
@@GrowVeg thank you. I love natural farming method even I got a very small backyard garden.
I'm going to do some bio char innoculated with worm castings
Great video!!! I just would like to double check?? Would i be able to grow vegetables with just manure an d compost??? As i feel like this is a very sustainable option :) im trying to look into permaculture and natural ways of gardening :)
Yes, absolutely. Many gardeners have great success by adding nothing but good quality compost and well rotted manure to their soil.
I have started making Fertilsed, Nettle, Juice, or F.N.J. for short very easy to make, does not have a bad smell, outlay is cheap and the only cost is the Brown Sugar. Must have a minimum effect to the planet
Great video, thank you! You didn't mention bat guano, which is one of my favourites that I like to add at planting time, or coffee grounds and tea leaves, which are always in plentiful supply in our house. We also use quite a bit of seaweed (kelp) in cooking here in Japan; we use it to make vegetarian stock. Can the sheets of seaweed left after making stock be used to make seaweed tea, or have I already removed all the nutrients?
I would think that the boiling would have removed the nutrients, and the seaweed would be a bit too gloopy/sloppy for adding straight to beds.
Just make sure that whoever you buy bat guano from they are working with the bat Conservancy people and not just knocking holes in cave walls to extract the guano and leaving the bats to fly off and die because they don't recolonize with other bats.
Well explained.👍
I have access to a lot of horse manure, my question is how much is too much? Last spring I added a 3" layer before I tilled it in and got a lot of weeds.
You want the horse manure to be properly decomposed, so it's nice and crumbly. Then you can add it in plentiful quantities, no problem.
I know about nettle tea... but is there a benefit to putting pulled weeds and other green garden waste matter into a bucket of water to decompose in a similar way and then mix with water to be added to plants? I've been dropping my green garden waste (typically weeds or leaves that are a bit bug damaged) into a bucket of water with the notion that as they break down they should add nutrients to the water which may then be able to be used to help fertilise the garden... does that sound like it would work?
Yes, that could certainly work. I know some people make a grass clippings tea in a similar way. All those nutrients seep out into the water, which can then be applied to crops.
I use a combination of blood fish and bone alongside gro-sure slow release feed
Could you please please please make a video on using, Urea, Triple Super Phosphate and Muriate of Potash as fertilizers? Could you please cover dosage per plant, pros and cons etc. It would be very economical to use if one knows the right way to use it. Please make a video.
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll certainly add this to our list of video ideas. :-)
this video was incredibly helpful.
Thank you so much 🌻
I love tgee espoma Biotone to start my veg.
Do you have any particular recommendations for indoor chillies?
Just a liquid tomato feed would be great for chillies.