non-animal based organic fertiliser - any ideas?

[laurasilver]

I keep reading that we should apply a 'general balanced fertiliser' or a 'nitrogen rich fertiliser' but I can't think how to do this without uisng blood fish and bone or bonemeal etc. Nor do I want to use MiracleGro etc. For potassium rich feed we have comfrey.

Does anyone know what we could use instead? I am also interested in solid or granular stuff that might impart its benefits more gradually than liquid feed.

We try to grow organically, but I am vegetarian .

Any suggestions welcome!

[Jeanied]

Make your own comfrey tea or nettle tea. Use chopped comfrey directly on the soil. Seaweed feed is also good. And then make good compost, and use well rotted horse or cow muck. Or you could use chicken poo.

[VirginVegGrower]

Echo seaweed and/or comfrey sentiments above.

[chris]

Urea is high in nitrogen too.

[chris]

Infact, have just seen this: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ser_65469.html

[Two_Sheds]

We try to grow organically, but I am vegetarian .

Just vegetarian, or stock-free? I've never used horse manure, ever ~ it isn't essential.

stock-free = non animal.

As well as comfrey, nettles etc you can use urine, and green manures, grass clippings etc. No need to go for granular: the plants can't take it up until it's been diluted with rain (that's what makes it slow-release), whereas they can use liquid feed immediately.

This year I'm taking inspiration from One Straw Revolution, and chopping my weeds & green manures directly onto the beds instead of composting them first

[laurasilver]

Wow, thanks everybody. I kept wondering about urine when I read about urea and sulphate of ammonia - I'll have a read up on that one

I'll also look into the cut up leaves as a top dressing. There is a west-indian guy across the path from us who has been there for decades, and I noticed today he has placed comfrey leaves in between his rows of potatoes.

So Manure/chicken manure is rich in nitrogen?

Many thanks all

[chris]

Is it, yes.. but it needs to rot down first.

You could buy the pellet form, but if you do have a look on the side of the tub, it'll say if the pellets are from free range/organic reared chickens.. if not then they're probably from battery farms.

[alldigging]

Comfrey can be used as a leaf mulch, or turned into tea.

You can make borage tea, nettle tea too and apparently horsetail tea too.

[Feral007]

And you can make the manure's into tea's as well. My father never used the manure directly as it burned the roots.

[laurasilver]

Good tip about chicken manure and avoiding battery hens - I hadn't thought of that.

I do have some comfrey tea, it's just that I thought we used that for potassium mostly. We had loads of borage last year - went on the compost. I will make tea out of it this year.

Now you mention manure tea, I remember my grandad used to do that - had it in sacking contained within a barrel of water. It stank! But it must have done th job

Thanks everybody for your replies.

[Two_Sheds]

Now you mention manure tea

Comfrey is higher in nutrients, make that instead

[tamsin]

Try your local animal rescues if you want cruelty free 'manure', I know some of the small animal places have a lot of trouble dealing with the amount of waste they produce so you're doing them a favour taking it away. Rabbit stuff can be dug straight in without composting. There are places that deal with horses/donkey/chickens etc if you want a different flavour of poop.

[laurasilver]

That's a brilliant idea. We have a PDSA metres away from the allotment, but it deals mostly with dogs and cats. However, santuaries are something I had never considered; thanks for the suggestions.