Organic fertiliser?

[Snadger]

After reading lottieladies blood fish and bone question and realilising quite a few people are trying to grow organically I thought I would start a thread so that grapes could add any organic fertiliser that they are aware of!

I'll start the ball rolling with the few that I know of:-

1) Blood fish and bone meal (collectively or individually)
2) Chicken muck pellets
3)Farm yard manure including hen,rabbit,cavy,cow,horse,sheep etc (Can be hung up in a sack and steeped in a water butt to give a liqiud feed)
4) Comfrey tea (Comfrey leaves steeped in water)
5) Nettle tea (as above)
6) 6X concentrated cow muck
7) Couch grass roots steeped in water to make a tea
8)Wood ash
9)Soot
10)Guano

[cottage garden]

I think you've covered the lot there Snager!!!

I garden organically and completely rely on homemade fertilizers.From my chickens and guinea pigs manure (they are fed organic food) and from the teas listed above.

[lottielady]

Hadn't thought of teas but obvious really, many thanks

[smallblueplanet]

Doesn't this bring up the question, are people talking organic with a little 'o', ie anything that is comprised of organic chemical elements. Or organic with a big 'o' where its only using materials that are Organic, ie chicken manure from hens fed organic food, not from battery hens pumped full of chemicals. The sort of stuff that would be Soil Association approved?

I will not use chicken poo from battery hens, even though it is a manure comprised of organic chemical elements.

[Snadger]

Doesn't this bring up the question, are people talking organic with a little 'o', ie anything that is comprised of organic chemical elements. Or organic with a big 'o' where its only using materials that are Organic, ie chicken manure from hens fed organic food, not from battery hens pumped full of chemicals. The sort of stuff that would be Soil Association approved?

I will not use chicken poo from battery hens, even though it is a manure comprised of organic chemical elements.

Seem to remember seeing chicken pellets being sold as organic. Not sure whether it had a large or a small 'o' tho! I suppose that unless it was stated it was made from organically reared chicken poo the only way would be to contact the supplier or manufacturer.
To take it to the extreme, does blood fish and bone meal come from organically reared animals? Would people use cow muck from veal calves kept in a byre all the time?

The plot thickens!

[jacob marley]

Couch grass roots that is one i have not heard of what is it good for jacob

[smallblueplanet]

As a vegetarian I don't use blood, fish and bone Snadg. But what you've said raises an interesting point.

As for chicken poo, weren't many folk affected by Hugh's programme (think it was him, I never watched it), surely they wouldn't want to use battery chicken poo, for various reasons?

Rooster is one of the few genuine organic fertilisers, which is approved by the Soil Association. Having this approval provides you with the guarantee that it comes from Poultry farms, which follow the highest standards of humane animal husbandry.

Rooster organic fertiliser manufacturer & suppliers UK

Rooster Pelleted Manure is manufactured from local sources of non-battery poultry manure.

[Snadger]

I think you've covered the lot there Snager!!!

I garden organically and completely rely on homemade fertilizers.From my chickens and guinea pigs manure (they are fed organic food) and from the teas listed above.

I think there must be many, many, more, in fact I've just thought of a few more myself, spent hops from the brewing process and spent mushroom compost, although both are more of a manure/compost rather than fertilisers!

[Snadger]

Couch grass roots that is one i have not heard of what is it good for jacob

I think it's a bit to do with the feel good factor of drowning the adversary Jacob!
All weed roots, especially deep rooted ones pull nutrients from deep below ground which can be released by allowing them to rot in suspension methinks!

[Cutecumber]

In response to concerns over using animal bi-products, there are now general purpose fertilisers which are completely "vegan", if you like. Try looking in the Organic Gardening Catalogue if you want to find out more. I use both a general and tomato version and they are extremely clean, odour-free and, apparently, they work!

These make use of seaweed, rock dust, vinasse (a sugar beet product), alfalfa... all sorts. As long as the N:P:K is there, along with some minor and trace nutrients, you're sorted. Needless to say, these modern equivalents of BF&B are more expensive.

Also to add to your list would be wool shoddy and hemp. Not massive in nutrient, but they do contribute.

[Snadger]

In response to concerns over using animal bi-products, there are now general purpose fertilisers which are completely "vegan", if you like. Try looking in the Organic Gardening Catalogue if you want to find out more. I use both a general and tomato version and they are extremely clean, odour-free and, apparently, they work!

These make use of seaweed, rock dust, vinasse (a sugar beet product), alfalfa... all sorts. As long as the N:P:K is there, along with some minor and trace nutrients, you're sorted. Needless to say, these modern equivalents of BF&B are more expensive.

Also to add to your list would be wool shoddy and hemp. Not massive in nutrient, but they do contribute.

Nice one Cutecumber.............how the heck could I miss out one of the best known organic fertilisers of all, Seaweed, in all it's useable forms!

[bluemoon]

Borage tea. Comfrey for potassium, nettle for nitrogen and borage for phosphates (I think I got that the right way round. ) I suppose you could make a cocktail of all three, but I've never tried that. Borage also tastes lovely - a bit like cucumber, so it can be used in salads too.

[smallblueplanet]

Borage flowers & leaves very nice in your Pimms.

[smallblueplanet]

Borage tea. Comfrey for potassium, nettle for nitrogen and borage for phosphates (I think I got that the right way round. ) I suppose you could make a cocktail of all three, but I've never tried that.

Does anyone know what nutrients are in comfrey, seaweed and borage/nettle?

[lottielady]

Waht a can of worms we have opened here !!!!