Compost/Liquid feed.

[cheops]

Hi Everyone,
Although I have a reasonable sized garden I'm sure everyone else is like me in thinking there is never enough room. Thus I am planning to grow more vegetables this year in pots and troughs. This will necessitate of course needing lots of compost which means cost becomes important. We all know there is very cheap compost, not so dear compost and expensive compost. And we all know that generally we get what we pay for.
That being said am I right in thinking the cheaper the compost the less nutrients and vice versa. That set me thinking if a liquid fertiliser is applied regularly then the cheapest compost becomes the best compost to buy. That is of course if the liquid fertiliser is free.
I found by chance yesterday an article saying a great but simple liquid fertiliser can be made in a few weeks or longer according to the temperature. Simply collect seaweed, [you don't even need to rinse it or wash it], put it in a large container , fill till covered with water then put a loose covering over it, stir it every couple of days and when it breaks down completely you have a great liquid fertiliser which which needs to be diluted before applying.
Now am I living in cuckoo land? Is this too good to be true? Has anyone ever made this liquid feed? Is it a feed that is suitable for all vegetables and for that matter all flowers? Would this feed with a cheap compost produce great results? I look forward to people who know more than me telling me yes all you have said is correct and will work wonderfully well. Or am I doomed to others bursting my bubble - gently I hope.

[Bigmallly]

5 Ways to Make a Compost Tea - wikiHow

[cheops]

Thank you Bigmally.
If anyone can make a simple but nutritious liquid feed why would anyone buy an expensive compost? Am I missing something?

[bramble]

Well, its smelly, its sloppy, its time consuming and not everyone has the inclination to do it.
Some peeps live too far from the sea to collect seaweed. Some peeps dont want to grow nettles to make plant food.
I guess its different strokes for different folks.

[cheops]

And thank you Bramble for your feedback. I can understand those points you make. But please you or somebody tell me if you are prepared to make your own liquid feed and when used with cheap compost your vegetables and flowers will grow well.

[Bigmallly]

Every time I throw something on the compost heap, I also throw some in a net bag that I have soaking in a barrel so I have a supply of glug all year round. I dilute a jug full to a watering can. Keep the glug covered cos as Bramble states..........it stinks.

[cheops]

Hey Bigmally that's a great idea. I'm gonna copy your idea. And also make the seafood liquid food. Thanks everyone.

[Bigmallly]

Have a read up on the subject, you can make nettle tea, comfrey tea, seaweed tea...........they all have different nutritional values.

[lolie]

The question is whether you can keep up with the demand for nutrients by making your own fertiliser. It's the same when making your own compost.

You don't need compost at all if you can keep up with supplying nutrients (think hydroponics and aquaculture). You just need a growing medium which will provide stability for the plants and coconut coir is cheap as anything.

That said, don't underestimate how regularly you'd need to feed. Worm farms and bokashi units both provide liquid fertiliser which is diluted for use but if you're relying on "compost tea" to provide all the nutrition for your plants you'll go through a lot of it. You'll need to have a brew on the go constantly and that could get tedious.

Can it be done? Absolutely. But you could achieve the same result buying seaweed extracts and other liquid supplements. A lot depends on how much you value your time and how much space you have to produce the quantity required on an ongoing basis.

I'm going to mostly liquid feed my plants over winter. The new compost bins won't produce anything much before spring and even decent quality compost will need additions for the longer growing winter crops so I'm putting everything in coir and perlite and liquid feeding frequently. With no "reserve" nutrients, I can't afford to slack off on the fertilising, though.

[veggiechicken]

Inspired by your post, cheops, and a little goggling, I'm going to make some liquid seaweed fertiliser using some very old dried seaweed that I used to use to make sushi.
I've made comfrey fertiliser and nettle and they really stink - but its worth it.
My grandad always kept a sack of horse manure suspended in a waterbutt and used it for watering everything on his allotment.
Plenty of free fertilisers to be made, just keep a supply of pegs handy for your nose

[cheops]

I will indeed. I live by the sea and at the back of my garden there is a low open fence separating my garden from a farmers field. On the other side of this fence, the bit the farmer can't use is a thick long bed of nettles. Last year they were covered with the black hairy caterpillars of the peacock butterfly. They can share some of the nettles with me and still have ample. Thanks Bigmally.

[cheops]

And thanks to everyone else.
I'll fill a black bin with seaweed and I'll suspend a large net bag in another as Bigmally does. And keep doing it.

[Bigmallly]

There are quite a few ebooks available to browse, this is similar to the method I use:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...20feed&f=false

[lolie]

If you go with cheap compost, check a couple of different types. You're looking for something which will help keep the soil open and drain well rather than something which will compact down too easily. I find there's a huge variation even at exactly the same price.

[cheops]

Good point Lollie.