MAKE YOUR OWN SPRING PLANTFOOD

Photo: Get steeping that manure!

Now that spring has sprung we are starting to see lots of new growth everywhere. Most of your plants will benefit by a bit of food at some stage of their development. What better way to satisfy their needs than to make your own feed for them to enjoy.


MAKE YOUR OWN PLANT FOOD
You can make your own liquid plant feed for free using a range of materials including grass clippings, stinging nettles, various manures and comfrey. This not only saves money but it is environmentally friendly too. Although the resulting feed cannot be targeted to produce particular types of growth like the specifically formulated manufactured liquid feeds and fertilisers, they will promote plant growth and increase flowering and crop yields. They are ideal for giving a boost to hungry crops such as tomatoes and to pep-up flowering displays of summer bedding in containers and borders during mid-summer. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to make your own feed – a couple of large buckets and a sieve would be sufficient for small amounts. You could invest in a bucket with a tight fitting lid. I made comfrey juice last year in an open drum and you could smell the rotting leaves a mile away! For small amounts of feed an old brewing bucket is ideal, but for larger volumes use a water butt. Always wear waterproof gloves when handling manures and concentrates, as the liquid can be a bit hard on your skin.

Nettle and grass liquid feed
Lay nettles on the lawn and run over them with a lawnmower fitted with a grass collector to chop them up. There is no need to measure the quantities really accurately but as a guide add about 1kg of finely chopped leaf/grass clippings to a large 10-litre (2 gallons) bucket filled with water. Leave to soak for about a fortnight, then strain and dilute one-part feed to five parts water. For large amounts, add approximately 18kg of chopped leaf/grass clippings to a 37-litre waterbutt, or 25kg to a 50-litre waterbutt. Dilute to make the feed by adding one-part concentrate to five-parts water before use.

Steeped farmyard manure.
Fill a sack or pair of old tights with dried manure from the field or use well-rotted farmyard manure. Use half a bucket of manure (5 litres/1 gallon) for a 50-litre waterbutt. Tie the sack to a bamboo cane and suspend in the water. Steep the manure for a few days until the water is a light brown colour. Use without diluting on mature plants but add an equal amount of water for younger specimens



Comfrey liquid feed
Fill a brewing bucket with comfrey leaves and let them decompose. You will need several kg of leaves to produce a meaningful amount of feed concentrate. This should be no problem as comfrey growth is prolific. When a dark brown liquid collects at the bottom of the bucket, draw off into a separate container. Dilute to make the feed by adding one-part concentrate to ten-parts water before use.

Worm compost bin feed
If you have a wormery then drain off the liquid at the bottom and use as an effective plant food. I have found this particularly effective on houseplants. (There is very little odour from it!)





Horticultural.