Organic Fertilisers

Coppice Road Allotments Association

www.poyntonallotmentgardeners.org

(affiliated to the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd)

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Organic Fertilisers - Details

Type of Fertiliser (names)	Nutrients (approximate content)	Areas of Use	Application Method & Rate
Straight Organic	Nutrients (approximate content)	Areas of Use	Application Method & Rate
Dried Blood	Nitrogen 12% (plus some iron)	A relatively quick acting organic source of nitrogen can be used as a ‘liquid’ feed.	Base-dressing Can also be mixed with water to give a ‘liquid manure’
Hoof & Horn Meal	Nitrogen 12%	Slowly released nitrogen for established perennials - will not ‘scorch’	Base-dressing 50g/sq.m.
Compound Organic
Bonemeal (steamed)	Nitrogen 3.5% Phosphorus 18%	General style fertiliser for the establishment of trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials	Base-dressing 50g/sq.m.
Fish, Blood & Bone meal	Nitrogen 5% Phosphorus 5% Potassium 6.5%	Organic slower acting alternative to Growmore. Presence of potassium is useful for flowering and fruiting crops	Base-dressing 70g/sq.m.

In comparison with Synthetic Fertiliser, Organic Fertilisers generally contain a lower nutrient content, so greater quantities would have to be applied to reach the levels of ‘synthetics’. Because they aren’t so ‘strong’ there is less harm done if over-applied, so risk of burning of plant tissues is practically non-existent. As the nutrients are immobilised until mineralised by biological activity in the soil the effects are gentler and spread over a longer period. They are leached out of the soil less quickly, so this makes them suitable as ‘base-dressings’ to build up soil fertility, rather than the more ‘instant-fix’ provided by most synthetics. It is now possible to get slow-acting or ‘slow-release’ synthetic fertilisers, one of which is known as ‘Nitroform’, in which nitrogen is slowly released over a period of time for up to six months. Vitax also have several Soil Association accredited fertilisers suitable for the ‘organic’ gardener, too.

In many instances the gardener can mix his own compound fertilisers much more cheaply from the basic ingredients listed in the tables. There is one note of caution, some fertilisers are powerful oxidising agents and can form explosive mixtures with readily oxidised substances. Because of this, it can be impossible to buy large quantities without certain safeguards - and attracting the attention of ‘the authorities’.

Old gardening books often list safe, tried and tested recipes for fertiliser mixtures, and many of these are cheaper and usually every bit as effective as many of the heavily advertised ‘wonder’ products offered under ‘brand’ names. A few of these ‘recipes’ are given in a later section.

Some of the ‘brand-name’ products do possess characteristics that are difficult, or impossible, to replicate by the amateur, these include ‘Controlled Release’ and specially formulated, crop-specific, soluble fertilisers for application as liquid feeds or hydroponic solutions. These are discussed briefly in the next section

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