Super spring organic fertiliser mix.
A wheel barrow is great vessel to mix your fertiliser in.
I have been using this mix for many years and have always had good results. This is a one off spring application and then I supplement with fertiliser teas or commercial liquid fertilisers at different times during the year depending on the type of plant growth I want.
Historically the basis of the mix was a pelletised product such as dynamic lifter which was just chicken manure, then I would add things like rock dust, blood and bone, potash etc, but over the last few years I have started to use products that not only contain the chicken manure but added ingredients such as fish meal, rock phosphate, bone meal, seaweed etc.
All brands tend to have a slightly different mixture but for similar prices. These products are just about a complete fertiliser on their own as they have a wide nutrient base, but the main ingredient is still chicken manure which has good level of nitrogen however it breakdown fairly quickly so I still like to add a few extras depending on what I want to achieve in the garden.
So for just general garden fertilising shrubs, bulbs etc. I use the complete fertiliser product and to this I add blood and bone. I like blood and bone because it has a higher level of calcium and phosphorous and the nitrogen in the blood meal is very slowly released giving a much longer supply of nutrient.
For anything that is going to flower or fruit such as vegetables, citrus, fruit trees and roses I add sulphate of potash.
For plants that like a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 most vegetables, fruit trees, citrus, roses, strawberries, lavender etc. I add a bucket of wood ash. This is a by-product of out slow combustion heater. If you do not have access to this wood ash then garden lime is a good substitute.
For the vegetable garden I like to add sheep and cow manure both these products are fairly low in nutrients but increase the friability of the soil making it easy to plant into.
Here are the recipes and how I apply them.
Gather your ingredients:
1 x 25kg bag of complete organic fertiliser
1 x 10kg bag of blood and bone
2 x 1kg bags of sulphate of potash
1 x bag cow manure
1 x bag sheep manure
2 x buckets of wood ash- substitute for garden lime.
The ingredients for the super spring organic fertiliser.
Mix your ingredients.
Step 1- In a wheel barrow I mix the bag of complete organic fertiliser plus the bag of blood and bone and mix well. This is what I call my Basic mix.
Step 2- I then divide this into 4 buckets.
Step 3 – I put one bucket full of basic mix back into the wheelbarrow and I add1/2 the bag pot ash and mix well. This I apply to my Blueberries, camellias and azaleas/rhododendrons and reserve some for my tomatoes and potatoes beds. All these plants need the pot ash to help with flowering and fruiting but not the wood ash as they like acid soils.
Step 4 – I put another bucket into an empty wheelbarrow and add the remaining ½ bag of Pot ash and wood ash(lime)and mix well. This is applied to all fruit trees, strawberries, citrus roses etc
Step 5 – The remaining 2 buckets I pour back into the wheel barrow, add the bag of cow and the bag of sheep manure, plus the remaining bag of pot ash and remaining bucket of wood ash and mix it well. This is then stored and applied to my vegetable garden beds as they need replenishing. This is my Veggie garden mix. To store I put it into buckets with close fitting lids so that it stays dry.
Application.
When applying these mixes to established plants such as fruit trees and shrubs, I use an old 500ml measuring jug and evenly spread a full jug (about 2 cups) of mix per square meter around the plants.
Fertiliser should be spread even around your plant.
I then watered the plant well.
Always water the area around your plant well after fertilising
I then mulch to ensure it stays moist and to prevent weed growth.
Weeds will thrive with the extra nutrients so mulching is a necessary if you do not want to spend the next few months removing healthy weeds which are using up all the fertiliser.
For the vegetable garden, once a crop has finished I clean up the bed, spread the same quantity (500ml per square meter) of my veggie garden mix over the prepared area, water in and then mulch heavily with sugar cane mulch. This is basically a No dig system with less layers.
If you wish to try this, your portions may differ depending on the number of plants you are wanting to fertilise and the variety of plants you have.
Spring is a great time of the year to use this mix and it will provide your plants with months of slowly release nutrients. So why not spend some time this weekend and prepare and apply some organic fertiliser to you garden so it will have all the nutrients it needs to thrive and be productive in the coming growing season.
For more information on starting your productive backyard, check out the website.
If you have questions about this fertiliser, you can always ask me questions via my Facebook Page, Pinterest or Instagram!
Have fun,
Kathy