Fertiliser

[Benjamin]

Years ago in the UK we used to buy a general purpose fertiliser called Phostrogen. It was pretty cheap and came in 5kg. tubs to be dissolved in water.

In garden centres and supermarkets here in France (and probably in the UK also) they seem to sell fertilisers directed at specific plant groups e g geraniums, roses etc.

Has anyone come across a product like Phostrogen or do you know if it's still sold in the UK so that it can go on our shopping list for our next visit?

Benjamin

[Cassis]

You can get general balanced fertilisers here.  However, we use purin (nettle mash liquid) for virtually everything as it is organic and the nettles are free!  If you don't fancy that then try tomato feed for anything in pots and boxes and for encouraging flowers and fruit on almost any plant.

Phostrogen is made by Bayer chemicals - try here for UK stockists:

http://www.bayergarden.co.uk

Phil

[Benjamin]

Thanks for that Phil. How do you make nettle mash liquid, quantities, strength etc.

I went to Bayers French web site but the search engine didn't recognise Phostrogen but at least we can get it next time we're in England. Tomato feed seems a good bet.

Benjamin

[Cassis]

Taken verbatim from the Nettles website:

Nettle Leaf Plant Food

Nettle leaves can be used to make an easy to use, if somewhat smelly, plant food. Best of all it's free!

To make your nettle fertiliser you will need only four things:

1. Nettles! - obviously.
2. A watertight container - a large bucket is adequate.
3. Water, and
4. A wait, sorry a weight. Not essential but makes the process easier as I will explain.

First take your nettles.

These are best as young stems but can be taken at any time. Quicker

results are obtained if the nettle stems and leaves are bruised.

Then crush them. This can be done by scrunching

the stems in gloved hands or by placing the stems on a freshly mown

lawn and using your mower to chop and collect the nettles at the same

time. The addition of a few grass clippings that results from using

this method does not affect the quality of the finished product.

Immerse in water Stuff the crushed stems into your bucket. Place your weight on top of the stems. You

may have to use a little ingenuity here - I have used a broken paving

slab in the past. A brick and a piece of wire mesh cut to suit the

cointainer serves equally well. Fill the container with water sufficient to cover the nettles and...

Leave to brew. This is where the original wait comes in. You may also consider placing the bucket away from the areas in the garden that you use most as the soup tends to get rather smelly.

Dilute to taste. After around three or four weeks the liquid should be ready for use. The mixture should be diluted until it is tea coloured - usually around 1 part liquid to 10 parts water. Water liberally around or on the plants and see the benefits.

Repeat until winter.

Continue to top up your container with more leaves and water through

the year. As autumn sets in put the remainder of the feed and the

sludge in your compost heap. Give your container a rinse and store for

next year!

Phil

PS Yes it does smell - don't put it by the front door!

[Miggimeggi]

Ooooh, what sweet vengeance! I was pulling nettles all afternoon in gloves just a little too short and I am now sitting here with stinging forearms. Tomorrow I shall pull them off the heap and chop them up and then pulverise them, drench them in water and leave them to suffer as they slowly rot alive.

Anne