I promised, in the Salad article, to blog about home made liquid fertiliser.
When growing hungry crops, especially those where the edible part is the fruit such as tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers and aubergines, particularly if you are growing in a pot, you will almost certainly need to use a liquid fertiliser to sustain your plants and produce fine harvests.
Comfrey
There is a group of plants which, when rotted, result in a high potash material which is beneficial for fruiting crops. This includes nettles, borage and comfrey. The last is an idigenous flowering plant which is virtually indestructible once in a comfortable location and can even be invasive so I grow it in an isolated raised bed called the Gulag, with the mint, horseradish and marjoram buckets. It dies down in winter but is soon up as the days lengthen and by May is above knee height and crowded with lovely flowers in either a pink/lilac/blue mix or a creamy yellow. These are alive with all sorts of useful pollinators. It is so enthusiastic that I simply strip back the growth that falls into the path – that is enough on three or four occasions each year to keep me in fertiliser.
Take a large bucket
Ivor left a large collection of buckets from the lime wash and mortars in use for the House so I like to use one of these as they are of a good size. Cram it full with comfrey – stems, roots, flowers, leaves and all. Stand it in the rain or pour in a little water.
The Personal Touch
In the Hillyhocks Haus I have a little camping stove, a kettle, a teapot and a tin mug which carries the slogan ‘I garden, therefore I am’. This means that I can stay out for even longer periods but also that I need to relieve myself from time to time. Does this happen to you occasionally? Do you resent the trek back to the house to use the lavatory? If so, the comfrey bucket will help you as it does me. There is nothing quite like a dose of human urine to accelerate any form of composting whether a straw bale, a traditional heap or a rotting bucket of comfrey. It also adds nitrogen; essential for leafy growth.
Put a Lid on It
When your bucket gets properly rotting, especially in warm weather, it will smell astonishing. Some people hate it – but I just enjoy thinking about all the wonderful soil enhancing, plant benefitting, fruit growing properties and relish the strength of the brew. In any case, once watered on the soil the smell disappears in a few minutes. However, best to keep a lid on it: you wouldn’t want to kick it over or drop your gardening glove in it.
Preparing to Use
Take your bucket and precious contents along with another empty bucket out into an open area of soil or grass. Using any form of sieve (garden riddle, old colander, a stocking) pour the rotted mix through and into the second bucket. The sludge can be buried in a trench ready for planting out beans or courgettes, for example, or added to the compost heap. The liquid is ready for use.
Fill your watercan nearly to the top and put in some comfrey rot. I use a cup made from a cut-off plastic bottle, probably about 500ml, giving a dilution of 1:10. Best to add the rot to the water rather than the other way round becauise it will foam as you pour and prevent you from getting so much water in the can.
Water on the soil near the base of the plants, keeping the leaves dry.
Tip
As I said in the Salad article, you can give a box of compost a new lease of life by a thorough watering with this enchanting mixture.
If conditions prevent you from planting out some pot bound courgettes or beans a small dose of the liquid feed will sustain them and prevent them from becoming drawn and pale.
Some authorities believe that over wintered onions benefit from a watering with home made fertiliser as they start into vigorous growth in spring. I have tried this for the first time this year – I’ll be looking on with interest.
Please let me know if you would like a root of native comfrey. Once you have it you will wonder how you managed without. I am convinced that it makes a better feed than any commercial product and, of course, it is absolutely free as well as being a great convenience!