Compost & good fertilizers

[RockyRaccoon]

Okay, so I've now got a lovely collection of plants ready for planting in my pots and baskets. I need to buy some compost but it has occured to me that perehaps its not vegan. I know you can buy all sorts of organic animal based fertilisers such as bonemeal and dried blood (yuck ), but what about multipurpose composts. If it's not labelled as organic, does that mean that it is 100% inorganic, ie only derived from minerals in rocks? Or could it still contain organic animal derived fertilisers?

I've started my own compost heap so there will be no problems next year

[gertvegan]

B and Q now sell peat free organic soil conditioner and peat free organic multi purpose compost that we are assured are animal free and GM free, they are not expensive and should be worth trying.

Rocky's, thats from the Vegan Organic website.

[Aurora]

Rocky's, thats from the Vegan Organic website.

Thanks for that link gert. As an avid gardener I will be looking at that site more often.

[coconut]

You could try composting kitchen waste as well. I don't know if you do this already, but if you need some compost right away you'll probably have to buy some. I haven't actually used any of my own compost. I have a bin at the bottom of the garden and it is full of hungry insects feeding on fruit and vegetable peelings. They absolutely love it!

[cedarblue]

my compost heap is crawling with worms!!

la-la-la-la-la - they're lovin' it

[Aurora]

You could try composting kitchen waste as well. I don't know if you do this already, but if you need some compost right away you'll probably have to buy some. I haven't actually used any of my own compost. I have a bin at the bottom of the garden and it is full of hungry insects feeding on fruit and vegetable peelings. They absolutely love it!

Our compost bins are the love of my husbands life (well after me I hope!) It takes a fair old time to make however and it all goes on our garden, hence wanting compost for my containers.

[RockyRaccoon]

Cheers for the link gertvegan. I had a vague memory of hearing somewhere about a B&Q compost being vegan. It's what made me suspect most composts are not, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where I read it.

[littleTigercub]

What`s wrong with composting? Surely, you use animals, but you do them good with feeding them what they want?

littleTigercub

[Evilfluffbunny]

Something like Baby Bio but not tested on animals? I need something for my houseplants (ivies, aspidistra, african violet, fern etc..). Any ideas? I've searched but the vegan products were made by the Baby Bio people and the animal-friendly ones were for outdoor plants.

I know BB's been around for years and probably hasn't been tested for decades, but it's still money I'd rather not give to an animal testing company.

[1vegan]

I don't live in the U.K myself, but maybe this can be of help ?

http://www.veganorganic.net/info1.html

[adam antichrist]

Is composting an option?

[Evilfluffbunny]

Thanks for that link 1vegan! It looks interesting.

Is composting an option?

I have no idea to be honest! Do you mean like adding composted organic matter to the compost already in the pots, or like taking liquid from the the composted matter to feed to the plants like liquid fertiliser? Maybe it depends what specific nutrients the plants need....? All the labels ever say is to fertilise them with liquid fertiliser, they're not very specific.

I've murdered enough houseplants as it is (accidentally of course!), I want to do the best I can for the ones I've got but I really resent buying Baby Bio - I suppose I could borrow some (you only need about 5 drops to a pint or something) until I sort out something else.

[adam antichrist]

I can't think of any nutrients your plants will need that won't be available through composting your own household scraps. Liquid fertilizers are just concentrations of those nutrients. Remember the plants don't get fertilizers in nature!

What I mean about it being an option is whether you are have a space, I live in a flat and have nowhere I could compost my vegie leftovers

[Evilfluffbunny]

What I mean about it being an option is whether you are have a space, I live in a flat and have nowhere I could compost my vegie leftovers

I thought you meant that at first but I wasn't sure! Yeah, I've got a garden so it shouldn't be a problem to have a composter somewhere. The garden is a mess at the minute though so I'll have to get that sorted first - it's all weeds and thigh-high grasses.

Can you not get mini-composters (like a bucket size) if you're in a flat? I don't know if there's anything you can do that would keep the smell in, or if you need a large composter for it to work properly.

I'm going to have to look into all this a bit more, I'm obviously more clueless than I thought!

[cedarblue]

if you can grow some comfrey plant, this makes a super-de-duper effective plant feed - you just need to stew the plant in water for a period of time and there you are! beware though comfrey plant is very invasive and spreads like wildfire...

here are some more ideas for plant feed.

[kokopelli]

Hi Evilfluffbunny,

SM3 seaweed extract's cruelty-free as far as I know...we use it a lot!
I think Maxicrop seaweed extract is too.

You can get SM3 from 'The Organic Gardening Catalogue':

http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalo...p?cPath=60_165

And Maxicrop from Edwin Tucker, but I noticed you can also buy it in our local 'country store' and I'm not sure whether it's been tested on animals. Here's Tucker's website`:

http://www.edwintucker.com/Seeds/seeds%20index.htm

They sell excellent value seeds, many organically grown.

Good luck with your plants!

And a bit of advice on how to get your garden ready the easy way...MULCH!
I really wish I'd got into mulching earlier because it saves so much work digging up grass and weeds. All you have to do is lay plastic sheet, old carpet or cardboard on top of the ground after you've cut down the grass and weeds (preferably do this before they set seeds, or you'll have lots of weed seedlings coming up later), weigh it down with stones or bricks or branches so it can't blow off in the wind, and after a couple of months, it'll be practically ready to plant into...especially for pot-raised plants like courgettes etc. You can even plant stuff through holes in the mulching material, which will keep weeds down, but watch out for slugs under the mulch if you do this.

[Evilfluffbunny]

if you can grow some comfrey plant, this makes a super-de-duper effective plant feed

I never knew that! Thanks for the link, it sounds relatively easy to do.

And a bit of advice on how to get your garden ready the easy way...MULCH!

I thought mulch was a kind of compost, like leaves or something. This is the girl who once thought about a degree in horticulture as well!

Thanks for the tip and for those links, I'll go and check them out now...

[kokopelli]

Actually, I suppose that the organic gardening catalogue isn't entirely a vegan-friendly company because they do sell fish, blood & bone meal and predatory insects for pest control

Yeah, mulch can be compost, leaf mould, straw etc, which will fertilise the ground as well as keeping down weeds, but you can use any light-excluding sheeting to just kill weeds and grass off before planting, it makes it LOADS easier!

The organic gardening catalogue sell comfrey plants as well.

[Evilfluffbunny]

Thanks Kokopelli

You just tend to think of vegetable matter when you hear the word organic (well, I do anyway), things like blood & bone wouldn't have crossed my mind but I suppose they are organic too.

[cedarblue]

when should one stop feeding their current compost pile for use next year ie. spring time uk?

i never know when to stop adding to it to give the waste enough time to fully break down??

thanks

[eve]

Well however cruel this sounds, I don't feed my pot plants. Of course without a garden or shed, or even space in the flat, it's not possible to have a compost container. But strangely enough, my plants really flourish and look 'happy'.

[oldsilverhead]

We have just moved to a new home which we are thrilled about,not least of all because it has a back yard.

It is our heart's desire to transform the currently barren yard into a sanctuary via container gardening,seating and perhaps some spiritual statues.

Are any of you experianced vegan gardeners and if so can you please offer me some much needed advice about vegan gardening products such as the stuff the plants will grow in etc.

oldsilverhead.

[harpy]

Hello - A compost bin is a good start. I have got some and don't tend to have to buy much in the way of growing mediums or fertiliser - mind you that could also be because my garden is pretty neglected at the moment

In case you haven't already seen it, this page is quite helpful:
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/peo..._gardening.php

Also the organic gardening catalogue from HDRA identifies animal free products I think, and they have useful stuff like fertiliser made out of seaweed.

[cedarblue]

i check out the green gardener site from time to time. the link is http://www.greengardener.co.uk/ not sure if it is vegan though...

currently the slugs are eating their way through the wallflowers i planted for spring colour

[KarmaGirl]

I use two composters (one for "fresh" and one that is in full compost mode). They are like what is on this page: http://www.greenfeet.com/com.html

I do this because I then know where the compost is coming from. Since we eat so many fruits and veggies, and we have leaves in the fall, we have plenty to compost.

What you grow depends on your climate. I would stick to hardy veggies to start with until you get a feel for what you can grow. We grow an assortment of fruits and veggies then can and freeze what we can't eat to have during winter.

If you can, try to plan in a greenhouse to seed your plants in. That way you don't have to buy plants (and search for organic ones, which you might not find). I started with organic seeds and now just use seeds from previous crops and start my plants in a greenhouse.

[cheeky_b]

I have a bit of a dilemma right now.
We've assembled compost for this gardening season. The compost is also composed of egg shells and maybe other animal products of thrown away food (but I'm not sure it is).
As a vegan, I haven't thought about this before because I started working on the garden with my parents today. This DIY compost is better than buying fertilizer, which would probably contain animal ingredients. But still, I feel kinda bad for "feeding" the soil with animal products for our interest of growing vegetables. What are your thoughts on this? I do know now that I will try to achieve animal-free compost for the next season.

[Kevster]

I've got hold of some Horizons organic peat free compost this year, just a fiver a massive bag from Fieldgate centre near Doncaster, and it's vegan too.
www.fieldgatecentre.org

Ahhhhhhhhhh we have our own compost that has animal products, no doubt some cheese and certainly egg shells in there, people who feel they have to eat animal products compost them. I'd prefer if they didn't eat them at all but i guess it's better to compost than to bin.....

[auntierozzi]

I was told that a year is a pretty good time to wait. I turn it over regularly about once every couple of weeks and you can see the state of it. I put grass cuttings in a separate box and mix some of that in once it rots down a bit. After a year I put my first load on my strawberries in Feb. and it has turbo boosted them!!!! They suddenly went greener than ever and have had loads of flowers for weeks. Excellent stuff vegan compost!

[Risker]

I've just had this response from Bayer who make the Baby Bio range of plant foods in the UK.

Thank you for your email. The only plant foods we produce are Baby Bio range of houseplant food and Phostrogen all purpose soluble plant food and Phostrogen Super Concentrate (suitable for all garden use, including edible crops). These feeds do not contain any animal components and have not been tested on animals.

These plant foods are widely available from Garden Centres, Homebase and B&Q stores.

Yours sincerely
Anita Dent
Gardening.Adviser@bayergarden.co.uk

http://www.bayergarden.co.uk/products/