#7 Make you own liquid feeds and apply once a month.
A Manifesto for Growing Cut Flowers
Manifesto
#7 Make your own liquid feeds (or buy organic seaweed tonic) and apply once a month.
Picking up on my manifesto for growing cut flowers, this week, I have been using my own feeds on plants. They are free, easy to make and plants visibly perk up after using them making them an essential inclusion on this list.
If you are new to my manifesto, there are other posts in the series -
I haven’t directly written about #5 & #6 but I have written about making composts and green manures. I will be returning to those soon.
I’m jumping to #7 today as I was reminded to snip the nettle and comfrey tops off as they are rising to flower. The perfect way to use these is either in the compost heap or as a liquid feed.
Do you feed your plants across the year?
I didn’t use to in my home garden, and it was only growing cut flowers, especially dahlias, that I kept reading about feeding my plants. I didn’t know why I needed to feed when I mulched with compost.
Liquid feeds give immediate nutrients, minerals and trace elements and you see the difference in plants the next day. Perkier, greener, fresher and stronger growth.
For fruiting and flowering plants, mulches are not enough, especially if willing the plants to produce over and over again. Feeds also help boost a plants immunity and strength, helpful when there are pests early in the season or challenging weather conditions.
I wrote about my decision to stop bringing in compost and materials to the garden unless I know it is organic and exactly where it has come from. I decided, in line with biodynamic principals, that, wherever possible, to make my own composts and feed the garden with itself. That is to say, use what I have and reduced outside inputs. Creating a closed system within the space.
Now I make three different feeds for the garden, that are used at different times of the year. Here are the recipes and how I use them:
