Fertilisers

At Tarn Road Nurseries we sell a good range of fertilisers both organic and inorganic, including dried blood, hoof and horn, seagold which is seaweed meal, fish, blood and bone, chicken manure and well rotted horse manure. Inorganic fertilisers include growmore. We sell a unique fertiliser which consists of equal parts lime, fish-blood and bone and potash all essential fertilisers for fruit trees and bushes. This can only be bought at Tarn road Nurseries.

See our stock and price list

Fertilisers perform an essential role in the garden. Any substance used in fairly concentrated form as a plant food can be called a fertiliser. In contrast bulky manures such as dung, compost, sewage sludge and seaweed lack the concentration of important elements such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

Popular fertilisers include sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, dried blood, hoof and horn meal, bonemeal, superphosphate, sulphate of potash. Fertilisers can be organic and inorganic. An example of an inorganic fertiliser would be growmore.

Basically fertilisers can be broken down into three main groups, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

Nitrogen is essential for increasing the rate and vigour of plant growth and keeps leaves looking a healthy green. Nitrogen is one of the foods most readily washed out of the soil, and most rapidly used up by plants, it is also one of those which the gardener has most need to apply.

Potassium comes in various forms and is more commonly called potash. Sulphate of potash is applied to the soil at a rate of 68 grams or 2oz per square metre or yard. Potash encourages healthyness, fruits and flowers.

A soil deficient in potash will cause a plant to display scorched leaf margins and a lack of flowers and fruit. The form of which potash is most commonly applied is sulphate of potash, which is a white powder.

Burning wood produces some potash, although only a small percentage between 2-7% . seaweed is a good source of potash.

Phosphorous is another essential plant food which should be applied to the garden. Healthy root growth is promoted by applying phosphate. It is usually used in the form of superphosphate which is applied as a powder at the rate of 68 grams or 2oz per square metre or yard.

All these fertilisers and their various combinations can be purchased at a garden centre.

For the organic gardener there is a good range of different fertilisers, probably the best one being fish, blood and bone. FBB as it is more commonly called contains all the essential ingredients for healthy plant growth.

Fertilisers come in two main forms, solids and liquids.

Liquid fertilisers are especially good, as they are generally sold in concentrated form then diluted down by the user. This means a little goes a long way. We all know and love Tomorite, which has so many uses not only for tomatoes. Seaweed liquid fertiliser is also excellent.

I am a great lover of well-rotted horse manure as you can see in the photo. I do prefer however horse manure with wood shavings as against straw. Straw manures can take years to rot down, as I found out when I was once conned by a local no-good farmer.

Manure with wood shavings looks good as a mulch on the soil surface, and can act as a blanket in cold frosty weather. Good quality manure should be at least one year old, and two year old manure is just like a vintage whisky.

See our stock and price list