Soil Fertilisers/improvers.

[Brambles]

I'm far from being a doomsday merchant, but it doesn't stop me thinking 'what if' every now and then.
Like many of you, no doubt, at the moment I buy in a load of good old farmyard manure and use Growmore. I got to thinking what would I do if I had no access to manure or Growmore or compost for starting seeds off.

If, like me you have an allotment or large garden but no farm animals, what would you do to keep your soil in good health and productive, and what natural feeds could you use.

I'll start the ball rolling.

Leaf mold.
Grass cuttings
Nettle Tea
Comfrey Tea
Homemade compost, although to date, I have never made anything that resembles what Monty Don digs out of his bin!

[Lanky Yankee]

I'm still new to the allotment and trying to figure stuff out. One thing I would consider about soil is getting a bunch of worms and making a worm bed. You could collect the dropping and if I remember right it makes for good soil. I read something about it years ago. Guess I should look into it again

[CynicalSurvival]

I've never used chicken manure but I've heard it's good and obviously keeping chickens is a smaller undertaking than larger farm animals. Also rabbit droppings.

I live near the coast and for hundreds of years here people have gathered up seaweed in winter. It is a good mulch, can be added to compost, and can also be 'stewed' in water (I've heard that kelp is especially good).

I have seen a recipe of mixed herbs/plants for a 'weed tea' fertiliser but I can't remember it off the top of my head - will look it up.

[featherstick]

Learn how to build and use a compost heap now before you need it, it's also a prep.

Get a good comfrey patch established now, ditto.

Consider humanure for post-TEOTWAWKI, although it's a bit more culturally difficult to trial in advance....

[Arzosah]

I don't know much about substitutes to start seeds off, though used tea etc sounds good to me. But I'm obsessed with soil improvement because although my soil here seems quite fertile, the plants can't push their roots through it, you could cut my soil, put it in a kiln, and call it a brick, its got so much clay in it. So the soil improvers I use are all about loosening it up. I've never collected seaweed, but I would if I could figure out a way to bring it home on the train .... anyway, what I do is this:

- compost bin
- leafmould
- teabags and coffee grounds straight on the surface
- plain cardboard as a mulch, pulling the parcel tape off
- picking up old sea shells on the shore: there used to be oyster fishing round where I walk, and old oyster shells just flake to bits, great for the soil, creating drainage and body.
- a country walk I do goes past a sandstone quarry, and I pick up lumps that have fallen off the lorries, smash them up, and scatter them. They have much larger particle size than my clay soil, so they'll help create better drainage.
- ordinary bark chippings bought in from diy stores.
- if we did have a doomsday event any clothing etc made from natural fibres could be used - to sprout stuff, to cut up to add bulk to the compost bin, or as a mulch that would be good to let decay into the soil.

[dannytsg]

Used coffee grounds are by far one of the best soil improvers.

The brewing process changes the acidity of the grounds to a more neutral PH and they provide a massive amount of nitrates to the soil. Always worth sprinkling some coffee grounds into the bottom of your beds/pots.

I also find that chicken manure and fish blood/bone Also help very much.

[jansman]

All of the above really I do think though, a good compost heap(s) is easiest of all. I am fortunate that I keep rabbits and fowls, which does help the fertility situation, but putting urine on a heap and turning regularly can make good compost.
The Heap is also a great waste disposal system for your bio degradeables right now, as bin collections get more picky.

[grenfell]

I don't know much about substitutes to start seeds off, though used tea etc sounds good to me. l.

Some time ago I looked at tea leaves and thought " doesn't it look a lot like potting compost......I wonder " . Hmm looked like potting compost until it gets wet and starts going mouldy so nowadays the tea leaves go into the compost heap. I do tend to dry out the bags first and tear them open as I was getting fed up of picking out unrotted bags from the soil . I know they don't really do any harm but it irritated me. I also make leaf mould and as I do gardening work I bring home plenty of grass to keep the heaps well stocked. I haven't tried the whole humanure thing although I put urine and used toilet paper onto the heaps. I did try cutting open nappies when my daughter was a baby as the gel inside is evidentially the same stuff used in plant pots but in all honesty it wasn't the nicest hobby to have.
I've used manure from cows , sheep , rabbits , chickens and horses. I also got my hands on bat droppings from an old building I worked on and I used it on my almond tree . It may just be coincidence but that years crop was great.