Page 26 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2020

Buckwheat green manure
which helps to maintain the soil structure. By not digging it is less likely that any creatures will be killed by cultivation and that can be important to many veganic growers who
are concerned about cruelty and death to animals. Being no-dig this tends to result in less weeds growing, less watering required and less soil erosion by either wind or rain.
To help maintain the organic level in the soil and therefore the soil fertility widespread use is made of green manures. I will not
go into this in depth here as it has been covered in previous Simply Vegetables and information is fairly widely
available. Just briefly green
manures can be sown any
time between March and
late October depending on
the species being sown; it is
allowed to grow and is then
cut down and composted or
used as a mulch on the bed.
Plants commonly used for
green manure include mustard,
phacelia, clovers, buckwheat,
winter ryegrasses, vetch and
field beans; there are many more and good seed catalogues usually have a page of options. Adding a green manure crop to the soil is reputed to be equal to adding 2.5kg of manure per square metre
If a supplementary feed is required the fertilisers are all based on plants and include seaweeds, comfrey, nettles, weed leaves and
Enclosed compost heap
even grass cuttings. These are all homemade and are usually very smelly! Having said that seaweed based products are widely available and Neudorff sell a product called Azet Veggie Fertiliser which fits in with veganic growing. The above list are all liquid feeds so need watering on to the soil or plant.
There are also dry materials that can be applied to the soil and these include Rock Dust, from Scotland (see advert in SV) as well as seaweed meal. Veganic compost can also be ordered via the internet and comes in 25kg bags. The use of lime and dolomitic
limestone is allowed under veganic growing rules as they are not from animals. These will supply calcium, improve the soil structure if a clay soil and raise the pH. Gypsum is also allowed which again supplies calcium and also sulphur.
Biochar which a number
of NVS members use is also permissible under veganic rules as it is produced from plants. Any carbon is sequestered into
the soil and is held there for up to a hundred years or more.
Compost teas using plant based materials are also allowed in veganic growing
and these are useful for giving plants a supplementary feed and it is claimed some pest and disease resistance.
Going back to the liquid feeds I have set
Leaf mould heap
out below a couple of recipes; which can be used by any grower not just veganic or organic. The first one is from the veganic organic network website.
Seaweed feed
3 tablespoons of seaweed meal in 2 litres
of water and then leave to brew for 2 to 3 weeks. Once ready dilute 1 mugful in 2 litres of water and use to feed indoor crops like peppers and aubergines.
Plant tonics
There are many recipes for these in numerous books, magazines and internet, the advantage is that they are free, the disadvantage is that most smell vile or worse! The other slight disadvantage is that you do not know the percentage of each nutrient in the mixture which you do if you purchase a liquid feed.
So the recipe is collect the leaves of plant you are using, fill a container with them
(this can be a bucket, water butt or similar) and then top up the container with water so that the leaves are covered. Leave for between two to four weeks and then dilute to use. The dilution rate is 1 part brew to 10 parts water and apply to your crops. If you are applying by watering can with a rose the brew can be strained through some
old stockings. It can be used at fortnightly intervals or weekly for gross feeders like tomatoes.
Of the plants used nettles are reputed to give the best multipurpose feed, comfrey is best for potash, grass cuttings tends to be
Compost teas using plant based materials are also allowed in veganic growing.
Composting straw
Compost heap
26 Simply Vegetables