Vegetarian Fertiliser-is there such a thing?

[drm1975]

I have just acquired an allotment in my village and am a total novice when it comes to growing. The allotment is covered with weeds and grass and manky old veg so I have decided to get it rotivated. What I would like to know, being a veggie is are the any animal free fertilisers out there that are good for growing on the allotment?
Daniel

[chris]

Compost...? it doesn't have to have animal poo in it.

Nettles, Comfrey, seaweed are some other you can make feed out of.


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[chris]

Btw - you'll want to clear the plot before using the machine. Otherwise you're just going to chop the roots of weeds up into further prices and cause more pain later.


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[Thelma Sanders]

Growmore

[iGrow]

Rotorvating will kill the beneficial worms in your soil. As a vegetarian I am not sure you would condone this.

[drm1975]

Thanks for the advice on rotivating. Your right I don't want to kill the worms or have a serious weed problem later on but a guy down the allotment said it would take weeks to dig it by hand and he said rotavating would cause a weed problem but a manageable one. I guess it appeals because I want a blank canvass to start to work on

[Knight of Albion]

A good point. Most of the commercial plant fertilisers are either 'blood and bonemeal' slaughterhouse by-products or based on chicken excrement - given the sales volume I'd expect the source would be battery farms...

As for 'non-animal' based alternatives. There is volcanic dust. (Never tried it myself, it certainly isn't cheap, but at that price it must be dynamic. ) There is seaweed/liquid seaweed. (Rich in a myriad of trace minerals.)
Of the commercial products phostrogen is free of anything animal.

[Olorin2001]

Everyday you flush perfectly good fertiliser down the loo, get a composting toilet, and you save on your water bill as well.

[Veggielot]

Rotivating will certainly get your plot ready quickly but it will spread your weeds. How bad this will be will depend on the type of weeds you have. However you will probably spend more time later weeding then you gain now.

[drm1975]

id say the majority of weeds seem to be dandylions but im not a weed expert so im sure there are others too. The reason rotavating is tempting is because I don't have that much spare time on my hands so the less time digging up at the start the better

[iGrow]

Dare I say that if you have little spare time then an allotment is probably not for you...

[drm1975]

im going to try a spend at least a couple of hours at least at weekends and the odd hour on evenings there

[Bill HH]

Why would a vegetarian object to using animal manure, its not as if the animal wants it. In nature animal manure is spread on the ground and feeds plants.

As for your weeds cover the plot with cardboard or woolen carpets even plastic sheets, these will all smother the weeds and encourage worms. Lift a bit at a time back and cultivat that, or plant things through the covers. I would spread manure on it before covering if it was me. Rotovating weeds is bad news.

[drm1975]

After a poor nights sleep due to rotavate or not I have decided not to rotavate and do as Bill HH suggests, covering existing beds with a sheet and working on one bed at a time. Thanks for everyones advice. Still would like to know if there are any good veggie fertilisers I can buy from shops though.

[iGrow]

I am also a vegetarian but do not object using chicken pellets. The only other nutrients my soil gets is homemade compost and comfrey tea.