Far better is blood, bone and fishmeal (or blood, fish and bone) which is an organic fertiliser containing all three elements. Soil bacteria must break it down before it can be absorbed and so are encouraged in a way that is absent when using other all-purpose fertilisers.
But if fertiliser provides the vitamins, it is well-rotted organic matter that offers the “meat and two veg”. Stable manure, farmyard manure, spent mushroom compost, spent hops and the like are all bulky and can be dug into the soil now to improve its structure. On heavy clay soil they will improve drainage, and on light sandy soils they will help to hold on to moisture (even though it sounds as though one statement ought to contradict the other).
Work in as much as you can on bare ground, and in beds and borders, lay it as a mulch (a 2in thick layer) between plants. Apply two handfuls of blood, fish and bone to each square yard of soil and fork it in before laying mulch on top. Gradually, the worms will take it into the soil, but while lying on the top it will seal in moisture and help keep down the weeds.
For now, our efforts involve getting rid of moisture, but in the summer we need to keep as much of it around plant roots as we can. Act now to make sure plants recover from the winter and, hopefully, enjoy a summer that will make up for it.
Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column today and every day in the Daily Express. For more information on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.
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