Experienced vegetable grower. Awarded the RHS ’50 Years in Gardening’ award in 2018.

When opening a bag of PlantGrow solid soil improver, the consistency of the material is immediately noticeable—a vital requisite for successful soil incorporation. Once spread, this material can be mixed in quite easily, even with a garden fork, creating a structurally ideal growing medium. In comparison, farmyard manure and garden compost are much less consistent and, therefore, more difficult to incorporate evenly into the soil. Additionally, both materials can introduce weed seeds into your soil if not correctly composted.

In a glasshouse setting, it was observed that PlantGrow helped warm the soil, leading to earlier and more successful root establishment. The fact that this material can be incorporated evenly into most soils also ensures that the fertilisers present are released to the plants as needed, minimising nutrient hot spots. This scenario encourages the development of a quality fibrous root system that effectively supports the rest of the plant. Moreover, the amount of nutrients present in the material is just right and in the correct ratio to facilitate steady and healthy growth.

Once plants are growing well, the PlantGrow liquid feed is ideal for maintaining plants in perfect condition up to harvest. For a few vegetable crops, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and cauliflowers, which require extra nutrients at certain stages of growth, supplementary feeding may be necessary from early maturity up to the point of harvest to maximise cropping. PlantGrow solid also makes an excellent top dressing around herbaceous perennials and shrubs.

This is one of the best products I have used for soil improvement and plant health—it’s fantastic!

John Stirland