Vegan Fertiliser

Vegan fertiliser: no slaughterhouse waste, ever

Everything in this collection is made from plant-derived and mineral ingredients only. No slaughterhouse waste of any kind: no blood meal, no bone meal, no hoof, no horn, no feather meal, and no fish. That is the whole point of a vegan product line, and it is stated here plainly so you do not have to read an ingredient list to find out.

Between them these products cover nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur and trace elements, so you can build a complete vegan plant food programme rather than hunting for the one acceptable bag on a garden centre shelf. Background reading: what vegan fertiliser is, and where the nutrients come from instead.

Feeding a garden without the animal inputs

Veganic gardening is organic growing with the animal inputs left out. Most organic plant food on a garden centre shelf is built on slaughterhouse waste — blood, bone and fish are the cheap nitrogen and phosphorus sources the industry defaults to — which is why the labels are worth reading closely if it matters to you. Compost, green manures, leaf mould and plant matter build the soil; a concentrated plant based fertiliser and mined mineral top up what the soil is short of. The principle is straightforward. The awkward part has always been supply, because assembling a full nutrient programme from an animal free fertiliser range is harder than it should be, and labels are often vague about what is actually in the bag.

That is what this collection exists for. Dr Forest hand-blends in small batches in Stockport, and full ingredient lists are published on every product page, so you can check each product against your own standard rather than take a claim on trust.

Nitrogen from plant protein

• Nitrogen Fertiliser at 13% N. Plant protein concentrate, slow release, for leafy growth and for pushing a crop that has stalled.
• Alfalfa Meal Pellets. Organically grown alfalfa, which carries triacontanol alongside its slow nitrogen. Triacontanol is a natural growth promoter, and it is the reason rose growers have used alfalfa for fifty years. More in the organic fertiliser with a built-in growth hormone.
• Lawn Fertiliser 10-3-3.5. High nitrogen for grass from plant protein, gentle enough not to scorch, and a straightforward vegan lawn feed for spring and early summer.

Plant protein concentrates release their nitrogen as soil microbes break them down, which means the release curve follows soil temperature. In a cold spring that is slower than the bag suggests; from May onwards it is steady and forgiving, and far less likely to scorch than a soluble feed.

Phosphorus and calcium from mineral rock, not bone

Micronised Soft Rock Phosphate at 31% P, with calcium alongside it, for roots, flowering and fruit set. This is the veganic substitution for bone meal, and it is the standard one: phosphorus and calcium from mined mineral rock rather than from an animal. Soft rock phosphate is the colloidal, clay-associated deposit rather than the hard-rock grade, which is why it breaks down and becomes plant-available more readily in the soil. Micronising it increases the surface area available to soil acids and root exudates, so more of it is accessible in the first season. Once it is in the ground it stays there for years rather than months, which makes it a soil-building input as much as a feed.

Potassium and the rest of the minerals

• Sulphate of Potash, chloride-free at 50% K₂O, for flower and fruit quality.
• Yorkshire Polyhalite, which brings potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur from a single mined granule at 14% K, 17% Ca and 6% Mg. If you are choosing between the two, this guide covers when each is the right call.

Potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur are mineral nutrients in any growing system, so nothing about veganic growing changes how you supply them. We aim for a Ca:Mg:K ratio of around 3:1:3 across a programme, which is where most garden soils sit best.

Biostimulants

Seaweed is fully veganic and the best-evidenced biostimulant available to gardeners. Scottish Kelp Meal for slow soil release, soluble seaweed extract for foliar and drench use, and Brix+ where you want triacontanol and the other growth promoters alongside it. What the better trials actually show.

Building a vegan tomato feed, and feeding the rest of the plot

There is no single product here labelled as a vegan tomato feed, and there does not need to be. Tomatoes want steady nitrogen while they are building leaf and stem, then a shift towards potassium once the first truss sets. Alfalfa pellets or the nitrogen fertiliser cover the first phase, soft rock phosphate worked in at planting covers roots and flowering, and sulphate of potash or polyhalite carries the fruiting stage, with seaweed across the whole season. Rates are on every product page.

The same sequence covers most of a plot. Potatoes and brassicas lean towards the nitrogen end, beans and peas need very little of it, soft fruit and courgettes want the potassium shift, and roses do well on alfalfa. Vegan plant food for containers works the same way, with a little more attention to magnesium, since pots leach.

Does it work as well?

Broadly yes, with one honest caveat about timing rather than performance. Plant protein concentrates hit comparable nitrogen figures and release on a slow, microbe-driven curve, which suits garden soil but does mean they are not a quick rescue for a plant that has already gone pale. Soft rock phosphate is slower to become available than a soluble phosphate, and stays in the soil far longer in return. The mineral nutrients are identical whatever your approach. Where the evidence is genuinely thin, as it is for most claims that one input builds better soil than another, we would rather say so than dress it up.

Common questions

Is everything in this collection suitable for veganic gardening?

Yes. The products here are formulated from plant-derived and mineral ingredients only, with no slaughterhouse waste and no animal inputs of any kind. Full ingredient lists are on every product page, so you can check each one against your own standard. Note that the wider Dr Forest range is not exclusively plant and mineral based, so work from this collection rather than the full catalogue.

What is the vegan alternative to bone meal?

Micronised soft rock phosphate. It supplies the same two nutrients bone meal is used for — phosphorus and calcium — from mined mineral rock instead, releases slowly, and stays available in the soil for several seasons rather than a single one. It is the standard substitution in veganic growing and it is what this collection uses.

Where does the phosphorus come from?

Mined mineral rock. Micronised soft rock phosphate supplies phosphorus and calcium together, releases slowly, and remains available in the soil for several seasons.

What is the difference between soft rock phosphate and hard rock phosphate?

Soft rock phosphate is the colloidal clay-associated deposit. It carries a lower total phosphorus figure than hard rock but a far higher proportion of it becomes available to plants, and it brings calcium and trace elements with it. Hard rock phosphate is denser and releases very slowly. For garden soil, soft rock is the more useful of the two.

Where does the nitrogen come from?

Plant protein concentrate in the granular feed, and alfalfa in the pellets. Both release slowly, so there is no spike and no scorch risk.

Is there a vegan lawn feed here?

Yes. The lawn fertiliser is plant protein based, so it works as a vegan lawn feed as it stands. Feed in spring and again in early autumn, and water it in if the surface is dry.

How do I build a full programme from this?

Nitrogen fertiliser or alfalfa for growth, soft rock phosphate worked in at planting for roots and flowering, and sulphate of potash or polyhalite through the fruiting stage. Add seaweed across the whole season. That covers a vegetable plot, a flower bed or an allotment.

Can I use these alongside my compost?

Yes, and they work best that way. Homemade compost supplies organic matter and structure; these supply the concentrated nutrition it is usually short of.

Is plant based fertiliser better for the soil?

It is a fair question and the honest answer is that the evidence for one organic input outperforming another on soil health is thinner than the marketing suggests. What can be said is that these products feed soil biology rather than bypassing it, and that where an ingredient's origin matters to you, it is stated plainly on the page.