Is Blood, Fish & Bone for Plants the best Growmore alternative

Blood, Fish & bone is a 100% organic plant feed that’s very similar to what’s normally known as your ‘general’ or ‘balanced’ fertiliser.

It’s designed to help the plant photosynthesise so it produces stronger roots, bigger produce or blooms and healthier foliage.

Many gardeners are familiar with Grow More. Another balanced fertiliser. However is choosing blood, fish and bone a better way to go?

And if so, in which ways is it more sustainable and helpful in the long term?

Ultimately, choosing 100% organic gardening is a choice that will be made by you. Many people will choose organic for different reasons.

Application methods BFB Alternative vs Growmore

The application methods are pretty much the same for both these plant feeds, You simply measure out eh size of your bed, weigh out the correct amount according to the instructions, then sprinkle and dig into the soil.

What may differ are the application rates.

Application Rates Growmore vs BFB Alternative

Disclaimer: Always read the label on the packet when you buy any of these products as application rates can vary.

That said, optimum application rates are exactly the same. 140g per m2 as a first feed, then 70g per m2 about every 6 weeks during the growing season.

So, if you’re looking to save money by having to buy less of either Growmore or blood fish and bone, then you’re out of luck I’m afraid.

That leads me nicely on to talk about pricing.

Price Comparison of Blood, Fish & Bone vs Growmore

Like with most garden products, it’s very difficult to do a direct comparison. Mainly because the more you buy the cheaper you’ll get it. For example, if you buy 20m2 worth, you’ll pay more per kilo than if you buy say, 25kg.

Anyway, let’s look at a comparison of the pricing.

When you buy a small box of Blood, Fish & Bone, say 1.5kg it’s likely to cost around £5-£6. Whereas Growmore is likely to cost around £4-5. Menaing you’ll have a slight cost saving should you go for a smaller box. Just for confirmation, 1.5kg of both will cover around 20m2.

If you have more then 20m2 of flower beds or you plan on keeping on top of the feeding, it’s probably better to buy a bigger bag as it’s guaranteed to be cheaper per kilo and therefore cheaper per m2.

NPK Analysis of both products

Both these products are balanced fertiliser plant feeds and therefore both have a very similar NPK ratio. However, because Growmore is artificially produced, it’s all but guaranteed to have a 7-7-7 NPK analysis.

BFB on the other hand is an all-natural product and would be extremely difficult to get it exact. This means you’ll find that it may have a slightly different NPK analysis depending where you buy it from.

What would I choose as a Growmore Alternative?

Personally, I tend to go for the organic products where possible. I find Blood, Fish and Bone as a superb alternative and try to commit to a couple of applications minimum per year. The long lasting attributes of BFB far outweighs the short time that Growmore stays in the soil.