Baby Bio Houseplant Food > Reviews (9)

I've just this year started growing vegetables in my garden as this is the first time I've lived in a student house for more than one year. This has meant that I can have big pots in the garden without the need to move them half way through the year. I have decided to grow tomatoes and courgettes as they are easy to grow and I like both the vegetables. To help with the plants growth I bought a 175ml bottle of Baby Bio plant food as the plants are kept in pots with cheapish compost in them.

--- The Bottle ---
The plant food comes in a small plastic bottle that is 15cm tall and 6cm wide at the base. The bottle is oval shaped which gives it a noticeable and recognisable shape. I have the special 60th Anniversary bottle that has a yellow and brown label like the one shown in the picture. On the top there is a bright red cap that is child proof.

On the front of the wrapper it has the Baby Bio name in a green font with a yellow stripe of colour that wraps its way around the bottle. There is also the Anthony Nolan charity logo on the front as money from the sales of these bottles go towards the charity. The rear has lots of small text with information about the fertiliser and how to use it.

--- The Fertiliser ---
The pack recommends to use 5-10 drops per half litre of water used however I just use a small squirt of the brown liquid in about a litre of water as this seems to work for me. With the bottle being plastic, it makes dispensing the fertiliser very easy. Despite the fertiliser being brown, when diluted it doesn't change the colour of the water at all.

I have found that when you aren't using the bottle, if it is left for a few days between usage, the fertiliser can dry up around the rim of the cap. This isn't too much of a problem as it can be scrapped off into a watering can, but it also flakes off when you open the cap, which therefore leads to loss of the fertiliser.

I have been using this fertiliser on my tomatoes and courgettes for quite a while now and I have found that it seems to of made an improvement into the growth of the plant. I don't have anything to compare it against though so I don't know the full extent of the improvement it has made. I have been using this bottle since I planted the seeds for the plants and that was in March. There isn't very much left in the bottle now, but this is probably because I am quite generous when I use it. I feel that if I used the amounts stated on the bottle it would last a lot longer.

I have also been feeding my plants cold tea as I have heard this is good for them also. I simply place my used tea bags in a large beaker, fill it up with hot water and then leave to go cold again. I then dilute the resulting tea into about 2 litres and then water the plants with this. I feel that this has also helped with the growth of the plants and is a (nearly) free fertiliser for the plants.

--- Where To Buy ---
Baby Bio can be found in any good garden centre, supermarket or local shop. The cost will vary depending on where you buy it from but it will range from £2-£3 for a bottle of this size.

--- The Verdict ---
I do believe that this fertiliser has helped with the growth of my plants however as I have nothing to compare it with then I don't know how much it has helped. I would buy it again though as it is a good well known brand that has a very good reputation. I would also recommend it as fertiliser is key when using pots for your plants as you need to keep right nutrients in the soil to aid growth.

I am going to give it 4/5 as it does seem to work well but I believe that I could use cheaper methods (I.e tea) to help my plants grow.

Thanks for reading.

This review may also appear on my blog and on Ciao under the same username.