Phostrogen Soluble Plant Food

...know which to buy but Phostrogen was the most appealing in its vivid orange container and so it found itself added to my shopping trolley.

Phostrogen-
Phostrogen plant food is an all purpose soluble feed suitable for all plants, flowers, fruit and veg.

Below is the companies’ claim-

"Phostrogen provides the perfect balance of nutrients to all areas in the garden. Used to improve the quality, ...
...county it wasn't long until Phostrogen became the trusted companion to million of gardeners."

Coming in a vivid orange and purple/blue container, the plant food has an indefinite shelf life providing you keep it dry. The directions for use are clearly printed on the packaging with matching diagrams, the ingredients that make up the feed are printed on the side of the pack but the writing is quite small and a little hard to read.
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It's coming up to that time of year again when all us green fingered beings are busy in our gardens making them beautiful for the summer. So what better to review than some plant food, an added little something to help the flowers thrive. I've lived at my current address for nearly 2 years but last year was the first year I tried my hand at gardening, well when I say gardening I mean growing plants in pots, for my "garden" is actually a small patch of gravel, I couldn’t fit a shed in it unless I wanted to use it as an extension! I chose to get a plant food in order to give my little plantlings a fighting chance, I’ll admit I didn’t really know which to buy but Phostrogen was the most appealing in its vivid orange container and so it found itself added to my shopping trolley.

Phostrogen-
Phostrogen plant food is an all purpose soluble feed suitable for all plants, flowers, fruit and veg.

Below is the companies’ claim-

"Phostrogen provides the perfect balance of nutrients to all areas in the garden. Used to improve the quality, yield and results in home & allotment garden around the county it wasn't long until Phostrogen became the trusted companion to million of gardeners."

Coming in a vivid orange and purple/blue container, the plant food has an indefinite shelf life providing you keep it dry. The directions for use are clearly printed on the packaging with matching diagrams, the ingredients that make up the feed are printed on the side of the pack but the writing is quite small and a little hard to read.

The Feed Contains-
Magnesium and Sulphur trace elements
Nitrogen
Phosphorus Pentoxide
Neutral Ammonium Citrate
Potassium Oxide
Magnesium Oxide
Calcium Oxide
Sulphur Trioxide
Boron
Copper
Iron
Manganese
Molybdeneum
Zinc

Now I’m the first to admit I’m not a scientist, while I vaguely recognize some of these things from my Periodic table days I couldn't tell you what benefits they are meant to bring to the plant feed. The feed however is created by experienced professionals from the gardening world who obviously know what they're doing, I’m sure a more experienced gardener will also know the benefits.

While there are no safety warnings with the plant food I wouldn’t necessarily recommend you try eating it, I’m guessing that could be a bad idea, so keep it out of reach of children just in case.

I found these questions and answers on a gardening website which may prove helpful in regards to the safety of the product:

"Is it safe to use Plant Food around children and pets?
Children and pets need not be excluded from any areas of the garden that have been fed with Plant Food. As with any household product it is sensible not to allow the powder or dilute solution onto skin. If this does happen, wash it off with plenty of cold water

What happens when the blow into my face?
Whilst the powder will have had an acrid taste the ingredients of Plant Food are no more toxic than common salt. No further action is necessary"
-WWW.GARDENJOY.CO.UK

The site also states that it is safe to harvest fruit and vegetables directly after feeding with the product. The product is not harmful to the soil and can actually improve it in certain areas. You should not mix with pesticides or any other chemical treatment as a reaction is always possible when mixing 2 different products.

Feeding Guide-
A 1kg pack of Phostrogen soluble food should last approximately 50 watering cans.

All flowers/fruit/veg- 4 doses per 9 litres- Every 7-14 days
Containers/young plants/seeds- 1 dose per 9 litres- Every watering
Houseplants- 1 dose per 4.5 litres- every watering

Directions-
To prepare the handypack for use you have to make sure the lid is closed, you then tip the pack upside down and an amount of the food will be distributed into the purple feed compartment. When you turn the pack up the right way open the lid and you will see the food, add this into your watering can, as you tip the food into the can the feed compartment should automatically re-fill with the next dose. Close the cap when you've put the required dosage of food into your watering can to make sure the feed stays dry.

Pour the water/feed mixture around the base of your plants thoroughly soaking the soil, you can also wet the foliage but not in direct sunlight as this will damage the plant. Feed your plants regularly throughout the growing season.

To re-fill the handypack you can remove the inner part of the purple feed compartment and simply pour the new mix into the pack, then all you have to do is replace the insert and you're ready to go.

Price and availability-
Phostrogen 1kg plant food in the handypack is available from most garden centres, supermarkets and online for £5.75.

Other Products-
Phostrogen 1kg refill
Phostrogen handy feeder
Phostrogen weed and moss killer
Phostrogen tomato food(liquid)
Phostrogen tomato food(soluble)
Phostrogen Ericaceous plant food and tonic
..........and more!

My Experience-
Well like I said it was my first year last year and I was delighted with the results I achieved. Now of course while I followed the instructions and treated all my plants with the feed I cannot actually prove that my success was down to the feed or whether I simply had good luck. I did grow some very easy plants such as Tulips, Freesias and Bizzie Lizzies so the fact that they are easier plants to grow might also have something to do with my results. I am being a little more daring this year and am adding Gladioli, Petunias, Geranium, Aquilegia and a few as yet undecided varieties, so only time will tell how well they turn out, needless to say I will be using the feed on them as instructed. Naturally I will pop back and update the review at the end of the season.

The handypack is made of tough plastic and is great for storing the food and protect it against getting wet. Unfortunately I hadn’t quite closed the cap of mine properly and it went a bit stodgy over the winter, still I’ve cleaned out the feed compartment and given the feed a chance to dry out, after a good hard shake it seems to have broken up enough to pour into the compartment. The feed dissolves into the water quickly, although I only have a small watering can, so a larger one which would need a larger dose may take longer. My plant feed lasted quite a while but I did only have a few tubs to feed, people with larger gardens and more plants will obviously get through a pack quicker. On very rare occasions the feed doesn’t completely dilute but this is ok as it breaks down naturally into the soil.

I would certainly recommend this plant food to anyone looking for something to feed their plants, while I have no real proof that it works I was happy with the results in my garden last year and feel that the food must have done something right, the fact that the food can also improve soil and is apparently not harmful to man or beast is a bonus.

I’ve added some photos but should say that this was not when the plants were at their best but at an earlier stage. 

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