Neutrog Bounce Back, what it is and when to use it

Neutrog Bounce Back, what it is and when to use it

Bounce Back is the bag I point at most often when somebody tells me their garden has gone quiet on them, because a lot of the time the plants aren't the problem and the soil underneath them is, and a general organic feed is the cheapest way to find out. It's a pelletised organic fertiliser from Neutrog, it suits just about everything you'd have growing, and it's the sort of product you buy once and use across the whole garden rather than buying a different bag for every bed.

What is actually in the bag

The analysis is 3:2:2, so nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in that order, plus the secondary nutrients and trace elements that come along naturally with a composted product. It's registered with Australian Certified Organic, which means the raw materials are traceable and the way it's made gets audited against their standards, so the organic claim on the front of the bag is doing more than decorating it.

Before it's pelletised it gets composted and steam treated, and that's the part worth knowing, because it stabilises the nutrients and leaves the product free of parasites, pathogens and weed seeds, which is not something you can say about raw manure out of a trailer. What the process doesn't kill off is the microbiology, and that's why Neutrog describe it as a living fertiliser rather than just a feed.

What to use it on

It's a general purpose feed rather than a specialist one, so it goes on the veggie patch, the flower beds, fruit trees, shrubs and anything in a pot that's looking tired. Commercial growers use it on vegetable and flower crops around the country, which is a fair guide to how broadly it applies, and it isn't a home gardener's watered down version of something else.

What it isn't is a lawn fertiliser or a native feed. Turf wants a product built for turf, and natives that dislike phosphorus want something low in it, so both of those are a different bag.

How to put it on

1. Spread the pellets over the bed, or around the drip line on a tree, which is the ground under the outer edge of the leaves rather than up against the trunk.
2. Scratch them lightly into the top of the soil so they're in contact with the ground instead of sitting on top of the mulch.
3. Water it in properly, because the pellets need moisture to start breaking down and a dry bed just holds them there doing nothing.

Rates are on the bag and they change depending on whether you're doing a whole bed or feeding one established tree, so read them rather than guessing. On timing, the two obvious feeds are as the beds wake up in spring and again in autumn to build the soil going into winter, and anything cropping continuously will want feeding every six to eight weeks while it's growing.

What it won't fix

It won't fix compaction and it won't fix drainage, so if water sits on your beds after rain and takes most of a day to go anywhere, feeding it is not the answer and you're better off getting some gypsum through it and sorting the structure out first. It isn't instant either, which is the honest version, because an organic pellet has to break down before the roots get at any of it, so give it a few weeks before you decide whether it did anything.

Shop related products

• Neutrog Bounce Back 20kg. The certified organic pelletised feed this whole post is about.
• Neutrog Rapid Raiser 20Kg. The same idea at 4:3:2, so a bit more nitrogen if you want leaf growth.
• Brunnings Blood and Bone Based Fertiliser 5kg. The old faithful for preparing a bed before you plant shrubs or roses into it.
• Naturally Good Mushroom Compost 25L. Organic matter to dig through, which is what gets the soil holding moisture again.

Did you know we also stock gypsum in 10kg and 20kg bags, garden lime in 10kg, dolomite in 8kg and a soil pH test kit in store. They're not on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.

The rest of the Neutrog range is in the garden centre, along with the wider garden range. A 20kg bag is a fair lift, so if you'd rather not put one in the boot yourself we deliver Tuesdays and Thursdays on anything bought from us, $5 around Strathalbyn and $10 on the regional run. Local delivery.

Read next

• What makes composting the ultimate solution for soil health
• Crop rotation in a home vegetable garden, and why it works

I'm the sort of gardener who always buys the bigger bag and then spends a fortnight working out where to keep it.

Candeece

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