Saturday 5 March 2016

Herbwise Organic Solutions

I'm always on the lookout for products that can help me to keep my plants in good condition without having loads of artificial and potentially harmful chemicals in them. I am as keen as the next gardener to stop the "beasties" destroying my precious plants, but I know that what kills the bugs can often do us humans some harm as well. For this reason I was very pleased to be contacted by Herbwise Organic Solutions, suggesting that I might like to try some free samples of their products, which are all made from natural beneficial ingredients.




When they first approached me it was Autumn, at a time when I was not much in need of these things, but in early February this year I started using the product called "Cultivate", which is a plant food. I'm assured it is very suitable for chillis, and that is where I am using it. Lorna from H.O.S. says this: "In regards to chillies, from testing 'Cultivate' gives an increase in flavonoid content, the fruits seem more 'real' for want of a better phrase. Some species of plants react by an increase in yield while something like a typical Birds Eye chilli plant just has better developed seeds inside at harvest and a slightly more rounded taste. The size will remain in the normal range though you will tend to find there are more stems and therefore in the end more chillies."


In the past I have tried various other products on my chillis, like Chilli Focus, and even Tomorite, so it will be interesting to see how Cultivate compares. It's early days yet, but my over-Wintered chilli plants are looking nice and strong already, so maybe some of this is due to the Cultivate.


The main products supplied by H.O.S. are "Cultivate", a plant food; "Eradicate", an insecticide; and "Detonate" which allegedly promotes an "explosion" of flowers! I have been supplied with one of each. Each product comes in a plastic 500ml bottle with a screw top. At £12, Cultivate sounds expensive, but you have to consider that before use it is diluted at the rate of 25ml (one capful) per 500ml of water, so one bottle will go a long way. Furthermore, the price includes delivery, so I think that makes it very reasonable.


My only complaint - and it's hardly a complaint, more of an observation - is that the labels are not very clear, nor particularly attractive. The product names are quite hard to discern. I think a distinctive logo would be more appropriate, instead of the rather un-enterprising "H.O.S.". I also think a back-label with a description of the product and instructions for use would be a good addition.




It is too early for me to judge the effectiveness of these products, but I will certainly be making use of them throughout the season and will report my findings later. In the meantime, my thanks go to Lorna and Daniel at H.O.S. for providing such a generous sample.

8 comments:

  1. Well it won't do any harm! I am afraid with your generous nature you will give these products credit for your good growing Mark. Sorry to be an old cynic - you showed me wrong with your successful overwintering!

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  2. Those sound interesting - I've not heard of a fertilizer that can increase flavonoids - I'm thinking that would be a difficult one to judge. Are you going to do a little side-by-side experiment, by chance? I agree about the labels - in my opinion, they need to simplify...there is too much going on in those background images.

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  3. Which type of pests does Eradicate claim to eradicate Mark? I agree with you about the labels they look very amateurish something that anyone could knock off on an inkjet printer. Also when I first set up the photograph I thought you were going to write about cosmetics. Does it say anywhere on the label what the ingredientsare?

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    1. Sue, there is almost nothing on the labels. You have to visit the website to get info - and only very generic info is given about the ingredients. I do not know what sort of pests Eradicate will kill, but I'm hoping it will be effective against aphids!

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  4. Are these products worth buying Mark?

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    1. I think (regrettably) the answer is "No". The Eradicate product did not eliminate aphids from my chillis, even when used at very high concentrations. The Cultivate product has not produced any visible improvement of anything I have applied it to. I have just re-read the quotation in my post above and it confirms my views.

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  5. Thanks for the info, I have a friend here in Hampshire that swears by these products, however I trust your opinion more so I shall not be investing in these products afterall. Thanks.

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  6. Hi Mark, Daniel here, we are disappointed to hear that you haven't benefited from this, of course all we asked was your honest opinion positive or negative and we are glad of the feedback though it is highly unusual to see zero improvement, it has led me to conclude that the issue could be related to the weed killer contaminated compost that you have been using, I understand that this would not explain the aphid situation we have found that the speed of immunity to various pesticides seems to be rapid. More than any time in the past. I have seriously considered the possibility of some type of genetically modified aphid that may have bred into the aphid population as far out as that may sound, anyway Mark thanks again for your honest opinion and we hope the 'detonate' may show it's abilities later into the season. All the best. Dear anonymous we are glad to hear that you have heard of positive results from our products but understand that Mark's results have put you off, we are willing to offer you a bottle for free in order for you to form your own opinion. If so email our website. Kind regards

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