ORGANIC SOIL IMPROVER: Providing a full nutritional profile for you soil to make it healthier and more productive
Keeping winter crops healthy to set up well for early spring 2026 looks to be even more vital this season given the very rapid establishment and initial crop growth around UK farms this autumn.
Winter crops including cereals, oilseeds and pulses have established extremely well on the whole this season in response to being drilled into good seedbeds, with sufficient moisture and relatively mild temperatures, which encouraged rapid germination and early growth conditions.
This pronounced early growth and extra plant biomass that many crops now have will need careful subsequent management over the coming winter period, especially as they head into early spring next year. Forward crops can very easily suffer as they come out of winter if sufficient nutrition, a healthy soil environment and soil microbiome is lacking.
A critical stage for crop growth and development, ensuring good soil health and correct plant nutrition before the onset of new spring growth will be essential to enhance and protect yields and profitability. All in the hope of avoiding a repeat of lower yielding crops in 2025.
Of course, we cannot predict what the weather will do next year but, experience tells us that increasing the health and resilience of our soils, through use of soil amendments like Sea2Soil, is getting more important each year as we see changing climatic patterns. Helping crops through difficult periods and extremes of drought, heat or flooding is a part of farm management that is becoming more vital.
“Feeding the soil is part and parcel of feeding the crops. Ensuring good soil health by applying Sea2Soil in early spring feeds the underground livestock in our soils, fostering beneficial microorganisms like bacteria, fungi and protozoa, and earthworms, which in turn help support more resilient crops,” says Grant James, UK Business Development Manager, Sea2Soil.
Split applications of Sea2Soil are recommended for all winter crops in both early autumn and early spring. This coincides with some of the most important periods in a crop’s life, where the first 30-60 days help a crop establish, develop shoots and roots in autumn before the main phase of growth and development in the crop kicks in during the early spring, once soil and air temperatures begin to rise after winter.
“Sea2Soil promotes a biologically active soil substrate, so the soil has better aeration, can retain moisture and releases nutrients in a bio-available form to plants, contributing to better stress tolerance in plants and promoting healthy growth of crops,” explains Grant James.
Cereal crops in particular can be vulnerable at these key stages if sufficient nutrition and soil health is not in place in soils to support them. Application of Sea2Soil is versatile and can be combined with other inputs such as early T0 spring fungicides, early spring herbicides or other crop nutrition applications.
Sea2Soil fish hydrolysate is a versatile soil improver that can be utilised by both the soil microbiome and the plant directly and contains a full range of naturally balanced amino acids and fatty acids. Rich in essential macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the product also provides vital micronutrients like calcium, magnesium and other trace elements in a bioavailable formulation, establishing a good basis for any crop nutritional plan. All these nutrients play a critical role in plant growth and development phases in the spring, flowering and yield-set. Helping the soil early this spring really will help the crops deliver healthier growth, yields and quality.
To find out more about early spring applications of Sea2Soil in either winter crops or ahead of establishing spring crops, please contact Grant James:
T: 07976 879646
In Episode six of The Sea2Soil Podcast, Grant sits down with Bulgarian grower and agribusiness expert, Marian Dichevski, to talk about farming through drought, making pragmatically regenerative choices, and where biology‑centred nutrition fits in a modern system.
Across Bulgaria - and much of Eastern Europe - farms often span hundreds to thousands of hectares. In recent years, drought and heat have tightened their grip, putting staple crops like wheat, maize, and sunflower under pressure. It is pushing growers to rethink established practices and look for resilient, biology‑friendly ways to keep crops performing.
Marian’s view is clear: avoid swinging from full conventional to full no‑till overnight. Trial changes field by field. Where soils are tight or stratified, minimum or strip till can open the door for roots and biology without overworking the ground. Cover crops have a role, but only where moisture budgets allow. The brief is simple: choose the right tool, at the right time, for your soil.
Key takeaways:
Post‑war agriculture leaned heavily on synthetic fertilisers. Marian argues that over‑reliance can dilute plant sap, lower brix, and open the door to pests and disease - especially in dry years. A biology‑first approach focuses on feeding microbes and supplying nitrogen in the forms plants can use with less energy cost.
What that means in practice:
Marian highlights the role of fish hydrolysate as a practical, biology‑forward input. Applied in‑furrow at drilling or as a timely foliar, amino acid‑rich nutrition supports early root development, feeds microbial life, and can help reduce the plant’s energy burden compared with nitrate‑heavy programmes.
Potential benefits:
When moisture is scarce, every input concentrates faster in the soil. Keeping biology alive and roots exploring is non‑negotiable. That means gentle soil movement, smart residue management, and nutrition that plants can metabolise efficiently.
Practical pointers for dry seasons:
Marian brings grounded, real‑farm context to a challenge many growers share: producing consistent crops when water is the true limiting factor. If you’re weighing up cultivations, cover crops, and biology‑first nutrition, this episode is for you.
Tune in to Episode Six on Spotify and YouTube, launching on Thursday, 23rd October at 10am.
One of the most common questions we hear from farmers exploring regenerative agriculture is: “How long will it take before I see results?”
The honest answer, as soil educator Joel Williams shares in Episode 4 of The Sea2Soil Podcast, is that building soil health is not a quick fix - it’s a journey of continual improvement.
Most soils have reached their current condition after years of intensive management, nutrient offtake, and disturbance. Reversing that trajectory naturally takes time. Joel explains that while some benefits can be seen sooner, meaningful change generally occurs within a three-to-five-year transition period. Think of it less as a destination and more as a new way of farming that steadily pays back year on year.
Early boosts in biology: Adding organic amendments like fish hydrolysates or seaweed extracts can quickly stimulate microbial activity.
Improved rooting: Autumn applications of amino acids help winter crops establish stronger root systems.
Signs of resilience: Even within the first couple of seasons, farmers may notice better plant vigour or less stress in dry spells.
Soil structure improvements: As biology gets to work, soils start forming stronger aggregates, improving infiltration and water-holding.
Nutrient cycling kicks in: Locked-up nutrients become more available thanks to increased microbial activity.
Reduced input reliance: Many farmers worldwide report comfortably reducing synthetic nitrogen inputs by 20–30% at this stage, with some pasture systems going further.
Soil regeneration doesn’t stop at year five. With consistent application of soil health principles, minimising disturbance, maintaining cover, integrating livestock, and embracing diversity, farmers can continue to build resilience, fertility, and profitability for decades. Joel describes it as a lifelong journey: each year offering new opportunities to reduce the “baddies” (tillage, overuse of chemicals) and do more of the “goodies” (biology-building practices).
It’s easy to become impatient when trying something new, especially if you’re used to quick responses from synthetic fertilisers. But regenerative farming is about building lasting soil function, not chasing instant results. By framing it as a multi-year transition, you set yourself up to measure progress in seasons and systems, not in weeks.
Hear more from Joel Williams on the timescales of soil regeneration in Episode 4 of The Sea2Soil Podcast.
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