The problem

Enter a garden centre and you will be overwhelmed by a wall of feeds: liquid concentrates, slow-release, droplet bottles and specialist formulas for every plant going. Many people swear by them, while others say they have never fed their plants and they’re doing just fine. After all, plants in the wild manage perfectly well. So do our houseplants genuinely need feeding, or is it just consumerism?

The hack

Plants get energy from photosynthesis, but not minerals. They come from the soil, and in a houseplant bound by its pot that supply runs out over time. In the wild, roots roam through soil, fed constantly by decaying leaves, rain and living organisms.…