PLANTS IN CRISIS: MERRICK WATTS NAMED AS AUSTRALIA’S FIRST SOILMELIER

Bella Star
3 days ago
2 min read

A man in a lab coat holds Scotts Organic Plant Food in a cluttered workshop with flasks and plants. Bright lighting creates a dramatic mood.

Australia’s houseplants have been sending an SOS, and it turns out the rescue mission comes with a punchline.

Enter Merrick Watts, comedian, wine connoisseur, and now officially crowned the country’s very first Soilmelier, teaming up with Scotts Organic to give neglected greenery the attention it deserves.

Plants in crisis

The numbers aren’t pretty. Research commissioned by Scotts found that one in three Australians admits they lack confidence in their garden, and one in five aren’t even sure their plants are alive, let alone thriving.

Only 27% are bothering with proper plant food.

So what do time-poor Aussies do instead? Some sing to their pot plants, others whisper sweet nothings.

But the stat that will haunt you: one in 33 Aussies actually urinate on them.

The plants, unsurprisingly, are not amused.

Wine glasses down, trowels up

Watts, best known for his Grapes of Mirth comedy and wine events, has traded cabernet for compost in his mission to put plant nutrition back on the national radar.

“A fine wine is not born solely from the age of the vine or the climate’s temperament. True character begins in the soil,” he says.

“Often underestimated, the soil is the vintner’s secret, shaping the very soul of what’s to come. We’ve got to get back to the roots.”

His argument is simple: Australians are world-class foodies, yet somehow we forget to feed the dirt that grows the food in the first place.

That’s where Scotts Organic Plant Food comes in.

“Scotts Organic Plant Food not only rebuilds the structure of the soil while feeding your plants, but does it so bloody simply, effectively and organically,” Watts says.

Feeding the dirt, not just ourselves

The Soilmelier-approved solution promises more than a vitamin hit for your petunias.

Scotts Organic Plant Food is a complete garden health plan, crafted with fish, seaweed, humic acid and a grab bag of natural minerals to regenerate tired soil.

“Soil health has a knock-on effect on the greater environmental ecosystem,” says Watts.

“Creating an organic solution that works with nature, not against it, is like drinking a glass of Yangarra Grenache McLaren Vale Ovitelli 2021; you feel good about it, and it goes down ”