SA'S FIRST REGISTERED GROUP 2 LIQUID COMPOST · REG. K2022604507
Nature wastes nothing.
Neither do we.
HCT Liquid Compost is manufactured in a zero-waste process from recovered organic waste streams — a chitosan bio-stimulant that switches on your crop’s natural defences, rebuilds soil biology and cuts chemical spend. Proven on South African farms from the Western Cape to KwaZulu-Natal.
Commercial volumes, on-farm trials and agronomic support for large operations · 1L–25L packs for smallholders
- SA's first registered Group 2 Liquid Compost (Act 36 of 1947)
- Zero residue — meets export standards
- Safe for bees, wildlife & waterways
- Trialled on South African farms
- Zero-waste manufacturing
- Proudly made in South Africa
THE SCIENCE
Your crop already has an immune system. We switch it on.
Chitosan is a natural biopolymer that plants recognise as a warning signal. When HCT Liquid Compost is applied, crops respond as if under attack — hardening cell walls, deepening roots and priming defences — without any actual damage. The result is a stronger plant and a living soil.
Apply
Foliar spray or fertigation through your existing rig. Compatible with standard tank mixes and irrigation systems.
Signal
Chitosan molecules trigger the plant's innate defence pathways — the same response it mounts to protect itself against environmental and biological stressors.
Strengthen
Cell walls thicken, root systems expand up to 35%, and beneficial soil microbes multiply around the rhizosphere.
Harvest
Healthier plants, fewer chemical passes, better soil every season — and yields that show it at the weighbridge.
“Hobson's Choice was born in the Western Cape drought — when we learnt that the future of farming belongs to those who waste nothing.”
Paul Maratos
CO-FOUNDER, HOBSON’S CHOICE TRADING
ZERO-WASTE MANUFACTURING
Made from waste. Makes no waste. Grows everything.
Most fertiliser factories create waste. Ours runs on it. HCT Liquid Compost is manufactured from recovered organic waste streams in a closed-loop process where nothing goes to landfill — the definition of circular agriculture.
Waste streams become inputs
We recover premium organic by-products from specialized, managed biological systems. Through our circular process, these enriched chitin compounds and multi-species organic matrices are refined into a highly stable, high-performance liquid input that interacts directly with plant signaling pathways.
Nothing to landfill
The manufacturing process is closed-loop: every by-product is reused, recycled or returned to the process. Zero waste out. Ever.
Hand-made, locally sourced
Produced by hand in South Africa using local suppliers — supporting local employment while cutting transport emissions.
Sustainability your buyers can audit
Retailers and export markets increasingly demand a clean input story. HCT gives your farm a genuinely circular, biodegradable input with the paperwork to back it up.
FIELD RESULTS
Proven where it counts: in the ground, on real farms.
HCT Liquid Compost has been applied across row crops, orchards and cane in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
Maize
Deeper root profiles and improved standability under heat stress in dryland conditions.
Macadamia
Stronger flush growth and improved nut set on established orchards in KZN.
Sugarcane
Better ratoon vigour and measurable improvement in stalk development.
Citrus & lemons
Zero-residue programme fits export protocols while supporting fruit quality.
Vegetables
Stronger seedling establishment and reduced transplant shock for market growers.
Pecans & kiwi
Programmes running on emerging high-value orchard crops across both provinces.
* Headline figures (+28% yield, −42% chemical input, +35% root biomass) are averages from independent field trials. Ask us for the trial documentation for your crop and region.
FARM CALCULATOR
What would a season of HCT cost on your farm?
Slide to your planted hectares and we’ll estimate seasonal product requirement and cost — and recommend the most economical way to buy.
Estimates only, at the flat commercial volume baseline of R265.00 per litre for 25L and more, Ex Works — transport excluded. The default rate is illustrative — confirm the registered label rate for your crop, growth stage and application method with our agronomist.
ORDER DIRECT
Two ways to buy. One standard of biology.
Whether you farm 5,000 hectares or a family plot, you get the same product, the same registration, the same results.
COMMERCIAL & LARGE-SCALE
Bulk supply with agronomic support
For operations where product performance is a line item, not a leap of faith. We structure supply around your spray programme and prove it on your own blocks first.
- 210L drums and 1,000L IBC totes at programme pricing
- On-farm trial protocol: side-by-side strips, measured results
- Dedicated agronomic support for rates, timing and tank-mix compatibility
- Scheduled delivery to farm, KZN and Western Cape
- Trial documentation and residue compliance paperwork for export programmes
SMALLHOLDERS & GROWERS
Retail packs, delivered
The exact same registered product used by commercial farms — in pack sizes that make sense for market gardens, smallholdings and serious home growers.
Smaller packs carry a retail premium over the R265/L commercial baseline. [500ml price + final retail premiums to be confirmed — Frank & P. Maratos.]
- Simple mixing instructions on every pack
- Courier delivery nationwide
- WhatsApp support for application questions
- All prices excludes shipping costs
GET STARTED
Tell us about your farm. We'll come back with numbers.
A quote for commercial volumes, a trial protocol for your blocks, or a simple retail order — one form, and a real person replies within one business day.
- Phone / WhatsApp: +27 64 508 7096 or +27 82 892 2321
- Email: paul@hobsonschoice.co.za or frank@hobsonschoice.co.za
- Stone Ridge Farm, Ncwadi Road, KwaZulu-Natal
CASE STUDIES
The proof lives on real farms. Go and look.
Big operations don’t buy promises — they buy documented results. Each case study follows the same honest format: the farm, the challenge, the programme, and what the weighbridge said.
Wheat · Independent Sensako trials · Multiple application tiers
Sensako wheat trials: independent, measured, undisturbed
CHALLENGE — Prove HCT’s field performance under independent trial conditions — clean rows, untreated control plots, no interference.
PROGRAMME — HCT applied across multiple application tiers alongside untreated controls, left to run undisturbed for the full season.
RESULT — Yields shifted upward across every application tier, and independent destructive sampling validated significant root-mass propagation — supporting superior drought and waterlogging recovery.
+13.57% maximum yield peak (6.13 T/ha) · +6.37% average gain across all tiers · Root matrix expansion validated
Export fruit · Western Cape · [### ha]
[Farm name]: zero-residue programme for export compliance
CHALLENGE — [e.g. Export market residue limits tightening while environmental and biological stress pressure stayed high.]
PROGRAMME — [e.g. HCT integrated into the block programme to support the crop’s natural resilience and reduce chemical passes.]
RESULT — [e.g. Passed residue audits, fewer sprays per season, fruit quality maintained or improved.]
[−XX%] chemical passes · [100%] residue compliance · [+XX%] pack-out quality
QUESTIONS
What commercial farmers ask us first.
[Confirm with client.] HCT is designed to integrate with conventional programmes rather than replace them overnight. Our agronomist will review your current tank mixes and confirm compatibility before your first application.
HCT Liquid Compost is a zero-residue product and is registered as a Group 2 fertiliser (Reg. K2022604507) under Act 36 of 1947. We provide the compliance documentation your export programme requires.
We recommend a measured side-by-side strip trial on your own blocks for one season. We help set up the protocol, and you judge the product on your weighbridge numbers, not our brochure.
[Confirm logistics with client.] Bulk drums and IBCs are delivered to farm on a scheduled basis in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Retail packs ship nationwide by courier.
Yes — the formulation is built on a 100% organic base, is biodegradable, and is non-toxic to bees and wildlife when used as directed.
Absolutely. The 1L, 5L and 25L retail packs are the identical registered product commercial farms use, with simple mixing instructions on the pack and WhatsApp support if you get stuck.
NEXT SEASON STARTS NOW
Put HCT on trial. Let your soil give the verdict.
One strip trial. One season. Measured results on your own farm — then decide with numbers in hand.