It appears that everything has become organic at present. It hardly matters where you go – eateries, farmers markets, soap shops, or even garment stores – the term “organic” is used for describing the product being marketed. And it is not a bad thing after all!
It is known to us that there are lots of benefits of going for organic products at present. While purchasing organic items, you are attempting to stay away from pesticides, growth additives, and genetically modified organisms. Even though going for organic usually refers to the food consumed by us, its benefits are also noticeable in other products as well, such as your garden fertilizer. As a matter of fact, an increasing number of property owners are purchasing eco-friendly lawn care products over other options.
As lawn owners, it is imperative for us to take care of our lawn in a holistic manner. For this reason, we need to go for the best products available out there. According to lots of experts, organic fertilizers happen to be the best solution as far as lawn care is concerned right now.
Why we should not use non-organic fertilizers?
The majority of the fertilizers consist of nitrogen, potassium, as well as phosphorus. While it is possible for these materials to encourage the development of healthy plants many other materials like herbicides and pesticides can affect the environment in an adverse manner.
While technological advancements provide the farmers and the gardeners with more control over the vegetation grown by them, many happen to be petroleum-based, and on most occasions, plants receive a surplus amount of nutrients. Consequently, surplus nutrients run off to nearby waterways thus polluting ponds, streams, and lakes which are situated nearby. An excess amount of algae is often created by polluted water and this minimizes the percentage of oxygen present in the water. This affects the water consumed by us along with the food items which we ingest.
Therefore, while choosing a synthetic fertilizer, we might be using products such as herbicides and pesticides which can affect the environment adversely.
Why we should use organic fertilizers?
Organic fertilizer happens to be an alternative to its synthetic counterpart. One significant advantage of employing organic fertilizer is that it helps to enhance the nutrient efficiency of any plant in your garden. While making use of organic fertilizers, your lawn will be producing healthy plant shoots as well as grass blades that will enhance the biodiversity and biology activity of the soils significantly and naturally.
It is a fact that you have taken the decision to go green and you are confused when it comes to figuring out which fertilizer you should purchase. You are confronted with a plethora of questions while you are standing in front of the local organic gardening outlet and staring blankly at the shelves full of bottled and bagged fertilizers.
In the following paragraphs, we have explained some essential differences between organic and natural fertilizers and synthetic choices which should come of use to you.
Organic versus non-organic choices
It is a fact that nutrients are received by all the plants in the form of chemicals. It is not possible for them to make any difference between how the nutrient had been derived, for example, whether organic or non-organic.
While referring to the nutrition of plants, natural or organic usually denotes any fertilizer which has been derived from animals, plants, or mineral origin. It should have at least one essential nutrient for plant development.
Synthetic or non-organic fertilizers have been manufactured chemically. Their primary objective is to deliver nutrients quickly, for example, those which happen to be water-soluble, or as a controlled release over time.
Even though these are quite effective when it comes to providing prolonged or quick periods of feeding, these come with an enhanced salt index. The prospective threat to the plants happens to be burning as well as dehydration when unabsorbed chemical substances are leeched into waterways.
On the contrary, it is imperative for the organic nutrients to break down initially and they should be absorbed by soil microorganisms which will release these nutrients subsequently in a form which can be absorbed by the plants.
This procedure likewise produces humus which happens to be an essential ingredient for enhancing the structure of the soil. It is a fact that nutrients which are derived organically are extremely resistant to leeching and likewise consist of an extremely low salt index. The end result happens to be nutrients which remain in the soil until they are used by plants and there is less possibility of dehydration or burning even if there is over application or in extreme drought conditions.
Fertilizer basics
In case you take a look at any of the fertilizer packages out there, you will find that 3 numbers have been listed prominently. These happen to be the primary nutrients which are required most by the plants. These actually represent the percentage of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen found in each package.
While nitrogen is mainly accountable for the green color of the plants and their development, phosphorus is responsible for flowering as well as root development. On the other hand, potassium is primarily accountable for resisting ailments.
Your decision of purchasing any fertilizer will depend on what you would like to achieve for the development of your plant. This decision will be based on the numbers which have been referred above. It will be a sensible decision to choose a balanced product having an equal percentage of every primary nutrient, for example, 10-10-10.
Organic alternatives
While synthetic fertilizers are typically listed according to their numbers, the organic alternatives are usually listed by what they actually happen to be, such as bone meal or blood meal. The 3 numbers that you will find on the package will let you know regarding the role that will be played by the product in your garden. Below, we have provided a listing of the most typically available organic fertilizers according to their role in providing phosphorus, potassium, or nitrogen.
Nitrogen – Blood meal, dried blood, fish emulsion, cottonseed meal, and seaweed extract
Phosphorus – Rock phosphate, bone meal
Potassium – Sulfate of potash, greensand
Besides these 3 primary nutrients mentioned above, you will likewise come across 12 other elements which can be considered to be essential for the growth of plants. Organic soil amendments happen to be a readily available solution for providing all these elements.
