Get Your Compost Together

Are you as anxious to get into the garden as I am?

And, what are you going to grow this year?

Irregardless of WHAT you grow, let's take a moment to 

think about HOW you are going to grow it.

Plants, whether in a pot or in the ground, need nutrients.

Unhealthy soil or sterile potting mix will not support healthy growth.

You know this already, don't you?  So, off you go

to buy some fertilizer to make your plants happy.

What type of fertilizer to you purchase?

You may gravitate towards synthetic fertilizers for a variety of reasons:

-they are familiar to you

-they are sold everywhere

-they are often have a less expensive price tag than organic fertilizers

and you don't know the difference between the two types.

So, what IS the difference?

 Synthetic Fertilizers are “Man made” inorganic compounds - 

usually derived from by-products of the petroleum industry.

 Behold, the fertilizer manufacturing process:

Using synthetic fertilizer only provide NPK,

 but plants also need organic matter, micronutrients, and living organisms. 

Synthetic fertilizers do not support microbiological life in the soil, and using a synthetic fertilizer actually kills a significant percentage of beneficial microorganisms.  

But, why does this matter?  

 

These little microorganisms are responsible for breaking down organic matter into a 

stable amendment for improving soil quality and fertility.  

Some even convert nitrogen from the air into a plant useable form. 

Chemical fertilizers add nutrients to the soil, but they don’t add anything else. 

Overuse can result in a toxic environment for your plants.

 Using too much synthetic fertilizer actively pulls water out of the plant, causing it to dry out and interfere with plant growth. The burn is visible as an area of browning, yellowing, and withering and can lead to death of the plant.  

Fertilizer damage to beans:

There are many reasons I choose organic fertilizers, both for

use in my own garden and for resale to customers.

 

Organic Fertilizers are natural and from the earth.  

 Examples are, Blood Meal, Compost, Bat Guano, Manure, Seaweed, and Worm Castings.

- Organic fertilizers won't 'burn' your plants.

Many gardeners, and especially those just getting started, over-fertilize

because they think 'if some is good, then more is better'.

- Organic fertilizers are non-toxic to humans, pets, and wildlife.

Not much more I can add to that.  

-  The nitrogen in organic fertilizers is insoluble, which means it releases slowly with greater effectiveness WHICH in turn means you don't need to reapply so often.  With that said, 

one could argue that they're cheaper than synthetics.

-Healthy soil, full of microorganisms, has lots of organic compounds that

hold water better.  This not only saves you time (and money if you pay for city water), but

also reduces the stress your plants endure from endless cycles of being too dry, 

then revived by a good watering.

-Healthy soil reduces run off, and allows water to percolate down into the soil instead

of running off and allowing excess nitrogen into our lakes and streams.

Compacted soil is a result of too little organic material and lack of tunneling creatures, such as
worms, and microorganisms that create air pockets in the soil.
This aerated soil drains slowly, whereas water runs off of compacted soil.
Plant roots have more difficulty growing in compacted soil.

When fertilizers run off of compacted soils and enter our waters, it's causes Eutrophication.
Runoff from agricultural land adds excess nitrogen and phosphorus

to our waters, and creates algae blooms that kill the lake's ecosystem.

Above, Mississippi River algae bloom from fertilizer run-off.

-Organic fertilizers are accessible no matter where you live or how much money you have. 

Anyone with room for a small garden can have a compost pile or a vermiculture bin.

Scraps from your vegetables go into the bin, dead leaves you rake up from your lawn go into the bin, 

and the result is organic fertilizer for your plants.

So really, organic fertilizers have many more advantages,

and cost less.

The choice is yours - do you want to fertilize the plant with the bare minimum your plants need,

or maybe you'd like to create healthy soil full of micronutrients so your plants thrive?