Organic Gardening - About Fertilizer
by John Yazo
Watching the plants grow in your organic garden and not knowing or understanding how to supply them with the nutrients they need to thrive can be a frustrating part of gardening.
Having a good organic soil, one that is that is full of nutrition from the start doesn't always mean that there will be enough of the essential nutrients required to provide your plants for optimum growth all season long. As plants grow, they absorb nutrients and leave the soil less fertile. Fertilizing your garden will replenish those lost nutrients and supply the food your plants need to be healthy and thrive.
To build an organic soil structure that retains the nutrients that plant life needs to thrive, you need to stay away from chemical fertilizers. They do nothing to improve the soil, just feed plants, and as a quick fix. Organic fertilizers are what is know as a slow release fertilizer that will supply nutrition over a period of time.
Studying the plants your are growing and a soil test are both very important when choosing a fertilizer. Not all plants require the same nutrients, and organic fertilizer can be tailored to a specific need or plant, like a specific vegetable or flower.
On a package of fertilizer there are three numbers, like 5-5-5. These numbers tell you what the proportions of each macro-nutrient is contained in the fertilizer. The first of the numbers is always the nitrogen content (N), second is phosphorus (P), and third is potassium (K). This ratio of "N-P-K" is what reflects the ratio of available nutrients by weight contained in that specific fertilizer. For example, a 100 pound bag of 5-5-5 fertilizer contains 5 pounds of nitrate, 5 pounds of phosphate, 5 pounds of potash that contains potassium, and 85 pounds of filler material.
In an organic fertilizer, the N-P-K ratio you will notice is usually lower than a chemical fertilizer. This is because the ratio that is expressed is for only nutrients that are immediately available. Organic fertilizers, being slow release will supply nutrients over a period of time for the plant life to benefit from. plants will only use what they need, and with a chemical fertilizer whatever isn't used will leach out of the soil and be wasted.
With organic gardening, you need a good healthy organic soil structure. One that will retain the natural nutrients of organic fertilizers for plant life to benefit from when they need it the most.
If you would like to comment on this website or have any suggestions please feel free to contact us
