Fertile soil equals healthy plants. Plants require three main nutrients: Nitrogen (N) for green growth, Phosphorus (P) for roots, fruits and flowers and Potassium (K) for cell health. A good fertilizer feeds microbes in the soil which in turn supply balanced nutrition to the plants. There’s two types of fertilizer, organic and commercial, and the difference between them is like the difference between… say… Shredded Wheat and Lucky Charms.
Organic fertilizers are the shredded wheat. They provide healthy, balanced, easily utilized nutrients to your soil. They’re all-natural with no synthetic fillers or chemicals. Better yet many can be found free in your own backyard!
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS:
grass clippings (UNTREATED) (N)
leaf mold/ shredded leaves (N)
rotted manures (from grass eating animals only) (N,P,K)
compost ( learn how to start your own compost pile here!) (N,P,K)
fish emulsion and untreated pond sludge (N,P,K)
bone meal (P)
blood meal (N)
greensand (P)
rock phosphate (P)
seaweed/kelp (P)
wood ashes (P)
cover crops (N)
worm castings (N)
Commercial fertilizer is the Lucky Charms. It’s food, but it isn’t good nutrition. Commercial blends are synthetic chemicals with fillers. Like the cereal, there’s a little of the stuff you want (nutrients) and a whole lot of stuff you don’t (fillers). In fact most of commercial fertilizer is filler. How much? Just add the three numbers on the label for the total available fertilizer in the mix. A blend listed as 5.5.5 is only 15% fertilizer the other 85% is filler! You may pay less for a larger bag of commercial fertilizer but consider what you’re getting.
