Organic Fertilizer–A Good Choice–Part 1

Good Choice for Our Lives 

This post on Organic Fertilizers is the first in a new series. Each of these seven posts will discuss 1) The Benefits of Organic Fertilizers, 2) The Sources of Organic Fertilizers, 3) Plants Used for Organic Fertilizers, 4) Animals Used Organic Fertilizers, 5) Ocean and Sea Products Used for Organic Fertilizers, 6) Other Sources for Organic Fertilizers, and 7) Minerals Used in Organic Growing,

I have been in the garden my whole life.  My grandparents had an extensive garden and I got to set out bedding plants, water them, and even climb the apple tree to pick as much as I could reach. 


In the early 1950’s, the garden and gardening practices were organic. Grandfather used mulch and decayed leaves (compost) for nutrients.

At that time commercial fertilizers started to come onto the market.  Wow, they were a hit!.  Fast growing plants, dark green color, and the smell ( ! ) let all the neighbors know that we were up on the latest and greatest!


The more I gardened I had the gradual awareness that something in the garden was different from when I was a child.  We were told to buy ‘veggie wash’ products for our food, water sources were having to be monitored for safety, and the cost of everything was going up, up, up. Feeling the need to be more environmentally responsible, I started to make changes in my own yard.  That’s when I discovered some very troubling things.





As Environmental Protection Agency standards came about, I found that many of the polluters were actually recycling. Wow! Could these rules really be helping?  Well, as it turns out many companies with toxic waste to dispose of were not properly handling this waste. Instead, they were using fertilizer production facilities to incorporate these toxic chemicals like lead, cadmium, dioxin and mercury.
The way these heavy metals got by this process is that only the top three elements of the fertilizer must be named. Labeling laws made this easy. Therefore the remaining or ‘other’ ingredients could be anything.  Consequently, millions of acres of farmland were spread with these toxins. 

Note : 85.05% of the ingredients in this bag are not specifically named and labeled ‘Other Ingredients.'
Many heavy metals stay in the ground and are taken up in crops used for animal and human consumption. Since chemical fertilizers are generally water soluble, they are taken up by plants rather quickly. And because they are water soluble, they leach out of the soil, into ground water or watersheds that feed our streams rivers, and lakes.

Nitrates are particularly harmful to infants and other health risks are becoming more prevalent.  Since we have only been using these products for about 60 years, we may not have seen the worst yet.
 
Another environmental issue I have with chemical fertilizers is that in the process of creating synthetic nitrogen, natural gas is heated to combine atmospheric nitrogen with the hydrogen of ammonia. The amount of natural gas to make just 200 bags of fertilizer would heat a home for a year.  Fossil fuels in each 40 pound bag is the equivalent of 2.5 gallons of gasoline.
 
Organic fertilizers are made with minimal processing using natural sources.  Using plant parts that are left over from the food industry like the leaves and stems is a good use of all the plant.  Organic fertilizers use animal parts that are left over from processing food with little or no waste.
 
Using materials in this way is a good example of sustainability of this industry. Plants grow each year and animals breed each year so the supply continues.


Organic fertilizers work differently from chemical products. 

 
Micro-organisms in the soil feed on the organic material that organic fertilizers provide.  The micro-organisms create enzymes that allow the nutrients to be absorbed by the plant.  Chemical fertilizers, which are generally water soluble, are taken up directly by the plant and leave nothing in the soil for long-term feeding.  The chemicals can actually destroy colonies of micro-organisms and leave the soil dead.  Organic fertilizers feed the millions of microbes in the soil for a soil that is alive.

Since organic fertilizers feed the soil, the nutrients is more steadily taken up by the plants. Quick start and stop feeding of chemical fertilizers can actually weaken the plant’s health. (Some chemical fertilizers are being manufactured with a time-release formula for an extended feed. The feed is still a chemical one, however.)  Plants on an organic regime are healthier and healthy plants are more resistant to damage from insects and diseases.  This long-term feeding can save money by reducing the number of applications the garden needs each season.



These are 17 nutrients that organic fertilizers provide.  Trace elements are key to a healthy plant.  If even one element is missing, the plant can suffer.( This is evident in the case of blossom-end rot of tomatoes.  The nutritional deficiency of calcium is the cause of this disorder.)  The chemical fertilizers on the market have the N-P-K  in the amounts listed.  But a well balanced diet is not available in the chemical products and the other 14 nutrients are missing. 



One last problem with chemical fertilizers is that damage seen here.  The chemicals were put down too heavily, or were not watered in well and burned this yard. High salt levels are common in chemical fertilizers. The low salt levels of organic fertilizers compared to chemical products is safer, too. Organic fertilizers will not burn plants like this chemical fertilizer did.  Organic fertilizers can be applied at any time.  The microbe activity will be low in colder temperatures, but when the soil temperatures rise, and the spring rains come, the organic material will become food for the micro-organisms and make nutrients available to the plants as they begin to grow.  And again, the natural material decomposes – not like chemical products that dissolve.


Next post will discuss the sources of organic fertilizers.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please feel free to leave me a comment.  I will be happy to address any issues.  Thanks for your time today.

How to Create Compost

Compost - A Beneficial Soil Additive

I have talked about the beneficial effects of compost many times, but I have recently been asked about the ‘ingredients’ that can be beneficial to the mix and to the soil.






These are microscopic images of nematodes, fungi, protozoa, and amoeba. In healthy soil, there are millions of these guys looking for something to eat.

Micro-organisms love to eat.  So organic materials are high on the ingredient list.  What is considered organic?  The simple answer is ‘anything that was once alive’.  This life could have existed as plants or animals. So let’s look at specific green and brown ingredients the gardener can easily use to make compost a beneficial product. 

Green Ingredients for the compost pile are high in Nitrogen, amino acids, and proteins, which are foods for the micro-organisms. 



Grass clippings and vegetable peels are easily available for the home compost pile. Any salad fixing -  like the outer leaves of lettuce or onions, the tops of carrots, or the stems of peppers - can be added to the compost. Trimmings from green beans, or the core of a head of cabbage are eligible for the green category for the compost pile. Don’t throw away that banana peel, or the core of an apple, or potato peelings either.  Put them into the compost bin.
 


Other green elements for compost are manures.  This can come from horses, cows, bunnies, goats, chickens, and bats. When bunny or chicken manure is used, don’t forget to add in the bedding materials, like straw or wood shavings. Those materials are a good source of ‘brown’ ingredients for the pile.  ( I should note here that neither cat nor dog manure nor human waste should ever be added to the compost pile because of the risk of parasites that may not break down in the compost.)





Coffee grounds and banana peels are almost daily ingredients to the compost bin at my house. Tea bags get in the mix too.  Let’s face it, coffee grounds are free, smell great, and they help retain moisture in the compost.  Seaweed or algae from the water feature in the yard can also be added.  Doing some dead-heading in the garden?  That plant material can go in too.  Cleaning up houseplants of yellowing or dropped leaves is another source for green ingredients for the compost pile.





Egg shells are controversial as an ingredient for compost.  The salmonella risk of uncooked eggs is in question.  I don’t use my compost on food crops, so I have been known to throw in the eggs.  However, if even handling the compost might cause a risk concern,  the shells can be microwaved for three minutes (cooked) before adding them to the compost pile.

One other ingredient that I don’t think about adding to the pile is hair. Cutting the kids hair, or brushing a shedding dog are good sources for hair. 



The ‘brown’ ingredients added to the compost pile provide carbon.  Microbes really get into eating these.

 



The list of these ‘brown’ carbon sources are many:  dead leaves, straw, dried grass, paper towels and the tube they come on, old potting soil, dead plants, the coffee filters and tea bags, wood ashes from the fire pit, saw dust from untreated wood, and even dried, stale beans or grains from the pantry.

 


Dryer fabric softener sheets and dryer lint are good ‘brown’ ingredients.
 


Paper towels, toilet paper rolls, and tissues need not be thrown away to become landfill, but can be part of the beneficial elements of compost.

Several brown items that should not be added are animal fats from bones or meat. Neither should weed seeds nor diseased plants be added to the compost pile as the high temperatures needed to kill the seed or pathogens are not maintained in the home compost. Spreading weeds are a challenge anyway, we do not need to help them along. 

I use both of these for compost in my garden. (The wire one is a recycled dog kennel – win win) The air flow is good in both.  But the enclosed one in black has a handy lid to keep critters out.  This is the one I put food scraps into.  Dogs, raccoons and opossum find the compost materials yummy.  I have had the enclosed bin be too dry since rain doesn’t get in so I’ve bee know to add a bottle of beer to the container.  The hops and yeasts in the beverage just add to the natural elements in the mixture. Twigs and grass clipping, or other yard debris go into the wire bin.

 

Some are reluctant to have a compost pile because of the odor of decaying   materials. If the technology is too complicated, some will not attempt to compost anything. Both the odor and the technical aspects should not deter us from trying. The simplest ‘rule’  I’ve followed it to layer the green and brown layers in an approximate 50-50 ratio.  If the mix is higher in the brown, that will work too.



Turning the compost in an open pile is not difficult.  By allowing air and moisture to get in and through the material, decomposition will naturally occur. The layers are not too critical once the pile gets turned. Left unturned, the materials will still decompose, just a little slower. I’ve had results in an unturned pile in a year.  If the pile get smelly, (sour), add more ‘brown’ ingredients like straw, leaves, or shredded paper.

A  healthy finished compost should be moist, not soggy, and have a rich, earthy smell.



This product called compost will have immeasurable benefits in the garden. The feeding of the soil is the key.  Feed the microbes, and they will digest the organic material, and create enzymes that will allow the nutrients to feed the plants. Feed the soil, not the plants is the mantra of organic gardening.  Compost is a great way to return beneficial nutrients to the soil.

I hope composting becomes a vital part of your gardening. Thanks for stopping by today.