Organic Dilemma: Comparing Organic Fertilizers

Most soils need the addition of organic fertilizers to keep them fertile and healthy. Organic fertilizers come from decomposed plants, animals, and natural minerals. The nutrients that come from organic fertilizers are only released gradually during high temperatures, moisture, and microbial activity. These are the same conditions that plants need in order to grow, thus making organic fertilizers in perfect sync with plant growth.

One of the major advantages that organic fertilizers have over chemical fertilizers is that they contain organic matter. Comprised of dead bio-matter, organic matters are the ones responsible in keeping water and air trapped in the soil, making nutrients available to plants, and preventing plant-related diseases.

Types of Organic Fertilizers

There are several types of organic fertilizers which you can find available in catalogs or garden centers. Most organic fertilizers are a combination of organic materials, although some only have one source. Organic fertilizers are separated into four basic categories - plant, animal, mineral, and compost.

Plant organic fertilizers have a rich storehouse of specific nutrients like nitrogen. This type of organic fertilizer is considered to be a renewable source of nutrient. A fine example of a plant organic fertilizer is the alfalfa meal. This organic fertilizer is made of green manure crops. Al though the alfalfa meal contains some small percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, this organic fertilizer benefits the soil best for it contains Triacontanol, the growth hormone for plants.

Cottonseed meal is another example of a plant organic fertilizer. This organic fertilizer contains seven percent Nitrogen, two percent Phosphorus, and another two percent for Potassium content. With its seven percent Nitrogen, this organic fertilizer is second only to blood meal in providing the most organic nitrogen to plants.

Plant organic fertilizers may also be made from seaweeds and algae. Organic fertilizers made from kelp meal contain very high potassium and trace elements. This plant organic fertilizer is also a great source of plant hormones that help regulate growth. Seaweed organic fertilizers have almost the same characteristics as kelp meal. This type of organic fertilizer is excellent for greening the plant foliage and stimulating growth.

Organic fertilizers may also come from by-products of animal processing. Industries like dairy farming and meat or poultry processing produce materials that are a rich source of plant nutrients and minerals. These materials are dried and processed into organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers that come from animals include bone meal, blood meal, and fish emulsion.

Perhaps the best source of quick-acting nitrogen is the organic fertilizer that is blood meal. This type of organic fertilizer is completely soluble and maybe applied by watering it down the soil. Another organic fertilizer that comes from animals is the bone meal, a rich calcium source. This organic fertilizer contains a high percentage of lasting phosphorus as well as some small amounts of nitrogen ad potassium. Bone meal organic fertilizer best suits young plants because it releases its nutrients extremely slowly.

Mineral-based organic fertilizers are not really organic but are considered to be so because they are not extensively processed. Rock phosphate, Chilean nitrate, sulfate of potash magnesia, and green sand are only a few examples of this type of organic fertilizer.

Composed is considered to be the "Cadillac" of organic fertilizers. This type of organic fertilizers is the cheapest and most widely available (you can make it in our backyard!).