The case for organic over synthetic fertilizers

Natural selections: The case for organic over synthetic fertilizers

When it comes to using fertilizer, I have generally used synthetic chemical-based products over the years.

By The Vancouver Sun August 12, 2008 Be the first to post a comment

When it comes to using fertilizer, I have generally used synthetic chemical-based products over the years.

My habit has been to sprinkle slow-release 14-14-14 around shrubs in spring and to use 20-20-20 liquid feed to nourish plants in containers and hanging baskets in summer.

Then I got talking to Simon Hart, of Grotek, an Aldergrove-based company that supplies organic fertilizers -- mostly to farmers but also to home gardeners -- in 17 countries.

Hart set me straight on all sorts of fertilizing misinformation.

For instance, I always thought that a high NPK number (ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) was an indication of effectiveness and value for money.

I assumed 20-20-20 was giving me a bigger bang for my buck than, say, 2-1-3 organic fertilizer. Not so, says Hart.

"An organic ingredient will never have a very high number, so don't be deceived by low numbers," he says.

"In most synthetic fertilizers, impurities are not included in the N-P-K ratio, but they are hidden in the product nevertheless. And some nutrients 'lock out' (become unavailable to a plant) because of chemicals already present in the soil.

"In fact, I would put our 2-1-3 all-purpose fermented liquid against any number any day."

Hart also agrees with the reason California has banned the use of liquid lawn fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.

"Lawn fertilizers can wash into storm drains, ditches and dikes and out into streams, rivers and into the ocean.

"You are basically providing a nutrient-rich formula for algae as well as increasing the amount of mercury, lead and arsenic running into the system"

Some fertilizer sales people, he says, pooh-pooh the idea of using fish fertilizer because it contains trace elements of heavy metals like mercury.

"It is a ridiculous argument," says Hart, "because the reason some fish fertilizer is not as pure as it should be is partly because of all the synthetic fertilizers we are using elsewhere that are washing into the ocean."

The use of high-nitrogen chemical fertilizer by commercial farmers in other countries has resulted in dead streams in which algae blooms have taken away oxygen for fish and destroyed the natural ecological balance.

"Over-fertilizing with synthetic chemicals disinfects or kills most of the beneficial fungi and organisms in soil. What you need to do is build up the beneficial organisms, not destroy them," he says.

Hart wants more gardeners to discover the effectiveness of organic "fermented fertilizers."

Imagine running water through a well-rotted compost heap, he says. The brew that you end up with would be organic liquid fertilizer.

At Grotek, they take this concept further and have huge brewing tanks for making concentrated fermented organic fertilizers.

"I like these because they are safer to use around the garden, especially if you have pets and children," he says.

Grotek also does an organic powder fertilizer. Hart recommends using a powdered organic in the spring and late fall ("it is your best choice for economy") and then a fermented organic to encourage flower production in late spring through summer.

Grotek has two products in its Life series that Hart recommends: Total Nourish Liquid Plant Food (2-1-3) for vegetables, flowers, shrubs and trees. And Total Nourish Powder Plant Food (3-1-2) for all types of plants.

"It is virtually impossible to overfertilize with an organic product. Synthetic fertilizers can burn plants and poison soil. Organics make soil healthier, enrich it with natural organisms, and make nutrients available to plants as they need them."

Over the three years he has been using organics in his own garden, Hart says he has seen amazing growth and improved healthiness in his plants.

"If you are using synthetic fertilizer you are fighting nature rather than using the little guys nature has invented over thousands of years to help you."

Hart is also a big believer in coconut fibre, a natural material that he says not only helps to retain moisture but also has the ability to retain air.

"It holds 10 times more water than peat and 10 times more air," says Hart.

"A combination of coconut fibre and organic fertilizer mixed into soil around roses will give you 25 to 30 per cent more blooms," Hart says.

Coconut fibre is most beneficial mixed into soil in containers, window boxes and hanging baskets, he says.

"Organic fertilizers cost more, sometimes double, less if you use powders. But you have to consider the long-term benefits."

swhysall@png.canwest.com

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YOUR GUIDE TO ORGANICS

Organic fertilizers are derived from three main sources: minerals (glacial rock dust, rock sulphate), animal byproducts (blood and bone meal, worm castings, bat and seabird guano), and vegetative matter (alfalfa, flax, kelp, cotton meal).

In Canada, "organic-based" means any product that has at least 15 per cent organic content. In the U.S., the standards are more stringent, requiring at least 50 per cent.

A lot of products come with an OMRI label. This mean the ingredients have been approved by the non-profit Organic Materials Review Institute.

Here's a look at organic ingredients:

- Green sand: A salt-water seashore deposit, it contains seven per cent potassium, 20 per cent iron oxide and as many as 30 other elements. Use: Green sand loosens hard soils, binds sandy soils, regulates moisture and helps release other elements.

- Kelp meal: Seaweed that is sun dried, cleaned, de-salted and ground into granular form. Use: A natural, enriching soil supplement.

- Alfalfa meal: With a fertilizer value of 3-2-2, it also contains other trace elements and is considered an alternative source of nitrogen to blood meal. Use: Good for adding to compost to increase its nutritional value or can be made into a tea and used as a foliar feed.

- Worm castings: A natural manure produced by earthworms, it is high in beneficial bacteria and organic matter. Use: A topdressing for lawns as well as shrubs, flower and vegetable beds or for adding to soil of potted houseplants.

- Steamed bone meal: Derived from animal bones, this is a natural form of calcium (23 per cent) and phosphorus (13 per cent). Use: It can be added into a hole at time of planting to promote root growth.

- Glacial rock dust: A mineral formed by glacial action thousands of years ago containing a broad spectrum of trace minerals.Use: It improves soil structure, replaces missing elements, encourages bacterial activity and makes nutrients more available to plants.

- Bat dung: There are two types: guano (droppings) from fruit eating bats (high in phosphorous) and guano from insect eating bats (high nitrogen.) Use: High in phosphorus, bat guano promotes fruit and flower production and adds calcium and magnesium to the soil. Made into a manure tea, it can be used as a foliar feed.

- Blood meal: Made from the blood of animals, which is steamed to sterilize it and then dried to a powder. It is high in protein and nitrogen. Use: Experts argue that the most natural place for animal blood to go is into the soil. Blood meal has a very beneficial effect on plant growth.
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