BEST   Organic Fertilizers

ORGANIC GROWING TECHNIQUES have been practiced for as long as humans have tilled the earth. Only since World War II has agriculture become dependent upon toxic synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. These manmade chemicals temporarily increased the yield of many crops, but also increased the long-term cost of production, caused air and water pollution, changed soil structure, and jarred the entire ecosystem.

Organic fertilizers, whether they’re meals, manures, or composted plant material, contain N-P-K (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium), trace minerals, enzymes, vitamins, and lots of organic matter. Of those ingredients, 100 percent are useful to the soil and plants. In contrast, synthetic fertilizers contain no organic matter. Soil microorganisms must have this carbon energy source, and, if it isn’t provided, the microbes will take it from the soil. That drains soil health with every fertilizer application.

Unlike synthetic fertilizers, organic fertilizers don’t create high levels of salts, such as nitrates, which disturb or even kill beneficial soil organisms. Organic fertilizers release nutrients slowly and naturally. All components are usable by the plants, because organic fertilizers