Organic Fertilizers vs. Chemical Fertilizers
claga
12 years ago
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danielj_2009
8 years agoyardtractor1
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Compost and Chemical Fertilizers
Comments (29)wayne - to your question, in the grand scheme of things, gardens for home food production are no doubt a small part of the total issue. To your original question,"Do all GARDENS leach into the ponds and streams?", the short answer is, most likely do. All water applied to a "garden" either as natural rainfall or as supplemental irrigation, goes either to plant absorption, evaporation, runoff, or leaching to greater soil depths. In typical situations there will be varying amounts to all four. A study done by USDA in Lincoln Nebraska on the relative contributions of leaching vs. runoff to the Nebraska Wagon Train watershed found that runoff volume was ~ 4X that of leaching (ref "Loss of Nitrate Nitrogen by Runoff and Leaching for Agricultural Watersheds" , M. A. Elrashidi, et al , 2005). However, that same study found that leaching actually carried a higher total amount of nitrate into watershed waters than did runoff. But I'm not sure how that is relevant. As I read it, the initial comment that sparked the ensuing discussion, including your original question, was aimed at best practices for long-term sustainability. Whether home gardens contribute 1% or 51%, the interest is in eliminating, or at least minimizing, and adverse impact to the broader environment. As far as this forum, I would disagree that it "is dedicated mostly to home gardens" if gardens is as you define it -- home food production. Of the questions and discussions that occur about soils, many are about permanent landscapes, turfgrass, and horticulture other than home food growing....See MoreFish fertilizer vs. Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer?
Comments (12)Michaelg, I feed the roses that arrived last year as bands, and are planted, weakly weekly (hit or miss), with fish emulsion. I got it in my head somewhere that is was a fertilizer safe enough for me to use on the bands and own root 1 gallon roses. It is a real pain, as everything else is fed Rose Tone that goes around the bush root zone. Using Rose Tone is a much easier process compared to mixing up the fish emulsion in a 2 gallon bucket over and over, and dividing it among these own root roses planted in various places throughout my yard. I do not have a hose end sprayer, as all I saw at the big box store was a M.G. version that came complete with their fertilizer which I did not purchase. My poorly communicated evolving question is when can I stop using fish emulsion and feed all of the roses Rose Tone, or is it more beneficial to switch to fish emulsion/seaweed, or do some of you all go back and forth between both? Also, in the past, on established roses at previous homes, I used granular fertilizer, but never during June, July, through mid August. Are products like fish emulsion or Rose Tone safe to use when it is hot? I am guessing that the application rate is decreased if so? Lynn...See MoreOrganic Fertilizer, when to fertilize
Comments (3)This is a hard question to answer simply because there are so many wonderful books available on organic gardening. If I had to choose just a few, here's my list. I consider the first three indispensable and the next three pretty darn close to indispensable. I have read at least 50 books devoted to organic gardening. Here's my Top Ten favorites. OK, it is actually my Top Twelve because I listed two of Louise Riotte's books as item #7 and two of Sara Stein's books as Item #6. 1. "Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening" (appprox. 700 pages)--this is the ultimate how-to for organic gardeners. 2. "Organic Gardening (Your Seasonal Companion to Creating A Beautiful and Delicious Organic Garden)" by Maria Rodale This book teaches the basics--the hows and the whys. It includes tips for planning and design. It has spectacular photos. Written by the granddaughter of the founder of ORGANIC GARDENING magazine, this book also incorporates the whole philosophy of organic gardening and organic living. 3. "The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control" by Barbara Ellis A huge book. Over 500 pages. Many, many photos. 4. "Lasagna Gardening" by Patricia Lanza. Simply the best book on building beds and improving soil the easiest way. 5. "The Rodale Guide to Composting" 6. "Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Backyards" by Sara Stein. I read this book not long after we moved to Oklahoma and it has had a HUGE influence on me and on how I do things. There is a follow-up book called "Planting Noah's Garden" that is also wonderful. 7. "Carrots Love Tomatoes" and "Roses Love Garlic" by Louise Riotte. Theoretically these are books about companion planting. In reality, they are full of organic gardening how-tos and whys. I love every book written by Louise Riotte. She lived in Ardmore, Oklahoma, by the way, so much of what she wrote is geared towards our soils and our climates. 8. "Trowel and Error" by Sharon Lovejoy. This is a little handbook of organic formulas, tips, ideas, remedies, etc. It is a beautifully illustratate paperback. Any other book by Sharon Lovejoy is wonderful and well worth your time. 9. "Texas Organic Gardening: by Howard Garrett. It was Mr. Garrett who first taught me about organic gardening the natural way when I lived in Fort Worth, via his newspaper columns, radio show, books and TV appearances. Anything written by him is good. He has a great website too. It is www.dirtdoctor.com. 10. "Lessons in Nature: 50 Years of Organic Gardening From An Organic Gardening Pioneer" by Malcolm Beck, It was Malcom Beck who first inspired Howard Garrett to go organic, I think. Mr. Beck was truly ahead of his time and is very much responsible for getting many people in Texas to convert to organics long before it was popular. Buying books can get expensive. I always go to Amazon.com and search long and hard for used copies of the books I want. You can save a lot of money this way. And, you don't have to buy them. If you live in a town with a decent library, you can check out the books and read them first. After reading a book, you can decide if it would be worth your while to have a copy at home available for constant referral. For what it is worth, organic gardening is more than just using natural methods and abstaining from quick chemical fixes. It is, first and foremost, living and gardening in such a way that you work WITH the natural world and its systems, and not against it. Organic gardening is all about trying to improve the world and to "first, do no harm". It is NOT about feeding the plants or killing insects off with 'natural' potions. It is about feeding and improving the soil so that the soil will feed the plants. It is about working with the good, beneficial insects because they will help you battle the bad insects. It is about living your life and gardening on your piece of earth in a way that is in harmony with the natural world. Organic gardening is an amazing experience. It will change the way you look at the world. Good luck! Dawn Oh, and about the peach tree. If your soil is healthy, it won't need supplemental fertilizer. I never fertilize my peach trees. I feed the soil and the soil feeds the trees....See MoreOrganic Amendments vs. Chemical Fertilizing
Comments (4)If you have sandy soil with very little to no organic matter any nutrients you apply, no matter the source, will flow through and into the ground water (causing pollution) and wasting your money because that food will not be feeding your plant. Adding organic matter to sand fills in the pore spaces and helps hold both nutrients and moisture in the root zone so the plants can uptake what they need. If you have clay soil with little to no orgnaic amtter in that soil any nutrients you apply, no matter the source, will be locked onto the clay particles and will not be available to the plants. Adding organic matter will seperate the clay particles, change the electric charge on the clay particles so the nutrients are not locked on, the plants roots will be able to move around to find both food and nutrients more freely so the plants grow stronger and healthier. You do not need to add organic matter to your soil but if you do you may just as well take the money you would spend for "fertilzier" and through it into the nearest landfill for all the good it will do....See Moredanielj_2009
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