Organics are in no way on par with inorganic fertilizers That's a pretty brash statement and warrants some further clarification to support. How exactly are they not on par? Because organic ferts tend to have lower nutrient loads? It is estimated that synthetic granulated ferts have an efficiency rating of 5-20%, meaning only a fraction of the delivered nutrients are accessed by the plants, the rest is lost to mineralization and leaching. Due to their nature, organic fertilizers tend to be nearly 100% efficient, with pretty much all of the available nutrients accessible by the plants over time. Organic ferts can also contribute significantly to soil health by stimulating and encouraging populations of beneficial microorganisms. As a result, they add to soil structure and their use can lead to looser, better draining soils as well as promoting root development and drought tolerance. Synthetic ferts add nothing to the soil and if used repeatedly can diminish soil health and contribute to compaction. And consider the source - synthetic fertilizers are primarily byproducts of the petrochemical industry, so their carbon footprint is intrinsically higher than that of recycled plant and animal products. The bottom line is the plants DO NOT care where the nutrients come from - a petrochemical plant on the east coast or the reprocessing of the leftovers from the midwest meat processing plant. Both sources will supply the required nutrients in the appropriate form. As will your own compost pile. The choice of using organically-derived or synthetic fertilizers is a very personal one and one that is often based as much on philosophical/emotional grounds as on economy, efficiency or sustainability. Both work and work well, depending on application and specific growing conditions, so the choice is yours.

I use horse manure both aged and fresh depending on the time of year. At least twice a year I apply alfalfa tea. The tea is made of alfalfa, fish oil emulsion, epsom salts, chicken poop (thank you neighbor), bunny poop (thank you other neighbor), molasses .. water. Left to age in a 100 gallon bucket for a week. The ingredients vary by what is on hand. I hesitate to explain what I do since our growing conditions are so very different. Here in the PNW it rains, rains and then rains some more in the winter; except this year almost no rain from Thanksgiving through Christmas. ElNino is coming to a glorious end. Summers no rain. I dont need to worry about salt or any build up in the soil. It rains away and the soil is glacial rock which helps with the cleansing of the soil. When I first began gardening at this location I had a soil sample test done. The above ingredients compliment the shortages in the soil. This year two of the gardens will be 3 years old. I plan to have the soils in this are retested. The roses for the most part are doing fine. Last springs brutal multiple freeze/thaw cycles sure proved a challenge. At the beautiful Rose Test Garden in Portland, OR, the stated that Zoo Doo surrounding the roses and Spring time application of Nitrogen is all that they need to do. Again not recommending what you should do. This works here. I use no chemical fertilizers nor spray for bugs or disease. Hope this was useful information. Jeannie

Garlic is a very heavy nitrogen feeder and agronomists claim that most all soils are deficient in sulpher.I do my last feeding about 2 months before harvest.Water soluble is best at this time including Alaska fish but not insoluble organics as they need soil microbes for their decomposition which by necessity requires being mixed into the soil,thus damaging tender feeder roots,and a longer time frame for decomposition. Yes,ammonium sulphate will work if you have enuff time before harvest.Be sure to water it in well.

Soil Fertility Some Average Values and misc PPM based on the dry weight of the loam soil Sp=1.42 (Sp=1 is about 62.4lb/cuft or 1000grams/Liter(1000 cubic cm ). Low- N: 0-20, P: 0-12, K: 0-50 Med- N: 20-50, P: 12-25,K : 50-100 High- N: above 50, P: over 25, K : over 100 Note: Actual amounts of the nutrient is based the reference used for the PPM calculations. Example the 100ppm in a water solution is less than 100ppm in loam soil. The loam amount is 1.42 times more than the water. “Sp” is the ratio of the weight of an equal volumes of a substance compared to water. Sp Water 1.0, Sandy Loam 1.47, Loam 1.42, UC Mix Potting Soil 0.24, and PeatMoss 0.1 Misc Note: On a Fertilizer Bag the middle number is the percentage per weight of P2O5 in the fertilizer. The actual P amount is about 0.437 this value. This was calculated from a periodic table using the atomic weights of Phosphorus and Oxygen. The Phosphorous being about 43.7% of the total weight of the compound. The same for K2O, K is about 83% of the total compound weight. Example 100ppm Nitrogen in water is 100 mg N per Liter, but 147 mg N in a liter of Sandy Loam soil. For water 1ppm is a 1mg/Liter. Correction on the Previous MG Potting Soil Calculation: Bag Label Info 2.25cuft (63.71 liters) net weight 29.25lbs (13.26 kg) Density 13.26/63.71= 0.208g/ml or cubic cm Sp is approx 0.21 Nutrients N 0.21% P2O5 0.11% K2O 0.16% 6 month release Total Nitrogen in a liter mix is 1000grams *Sp mix*.21%N= 1000*0.21*(0.21/100)= 0.441grams N per Liter ( 441ppm N total, 73.5ppm monthly@ Sp1 reference) Duplicating using 6mo Osmocote Plus 15% N is 0.441 g/0.15= 2.94g/Liter approx heaping 1/2tsp. Just under the 1TBS CRF per Gallon of Mix recommended in Gritty Mix Recipe.