by Jess Newman
Organic fertilizers are being used in this day and time by big agricultural businesses and backyard gardeners alike. Aside from the health benefits of going organic, there two major reasons for this, the first one is the high demands of customers for organic produces and another reason is the certification earned for going organic and being a supporter of the ecological balance.
The average person, however, may wonder if there’s any substance to all these buzz words. Are synthetic fertilizers really that bad for agriculture and dangerous to animals and people? Are organic fertilizer really all that much better and safer? If so, why? And what are “organic fertilizers” anyway? This article will try to answer these questions for you.
WHAT ARE ORGANIC FERTILIZERS?
In simple form, non-organic fertilizers or synthetic fertilizers are manufactured chemicals used on produce to control pests. On the other hand, organic fertilizers are organic materials from natural ingredients. This may seem very simplified but there are also some issues that are still misunderstood when it comes to the difference between organic and inorganic materials. One of these issues is about natural minerals, such as limestone, saltpeter and mine rock phosphate; these rocks are non-organic in the technical sense yet they are all natural rocks and have been safely used as organic fertilizers ever since.
Actually, organic fertilizers are directly created from various organic materials that are already decayed and rotted naturally. Just like the decaying process of dead plants and animals, the original compositions of the body become a biomass of high quality nutrient making the broken components of water and minerals the organic materials.
The very simple example of organic composition is compost. Compost is from organic wastes of natural living things such as animal manure, plants, leaves and fruit and vegetable waste. Many agriculturists and backyard gardeners prefer to use animal manure, aside from different plants and leaves, as fertilizers for longer period of time now because of its proven nutrient contents.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH INORGANIC CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS?
Inorganic fertilizers are artificially made fertilizers and these contain chemical substances that can harm not only nature but also the body of the consumers. As the soil continues to contain chemicals as fertilizers, the whole ecosystem and the environment is affected adversely from inorganic chemicals and fertilizers.
Chemicals used as fertilizers will extensively affect everything and everyone. This happens because when it rains and the chemicals are washing into the soil. As the rainwater flows through the varied bodies of water, more and more living things in and out of the water are affected. The chemicals will also reach the groundwater, which is where drinking water comes from.
Lastly, inorganic fertilizers are absorbed by crops and plants. Once people eat the produce that came from those crops, the chemicals will stay in their body and will result in health problems. Eating produce with chemicals for only a single time may not harm anyone, however if you continue to consume products grown with inorganic material, you will eventually see its bad effects on your health.
WHAT MAKES ORGANIC FERTILIZER BETTER?
Obviously, the introduction of unnatural chemicals into the local environment is not a problem with organic fertilizers, which are made from other naturally occurring organic plant and animal matter.
When it comes to crop growth, using organic fertilizers resulted to positive outcome. Synthetic fertilizers come as concentrated chemicals which means less is used, whereas the organic fertilizers are already diluted and requires the use of more. Even though this is the case and it does take more organic fertilizer to do the same as synthetic fertilizer, the benefits of using organic material far out weight inorganic products. When using organic material the soil will slowly release the nutrients into the soil, which will eventually increase the crop growth rate for a better production.
Finally, a 32-year study in Sweden between organic and synthetic fertilizers found that, although both greatly encouraged crop growths over unfertilized fields, organic fertilizers encouraged a higher yield than synthetic fertilizers (65% compared to 50%).
We hope that some of the questions that you have had concerning the use of organic versus inorganic fertilizers and how it can be used for lawn care, organic gardening and organic farming. There is much more to learn on this subject before you use organic fertilizers, you should do your own research to ensure which organic fertilizers are right for your garden.
DISCLAIMER
The article is intended for information about organic fertilizers, organic farming and organic gardening only. It should not be regarded as scientific or expert advice in its own right. The information has been taken from secondary sources and is given here in good faith. We recommend you conduct your own research with expert & scientific sources prior to making fertilizer purchases or applying any fertilizer technique mentioned here.
About the Author:
Click this link
Organic Fertilizer for more information on the advantages and disadvantages of organic fertilizers.