Organics and Commercial Landscaping - Fertilizers

Ask a landscaper whether they prefer organic or chemical fertilizer, and chances are you’ll be in for a lively debate. However, if you could ask your plants the same question, you’d find out that they really just don't care – nutrients are nutrients.

Yet there are significant differences between organic and chemical fertilizers in terms of nutrient availability and the long-term effects on soil, plants, and the environment.

Organic Fertilizer
The words “organic” or “natural” in this case simply means that the product is only minimally processed, and the nutrients remain bound up in their natural forms, rather than being extracted and refined. In the case of fertilizer, “organic” does NOT refer to the standards of processing associated with food products.

Organic fertilizer is usually made from plant or animal waste or powdered minerals. Examples include manure and compost, as well as bone and cottonseed meal. They are usually sold as “soil conditioners” rather than as fertilizer, because the nutrient ratios are difficult to guarantee. Organic fertilizers may be processed in a factory, or, in the case of manure and compost, at a farm.

Advantages of Organic Fertilizer:

In addition to releasing nutrients, as organic fertilizers break down, they improve the structure of the soil and increase its ability to hold water and nutrients. Over time, organic fertilizers will make your soil–and plants–healthy and strong.

Since they are the ultimate slow-release fertilizers, it’s very difficult to over fertilize (and harm) your plants.

There’s little to no risk of toxic buildups of chemicals and salts that can be deadly to plants.

Organic fertilizers are renewable, biodegradable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
Although rather expensive in packages, you can make your own organic fertilizer by composting or find inexpensive sources, such as local dairy farms, that may sell composted manure.

Disadvantages of Organic Fertilizer:

Microorganisms are required to break down and release nutrients into the soil. Since they need warmth and moisture to do their job, the effectiveness of organic fertilizer is limited seasonally. 
Organic fertilizers break down according to nature’s rules, so they may not release nutrients as soon as you need them. You have to be patient – you won’t see improvement overnight. In fact, you may actually see a deficiency in your plants during the first couple of months until the first application breaks down. 

Nutrient ratios are often unknown, and the overall percentage is lower than chemical fertilizers. However, some organic products are actually higher in certain nutrients.

Making a Choice

If you wish to live in harmony with nature and make a lasting improvement in your own patch of earth for generations to come, organic fertilizers outweigh chemicals by leaps and bounds.

More importantly you can let Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance do all the landscape work for you and take the burden off your shoulders all together.  Give us a call at 623-848-8277 and let’s talk about it.

Presented by:
Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
greenskeeperllc@cox.net