Buy Organic Fertilizers
There has been
much controversy regarding the use
of chemical or inorganic fertilizers, and their harmful
effect on the environment, and this has brought about a
movement to organic in the agricultural sector. For
environmental and health reasons, many more farmers and
home gardeners have turned to organic fertilizers as the
solution. As a result, the organic fertilizer industry has
experienced quite a boom in their
profits.
People, including regular backyard growers all the way to the
big-time farmers, are buying organic fertilizers for their gardens
and farms. However, with all this attention shifting to
organic fertilizers, buying them has become a bit of a
confusing task, especially since there are several factors
involved: N-P-K, organic matter content, moisture content, and
so on. To the average home
grower, all these numbers and percentages in an
organic fertilizer bag tends to become somewhat perplexing.
This article is aimed to help you, the home grower, make an
informed decision before buying organic fertilizers.
What to look for in an organic
fertilizer
What does N-P-K mean? There are
three major nutrients plants need in order to grow. These
are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). Organic
fertilizers usually have a low
percentages of these three elements (although some organic
fertilizer manufacturers have supplemented this by placing
additional nutrients). So when buying organic fertilizers,
it's important to take note of the N-P-K analysis
first.
For instance, a bag of organic fertilizer has an
N-P-K analysis of 5-2-2, which means that the organic
fertilizer has 5% Nitrogen, 2% Phosphorus and 2% Potassium.
The second thing to consider when buying organic fertilizers is the ingredients
stated on the label. If you find the organic
fertilizer bag contains ammonium, muriate, urea, nitrate or
phosphoric acid, don’t buy it, because it's not an
organic fertilizer you're holding, but an inorganic
fertilizer.
Organic fertilizers are most valued for
their organic matter content. Organic matters in organic
fertilizers are important in developing the soil structure and encouraging
microbial activity. Also, organic matters in organic
fertilizers help improve the soil’s nutrient and water holding
capacity. Therefore, if you want your garden to be
healthy, you should look for organic matter content
before buying an organic fertilizer.
Other important
ingredients to look for in organic fertilizers are the amount
of trace elements present in the bag. Plants need trace elements in
order to sustain growth. Trace elements found in organic fertilizers are generally comprised
of Calcium, Iron, Manganese, Copper and Zinc.
It's also
important to look into the raw materials used in making the
organic fertilizer. The richest source of trace
elements is marine products, such as sea grass and fish by-products. This type
of organic fertilizers is practically a storehouse of trace
elements and is also high in Nitrogen content. Other types of
organic fertilizers are bone meal and blood meal, which are
excellent sources of calcium, protein and soluble organic
Nitrogen.
Where to buy organic fertilizers
Organic fertilizers can be
purchased at your local garden center and
even online. Here are three examples of online stores
where you can purchase organic fertilizers at reasonable
prices. Of course, there are many other stores that
can fill your organic fertilizer needs.
Agriseek.com is an online marketplace
for organic fertilizers and other products. Some of their
organic fertilizers products are bone meals, cottonseed meals,
dung fertilizers, plant hormones, and others like liquid
foliar and fertirrigation organic fertilizers from hemoglobin
and bat guano.
Bizrate.com is an
online store where you can compare prices on several organic
fertilizers and products. Buyers are allowed the option to
browse through a list of organic fertilizers according price
ranges.
Shopping.com is another online
resource that will direct you to the best places to buy
organic fertilizes.
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