Chemical Fertilizer vs. Organic Fertilizer

Among agriculture specialists and home gardeners a popular discussion these days is the furor over organic fertilizer vs. chemical fertilizer.

Certainly each type of fertilizer has its pros and cons, but before we get into that subject, let's first definite the differences between the two types of fertilizer.

What is organic fertilizer?

Organic fertilizers are substances containing nutrients derived from the remains or by-product of an organism. Examples of organic fertilizers are cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, manure and sewage sludge. Organic fertilizers are naturally rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the three major nutrients needed in plant growth. Organic fertilizers depend on microorganisms found in the soil to break them down and release the nutrients.

What is chemical fertilizer?

Chemical fertilizers are synthetically produced plant nutrients from inorganic materials. Because they're artificially made, many chemical fertilizers contain acids that can be harmful to the soil’s population of microorganisms. In this aspect, chemical fertilizers could potentially stunt plant growth.

Chemical fertilizer vs. organic fertilizer

Fertilizers are created to target soil nutrient deficiency, which is a prevalent problem among home garden owners. One important advantage chemical fertilizers have over organic fertilizers is that they contain all three of the major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). Organic fertilizers can only have either high content levels of one of these three, or have all three nutrients in low levels.

Oorganic fertilizers are a cheaper and more cost-effective alternative to chemical fertilizers. An advantage for home gardeners is they can create their own organic fertilizer by composting or mixing cow, sheep or poultry manure with other organic matters. Chemical fertilizers, on the other hand, have to be purchased from a gardening store or horticulturists.

One important aspect of organic fertilizer is its slow-release capability. This slow release of nutrients can be both beneficial but also potentially harmful to plants. The slow release of nutrients means there's less risk of over-fertilization, however, this might also mean that if there is immediate need of a supply of nutrients, organic fertilizers won't be able to provide that needed supply. On the other hand, chemical fertilizers can provide plants with an immediate supply of nutrients when the situation demands it.

A number of chemical fertilizers have high acid content. Acids in chemical fertilizers, like sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, lead to high soil acidity which in turn results in the destruction of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, the microorganism that play a key role in supplying a growing plant’s nitrogen needs.

Plants certainly don't recognize the difference between organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers. Their tiny root hairs will absorb those microscopic nutrients regardless of the source or how they were manufactured. But even so, with today’s growing environmental concerns, there is an ongoing debate over the wisdom of using chemical fertilizers as a nutrient source.