Myths of Organic Fertilizers

Safety

• One organic fertilizer myth is that organic fertilizers are safe despite the amount used. Although most organic fertilizers indeed are safer and less toxic than their chemical counterparts, some types still are potentially toxic in large amounts. For example, applying too much manure or using the wrong type of manure on your plants can give the plants too much nitrogen and thus chemically burn them.

Environmental Friendliness

• Another myth about organic fertilizers is that organic fertilizers do not leach into groundwater as synthetic products do. However, if organic fertilizers are overused on lawns -- which is common -- they are just as capable of leaching into the groundwater. The related myth that organic fertilizers are better for the environment is unfounded, as plants really cannot tell the difference between organic fertilizers and other types of fertilizers.

Best Option

• The claim that organic fertilizers simply are better than synthetic ones is a myth as well. While most organic fertilizers are less likely to burn turf grass, they are much slower-acting. This is because they must first be processed by microbes in order for their nutrients to be in a form plants can use, so they offer a slower release of nutrients over a longer period of time. Organic fertilizers also tend to be more expensive and have lower ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium -- the chief plant nutrients in fertilizers.

Food Quality

• Although some individuals believe foods grown with organic fertilizers are more nutritious than foods grown with chemical products, this also is a myth. This is because all fertilizers are transformed to organic chemical compounds before a plant uses the nutrients. Except for minerals, most nutrients are synthesized by the plant and not absorbed from the soil, according to Fort Valley State University. Non-organic foods actually have the same amount of vitamins and nutrients as organic products as long as they have not been processed with unhealthy additives such as high-fructose corn syrup or salt, reports FityDay.com.