Effective Fertilizers

All-Purpose

• Home-made or commercially produced mature compost benefits all types of vegetable and flower gardens. Nitrogen is needed in the highest quantity by plants because it is mobile in the soil and must be constantly replenished. Commercial compost and fertilizers obtain nitrogen from corn gluten meal, cottonseed meal, blood meal, feather meal and fish by-products. Plants absorb other nutrients from all-purpose natural fertilizer such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, zinc and others needed in minute amounts. Nutrients are released slowly as the plant needs them. The high levels of nitrogen released quickly in synthetic fertilizer causes damaging toxic run-off into waterways.

Lawn

• Fall is the most effective time to fertilize lawns. Spring fertilization causes excessive weed germination and growth. Lawn turf grasses consume high levels of nitrogen. An effective organic natural lawn fertilizer has an N-P-K count of 9-3-5. The nitrogen is supplied by fish meal, fish bone meal, feather meal, mined potassium sulfate, alfalfa meal, calcium sulphate and seaweed extract. An application of natural fertilizer on the lawn lasts up to three months. It also introduces beneficial microorganisms to the soil which help transport water and oxygen to and from plant root systems.

Vegetable

• The nutritional quality of vegetables depends on the nutrient content of the soil in which they grow. Soil nutrients are created by microorganisms such as beneficial bacteria, fungi, arthropods, earthworms and protozoa. Microorganisms grow in soil within decomposed plant and animal life, which is called the organic matter content. Healthy soil has 2 to 5 percent organic matter which produces and supports the microorganism populations. Effective fertilizer for vegetables introduces additional organic matter content into the soil. Synthetic fertilizer feeds nutrients to plants directly but does not feed the soil.

Fruit trees and Vines

• Fruit trees and grape vines are pruned extensively between fall harvest and late winter. Adding fertilizer after pruning encourages the development of a strong, healthy root system to support next year's growth. Fruit trees and grape vines need 17 essential nutrients to produce an abundant harvest. Fruit trees use high levels of nitrogen, which must be replenished regularly during the growing season. Organic fertilizer increases the quality of soil and provides slow release of nutrients over several months, responding to the tree's needs as they develop. A few nitrogen sources are bone meal, soft rock phosphate, alfalfa meal and kelp meal.