Organic Fertilizer Essay

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Before you begin to make your own fertilizer, there are a few things you need to know about plant nutrients. This basic information will help you understand what materials to add to your fertilizer mix and the best way to ensure your plants get all the nutrients they need.

Here is what you need to know: nutrients required by plants for growth and development are the same, irrespective of the source from which they are obtained. Naturally, most plants can make their own food, through a process known as photosynthesis; but they also need certain elements from the soil and the atmosphere to help facilitate the process of growth and development. The elements considered as essential plant nutrients are: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, …show more content…

For example, carbon forms the structure of the plants, and nitrogen makes up the protein. So when the plants are consumed by animals and humans, the nutrients are released for use in their body; and when the plants, animals and humans die, they decompose and release these nutrients back to the environment. That is exactly why animal manures and plants residues can fertilize the soil and provide your crops with nutrients.

Having said this, you can make your own fertilizer at no cost, with organic materials that can be easily sourced. And this is especially beneficial to small-scale farmers and gardeners who are trying to reduce cost as much as possible.

ORGANIC FERTILIZER …show more content…

Some materials supply certain nutrients better than others; and some others can only supply one type of nutrient. But most importantly, they are cheap, organic and slow-release.

Wood ash
Instead of wasting the wood ash from your fire place, consider recycling it by using it as soil amendment in your garden. Wood ash is very rich in calcium, but it also contains some amount of potassium that your plants can benefit from, a fair amount of phosphorus and all the essential micro nutrients in adequate levels (the NPK content of wood Ash is 0-1-3).

It is very beneficial especially when you want to increase the pH of your soil. So, check the pH of your soil before you use wood ash as amendment; and if it is already high, forego this amendment completely. If your soil is really in need of lime, get an expert to interpret the lime recommendation, lime equivalency and the amount of wood ash your soil needs. Check out this blog on soil pH and find out how pH affects plant welfare.

Wood ash already has fine particles at the time you would want to use it; therefore you have to carefully handle it to avoid losing most of it as dust

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