Chemical or organic?

Hi guys.

What are your thoughts on chemical and organic fertilizer? I have heard a lot of people say that chemical works better as the nutrients are more finely tuned for plant growth but then I've also heard chemical fertilizer leaves salts behind where as with organic the plant just takes what it needs so you can't really over feed

Which do you prefer?
Thanks.

 

MN knows best, I'm with her all the way!

Steve...

 

To be honest, I don't think that plants can tell the difference, - BUT organic generally doesn't leave unwanted and uncontrolled residue in the soil.

 

suppose it's like taking medicine

you can suck the juice of 100 oranges, or take 1 vitamin C tablet and get the same amount

Science is progressing fast .... if we look at lawn fertilzers, they have developed slow release fertilizer that breaks down by heat and microbes in the soil, and feeds the lawn for up to 180 days

i'm a fan of organic, and will try making compost tea in spring (using the formula from the Irish guy who grows the giant veg and holds several world records)

 

If I drink the juice of 100 oranges in one go, the worst that will happen to me is that I'll feel bloated and need to within a short stroll of the loo.

If I can get the same amount of vitamin C from one tablet, and I take one such table every day, in addition to the vitamin C I get from my food and drink, my poor liver is going to take a battering and I wouldn't even know about it until the damage had been done.

 

Organic/chemical? When it comes down to it both are useful tools for the gardener. Organic fertilisers take about a month to start breaking down enough for plants to take the nutrients up. Chemical fertilisers ( eg Growmore ) are available within minutes of getting wet. Organic fertilisers ( eg fish, blood and bone ) are viable in the soil for about 6 weeks. Chemical fertilisers ( eg Growmore ) are viable in the soil for about 10 days.

 

You`d better go and have a lie down in a darkened room now.:D:D:D

 

don't believe everything you read in newspapers .... some large Pharma companies are trying to ban the sale of certain vitamins

I've been taking vitamins for years .... (i use a strong one .... Solgar omnium) as i go to gym 5 times a week

your body will use what ever it needs .... you will pee the excess out (hence the dark yellow colour of your pee when you take a strong multivitamin tablet)

and that is how i understand fertilizers work with plants .... the plant only uses what it needs

 

I would agree with Dai and others who say use both. Often they do different things. For instance manure is an excellent soil conditioner, it will help to keep in moisture. Organic matter helps to bind clay particles together and larger particle size means better drainage.

The NPK that chemicals provide is only part of the overall picture. But having said that chemical NPK can provide some dramatic improvements in the short term. I have read that with Brugmansias, if you feed them every day you can get 10 times as many flowers compared to an unfed plant. My own experience supports that.

 

I'm mainly organic with regards to improving the soil. I use 'Orse poo, leafmold, garden compost & worm bin composted kitchen waste.

But I have used a sack of blood fish & bonemeal that I found in the shed and have made my own chemical fertiliser "á la Armandii":WINK1:

 

Zig, if you have an allotment you CANNOT be growing organically.

 

Simples. If the guy next door uses chemical sprays, then you are not growing organically. In fact, if the guy a half mile away is using chemical sprays, you are not growing organically. It`s all about spindrift.