Organic Fertilizers

[Skink]

Can anyone tell me if and what kind of organic fertilizer they use???

Could you possibly give me a link to it??? I live in New Jersey so a name brand of a product would be good if it is sold in my area... I plan to grow in a pro-mix of some sort,not hydro...

Thanks
Skink

Skink Reviewed by Skink on 01-31-2006. Organic Fertilizers Can anyone tell me if and what kind of organic fertilizer they use??? Could you possibly give me a link to it??? I live in New Jersey so a name brand of a product would be good if it is sold in my area... I plan to grow in a pro-mix of some sort,not hydro... Thanks Skink Rating: 5

[scobbie]

:stoned: why not make your own up:stoned:



Bone Meal - a valuable slow release organic fertilizer especially high in phosphorus and calcium, plus lower amounts of nitrogen - Give an annual dressing around shrubs, perennials and on lawns in autumn.
More details on
Bone Meal

Hoof and Horn - a high nitrogen fertilizer. Releases nutrients over a longer period and safer for plants than Blood Meal. Apply as a top dressing on hungry leafy plants and soils that need top dressing.
More details on Hoof & Horn.
Fish Meal - high in nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as trace elements. Lasts for an 8 month growing season.


Fish Emulsion - gives excellent results when used as a foliar feed on perennials, vegetables etc... High in nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as trace elements


Cotton Seed Meal - a high nitrogen organic fertilizer useful for calcarious soils as it gives an acidic reaction.

Greensand - mined from old sea bed deposits and is rich in potassium. Also contains phosphorus, magnesium, iron, silica, lime and trace elements.

Seaweed - Contains growth stimulants, good for seed compost and seed beds, and rooting plants.

Calcified Seaweed - mined from old deposits made from coral. A useful soil ammendment for working into soil mixes and in worm farms.

Dried Blood - mainly useful as a compost activator. Blood actually breaks down rapidly in the soil to release ammonium. This is especially true in warm moist conditions when it should not be used. It is not allowed in strict organic systems. If you apply Blood Meal around plants, especially transplants, go carefully, it could burn the roots.



Animal Manure - the dung from horses, cows, poultry, pigs and other animals can be composted for garden use. It is a high nitrogen feed and horse manure for example is often mixed with straw to balance the nitrogen with material containing lots of carbon. Manure is now available in a dried and pelleted form that is easy to handle.

Make Organic Fertilizer Ingredients
You can make your own organic fertilizer (but getting the right balance can be tricky). The most important is garden compost made from waste organic matter. In addition you can make useful fertilizers from comfrey leaves, nettles, from worm composters, from bonfire ash, and by extracting high nutrient liquids from manures and compost.
Comfrey - very high in potassium, also high in nitrogen. Comfrey extracts potassium from the soil that would otherwise be unavailable. Comfrey can be used in a variety of ways as liquid organic fertiliser, in feeding potatoes, as mulch and much as godfreys


Nettles - provide food for garden friendly insects but they can also be composted to produce a highly nutritious organic fertilizer liquid.

Worm composting - recycles your kitchen waste and produces nutritious fertilizer and soil conditioner.



Bon-Fire Ash - Save any bon-fire ash you make and recycle as a garden fertilizer. It is high in the minerals potassium and calcium, and gives a strong basic reaction in the soil.

Garden Compost - Strictly not classed as a fertilizer, yet it is rich in plant nutrients. The ingredients to make compost are freely available - find out how to make it and use it

Green Manures - don't leave the soil lying bare and idle. Grow plants to synthesise nutrient rich organic matter and hold onto it before incorporating back into your soil.

Good Food For Plants
The plant food in organic fertilizer usually occurs in a complex form which is not immediately available to roots. Nitrogen in Fish Meal for example is contained within protein. It requires further break down before absorbable plant nutrients are released into the soil solution. Soil micro-organisms decompose the organic matter to release these nutrients.
This nutrient release rate matches plant needs. Faster in the warm season when micro-organisms and plants are growing. Slow in the cold winter when most plants are dormant. Of course this reduces the nutrient losses. Unlike organic fertilizers the quick and ready feeds often put excess nutrient into soil solution which is lost by leaching.

High nutrient concentrations from inorganic fertilizers can interfere with the water balance, reducing water loss from leaves, causing overheating and burning. It can also damage plant roots especially if the soil becomes dry.

Even so, there are some organic fertilizers that can be decomposed relatively quickly by bacteria, especially in warm moist conditions. Care still needs to be taken not to over supply blood meal, which decomposes to ammonia, around tender seedlings.

The carbon compounds in organic fertilizer feeds the soil micro-organisms and that makes the soil healthy. These living cells produce mucilagenous substances that help bind soil particles together.

The humus that is derived after organic matter decompostion can itself absorb both nutrients and water. It behaves like a sponge holding onto excess nutrients, but releasing nutrients as these are depleted in the soil. Clay does this too, but humus does it far more effectively. Although garden compost is not normally considered to be a fertilizer, it does contain plenty of plant nutrients. Animal and green manures also provide nutritious organic matter.

In short organic matter provides a nutrient resource, forms a water and nutrient reservoir, supports a healthy population of soil micro-organisms, works as a soil conditioner to improve the physical texture and cohesion of soil particles, and helps buffer extreme conditions. All this improves plant growth.

[scobbie]

:stoned: theres nothing more satifying than smoking weed you grew in soil you made:stoned:

[Sativagrowin]

I've begun using "Earth Juice" ferts. They are working great.

http://www.hydroponics.net/c/158

Laterz

[BkSkillz]

hey wassup i personally use foxfarm grow big and tigerbloom with great results i'd recomend it i get mines ata hydroshop out here in bk bu they got shops in jersey with erythign u need as well check this out:
www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/east.htm
good luck

[Skink]

Hey Thanks for all the fantastic info and links...

I think I will try the FoxFarm Big grow cause I am going by one of the stores next week...

Skink