What Kind of Organic Fertilizer Do Plants Need?

Organic Fertilizers

By Anna Lynn Sibal

We need to fertilize the plants in our garden every so often.  Fertilizers are necessary because they replenish the nutrients in our garden soil and thus ensure that our plants continue their healthy growth.  Unfortunately, if the fertilizer is commercial and made from synthetic chemicals, it will only cause more harm than good to the soil and to our plants in the long run.  As thus, it is very important that we switch to organic fertilizer for our garden.

 You can easily buy organic fertilizer from any gardening supplies shop.  However, before you buy any organic fertilizer, it is important that you know exactly what kind of fertilizer that you need for your soil and for your plants.  Your garden soil and your plants have varying requirements, and the kind of organic fertilizer that you will get for them should address these requirements effectively. 

Nutrients in Organic Fertilizers 

Just like us, our plants need a wide variety of nutrients to ensure their healthy growth.  Of these nutrients, the three most important ones are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.  Nitrogen is required to produce plant proteins and to stimulate leaf growth while phosphorus encourages the development of strong and healthy roots.  Animal manure is an organic fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen and you can find high levels of phosphorus in rock phosphates and bone meals.  Potassium, on the other hand, helps the plant absorb and retain water as well as produce more flowers and fruit, and seaweed meals are examples of organic fertilizers that contain lots of potassium. 

The kind of nutrients that you need in an organic fertilizer as well as in what amounts depends largely on what your plant requires.  For example, if you are growing green and leafy vegetables in your garden, you would need organic fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen.  If you have flowers in your garden that you are coaxing to bloom, maybe you need to use an organic fertilizer that has a lot of potassium. 

Using Organic Fertilizer 

Aside from mineral content, there are different kinds of organic fertilizers for the different stages of a plant’s growth.  These fertilizer types are: 

1. Base fertilizers.  Base fertilizers are nutrient-rich fertilizers that are meant to prepare the soil for planting, to rejuvenate it, and to replenish nutrients lost in continuous planting.  You should apply base fertilizers to your garden soil once a year and at least two months before you begin transplanting your seedlings. 
2. Top dressing fertilizers.  Some of us take food supplements to boost our vitamin and mineral intake.  Top dressing fertilizers perform the same task for our plants.  This type of fertilizer adds to the vitamins and minerals that our plants regularly get from the soil so that they can continue growing healthily as the year progresses. 
3. Special fertilizers.  Our plants need specific nutrients throughout their life cycle, and certain soil types need to be treated with certain types of fertilizers as well to make them more nourishing to plants.  For example, if the soil is too sandy, some rock phosphate organic fertilizer can bind the soil.  If you need to coax your plants to bloom more or to bear more fruits, a good solution would be applying bat guano to the garden soil.  If the soil is too cold, you may need to spray folia feed on the plants. 

You need fertilizers to keep the soil in your garden properly nourished.  When the soil is rich with nutrients, you can expect healthy plants to grow in your garden.  But to promote a truly healthy garden, you should use only organic fertilizers.