Organic Fertilizer Vs. Chemical Fertlizer

Organic fertilizer for your garden, lawn and plants is a great way to fertilize your lawn without harmful chemicals. Organic fertilizer uses a preventative approach to strengthen the roots of grass and plants rather than killing off the problem as chemical fertilizers do.

Here are the major differences in the ways that organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers work:

1. Organic Fertilizers are non-burning which means they won't harm delicate seedling roots while chemical fertilizers could burn plants and harm delicate seedling roots.

2. Organic fertilizers improve soil structure while chemical fertilizers result in leaching and can pollute groundwater.

3. Organic fertilizers increase water holding capacity. With chemical fertilizer, there is actually a loss of fertilizer due to leaching which means soil requires many applications.

4. Organic fertilizer increases nutrient holding capacity while chemical fertilizer can make soil toxic after continuous use.

5. Organic fertilizer promotes earthworms and soil micro-organisms and chemical fertilizer has mineral salts which can build up over time and kill off soil microbes.

6. Organic fertilizer buffers soil from chemical imbalances. The high nitrogen levels in chemical fertilizer may repel earthworms.

7. Organic fertilizer improves soil over time and chemical fertilizer has been shown to over time deplete soil.

There are two kinds of organic fertilizer: Dry and Liquid. The dry organic fertilizer is usually made from rock, phosphate, green-sand, steamed bone meal or kelp- or a combination of these. They are formulated to provide balanced amounts of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus as well as essential micronutrients. The liquid fertilizers are sprayed into the foliage of plants. Liquid foliage fertilizers are excellent for plants already rooted in pots or planted in your garden. It allows you to continue feeding your plants after they are established.