Are organic fertilisers better than artificials?
As far as plant growth is concerned, almost certainly not, but there are environmental, cost and other considerations to bear in mind too. Our product range covers both organic and artificial fertilisers.
Organic and artificial, and even fertiliser, however, don't mean the same things to all people. A fertiliser, as opposed to a manure, is a substance applied to the soil primarily for its value as a plant nutrient. An organic fertiliser is derived from some once-living organism, while an artificial one is derived from somewhere else (which may not necessarily be a chemical factory and could be a quarry or a mine). Plants take up all nutrients in very simple chemical form and almost any fertiliser added to the soil will be broken down, usually by micro-organisms into a state that plants can use. There is no scientific evidence that the original source of the simple chemicals makes any difference whatever to plant growth. Nitrogen to a plant is nitrogen, whether it comes from dried blood or ammonium sulphate. If plant growth is unaffected, what about the flavour of edible crops? Again there is no evidence to suggest that additional substances present in organic fertilisers improve crop flavour. Organic fertilisers may be advantageous however because of the form in which they occur. Bone-meal, for example, is a slow-release form of phosphate; it breaks down chemically in the soil over a long period of time and is thus beneficial when establishing new plants. There is no comparably convenient artificial form of phosphate. My view, therefore, is that organic fertilisers should be used if they perform a particular task better than an artificial or are cheaper, but there is no intrinsic reason to imagine they will automatically do everything better, solely because they are organic.
Do I need special fertilisers for each type of plant or can I make do with a general mix?
For most purposes a general mix such as fish, blood and bone , Growmore, Miracle-Gro or Phostrogen is excellent.
There is a happy medium. If you are very keen, wanting the highest level of perfection in all you do, you will want a wide range of fertilisers. If you are less keen, or have only a small garden or very little time, you can manage with commercially prepared general mixtures and also with a fairly limited range in total. Growmore and the organically based fish, blood and bone are the most useful, general purpose solid fertilisers. In some instances, however, the particular need that plants have for phosphorus to aid root development or for potassium to help flower and fruit formation, means that fertilisers containing proportionately more of these substances are required. The following should be adequate for the average garden:
1. A granular formulation of a balanced fertiliser such as Growmore or fish, blood and bone.
2. A balanced liquid fertiliser like Phostrogen or Miracle-Gro for general feeding during the growing season.
3. A liquid tomato fertiliser like Tomorite containing a high proportion of potassium for rapid results on rapidly growing flowering and fruiting plants.
4. Two lawn fertilisers like Toplawn, one for Spring and Summer use containing a high proportion of nitrogen and one for autumn containing less.
5. Sterilised bone meal as a source of phosphorus to aid root development; especially valuable when planting out perennials - trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and bulbs.
What does trace element mean?
A chemical element required by plants in exceedingly small quantities. Blends of trace elements are included in fertilisers such as sequestrene.
Trace elements are distinct from the major elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. Normally, plants receive all the trace elements that they need from the soil or from fertilisers although occasionally an element such as boron or molybdenum can be deficient in some soils with consequent and usually characteristic symptoms on certain plants. These can be corrected with fertilisers such as sequestrene.
Are liquid fertilisers better than powders or granules?
In the summer, when plans are growing quickly, yes. At other times, no.
If you want the quickest cure for a headache, you should take a soluble medicament, dissolved in water, for it will be absorbed into your body more quickly. So it is with fertilisers. If you want the quickest way to place nutrient inside a plant, a liquid feed is your answer. This is especially true when plants are growing very quickly, as they do at the height of summer, or at other times indoors or in heated greenhouses. But in the early part of the year it's more important to use a fertiliser that will stay in the soil for a long time and release its ingredients slowly. Sold fertilisers do this and some, called slow-release fertilisers, are specially formulated to last all season.
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