When you start and continue to cultivate an organic food garden, you are obliged (strong word, but called for I think!) to use an organic fertilizer for vegetables. Why is that? Why can’t I just use a mineral fertilizer, that will provide all the necessary nutrients, right?

Well, if you do that, you have abandoned the very gist of having an organic garden, or at least that’s my opinion. It’s like this:

The phosphorus part in mineral fertilizers is mined and is contaminated with cadmium. Cadmium is a heavy metal that accumulate in the soil and the plants, and thereby enter into our food. Inside our bodies it can harm the kidneys and replace calcium in the skeleton, causing osteoporosis.

The nitrogen part of the mineral fertilizer is captured from the air (which contains 78% nitrogen gas). This is an extremely energy demanding process, usually driven by fossil fuels and thus enhancing the green house effect.

So you see, using a mineral fertilizer is totally wrong for the eco-friendly organic gardener. Plus, they don’t contribute to the microbial life in the soil at all… or to the soil structure for that matter!

What kind of organic fertilizers for vegetables are there?
There are different kinds of organic fertilizers, each having their advantages and disadvantages depending on you, your possibilities and your garden.

Horse or cow dung can be bought in sacks at your nearest garden supplier, or if you live close to a stable and have a large garden, you may be able to get truckloads from there. Make sure it is well degraded, or else you risk burning the roots of your plants if you mix it directly into the soil. The big advantage of this fertilizer is that you also add a lot of organic matter, which is good for every kind of soil, improving the structure as well as giving the earthworms (which we love) and the microbial life something to eat.

Chicken manure is rich in nitrogen and is best used for green plants like your lawn, and the spinach and the chard in your vegetable garden. Plants that are supposed to produce flowers and fruits tend to grow an excessive foliage if fertilized with chicken manure.

Bone dust is an organic fertilizer that slowly releases the nutrients into the soil. It also contains a lot of calcium, making it a good choice for calcium loving plants but one to be avoided for plants that like acidic soil.

Green manuring means growing a crop that you later plough back into the soil. What’s the point of this? The beauty of this is that you should grow a crop like clover, which can capture nitrogen from the air that will eventually enrich your soil. You use one of nature’s ecological services! You also add organic matter to your soil this way.

You can also use the grass from your lawn mowing. Simply put it on top of your soil, water, and bacteria and earthworms will take care of the rest. This is a method I like, since it also protects your soil from drying out, keeping it moist and uncompact under the grass cover.

Finally, you can use guano, bird droppings. However, you’re not meant to collect it yourself, but if you go to your garden supplier they will show you what to buy. This also adds calcium as well as other nutrients, so keep it away from for example rhododendron.

What you finally choose depends on what you grow and what you can actually get hold of. Just keep in mind to avoid the ones with a lot of calcium if you grow for example azaleas.

Wish you a flourishing organic garden!

Also at Organic Garden Tips: Review: My Organic Food Garden, Tips on How to Start Your Organic Garden!, Composting For Beginners: How To Enrich Your Garden With Your Wastes!, Keep Your Garden Bug Free: 5 Easy Steps To Organic Garden Pest Control