Fertilizing Organically
Question from Zenna:
I am just beginning to switch to organic gardening and would like to know the best way to fertilize my garden and outdoor pots organically. I live in Southern California about 7 miles from the ocean in Irvine.
Answer from Pat:
There is no “best” way to fertilize organically. In my organic gardening book I mention many various ways. A good way to begin is to choose a good brand of organic fertilizer, such as Dr. Earth and fertilize all your plants with the various types recommended for various plants. For pots use diluted fish emulsion. Also, read my month-by-month book for more ideas including recipes for fertilizers you can mix up yourself. Basically you need a nitrogen source, such as alfalfa, blood meal, feather meal, or seed meal; a phosphorus source, such as bone meal, and a potassium source such as SulPoMag, you can purchase in any nursery. For trace minerals, add ground or powdered seaweed.
Three Steps to Organic Gardening:
1) Create a habitat for microorganisms- Amend native soil with compost and worm-castings. Also use (if available) bio-char, mulch, and worms.
2) Feed the microbes that feed your plants- Organic fertilizers like guanos, chicken manure, bone meal, minerals (rock dust). Fish hydrolysate (vs emulsion), kelp, molasses.
3) Maintain soil health- Use compost-tea/compost extract at least 3 times a growing season. Fertilize with organic fertilizers as needed.
Thank you for your comment. I would make only one correction, which is that bio-char is not a good thing to add to dry alkaline soils found in most Southwest and Mediterranean climates. Bio-char is a wonderful product thought to have been used by ancient peoples to create productive deep agricultural soils in the Amazon rain forest. (Tropical rain forests usually have shallow soils.)
Today bio-char has been found useful in many applications in agriculture, particularly in rainy climates and acidic soils. It can sequester carbon, absorb fertilizers, reclaim and “clean” soils which have been mismanaged, and provide oxygen to roots. Plant roots are attracted to it. However, bio-char is alkaline and therefore it is not recommended as an additive for alkaline, Western soils due to alkalinity of the soil largely caused by a build-up of salts from sparse rainfall. As I understand it, experimentation with bio-char is ongoing and thus eventually a way may be found to apply this ancient technology more widely.