Natural Fertilizers :

Natural fertilizer, also known as organic

fertilizer,is an organic substance added to
soil that contains vital plant nutrients,
such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium. When natural fertilizer is
added to soil, it acts like a miracle food,
stimulating plant growth.

Compost

Compost has become almost synonymous with organic fertilizers and serves as the backbone
of an organic gardening program. Compost is made from decomposed plant matter such as
vegetable peels, egg shells, coffee grounds and other organic scraps. Compost is a cost-free
organic fertilizer if you make your own. Those with large gardens may have to purchase
commercial compost. Regardless of the source, compost provides soil with a well-balanced
mix of nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Manure

Like compost, manure also does double duty by adding essential nutrients to the soil as well
as improving soil quality and its water-retention ability. Manure used in organic gardening
typically comes from livestock animals such as cattle, chickens, horses and sheep, although
bat and bird guano are also effective organic fertilizers. Because manure can cause food-
borne illness, use either composted manures or apply fresh manure well in advance – 60 days
or more – of garden harvest.

Marine Byproducts
Marine byproducts also can provide soil with a variety of healthy nutrients. Fish emulsion,
which is derived from partially decomposed ground fish, is an organic fertilizer that provides
high levels of nitrogen to soil. Fish scrap is another marine byproduct and organic fertilizer
that contains both nitrogen and phosphorus. Seaweed extracts provide nitrogen and potassium
as well as trace elements to soil, and have a less intense odor than the fish derivatives.
Mulch
Mulch created from grass clippings, shredded leaves and old hay is another organic fertilizer
that improves soil fertility. Clippings from grass treated with an herbicide should not be
usedto make mulch, however. Annual applications of mulch, along with compost, will
improve soil's ability to absorb nitrogen and other nutrients – and help to prevent pesky
weeds.

Meals
Meal supplements are agricultural byproducts from the meat and farming industries.
Common examples of meals used as organic fertilizers include blood meal, which provides
high levels of nitrogen and iron; bone meal, which is rich in both nitrogen and particularly
phosphorus; and cottonseed meal, which contains all three macronutrients – nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium.
Minerals
Although mined rock minerals differ from other organic fertilizers in that they are not derived
from a previously living organism, they are still considered organic fertilizers because they
have not undergone extensive processing, and provide soil with nutrients vital to healthy
plant growth and development. Common examples of mined rock mineral fertilizers include
rock phosphate, greensand and sulfate of potash magnesia.

Test Soil to Determine Nutrient Needs

If you're environmentally conscious, you probably prefer natural, organic products. But
plants cannot tell the difference. Nutrients are nutrients. Organic and chemical fertilizers
differ in terms of nutrient availability and lasting effects on plants, soil and the environment.
Properly applied, both organic and chemical fertilizers are safe for people, pets, plants and
the planet. Test your soil to determine its nutrient needs before you fertilize. Established
gardens may have a history of fertilizer use. Various nutrients, such as potassium and
phosphorous, can build up in the soil. Nitrogen may be the only active growth-enhancing
ingredient your soil needs. Adding unneeded nutrients can disrupt pH levels and lead to toxic
accumulations of salts and other harmful elements.

Advantages of Natural Fertilizers

In nature, decomposition of organic matter creates a natural fertilizer. Applying organic
compost or well-aged herbivore manure adds nutrient-rich organic material to the soil,
improving quality and texture. Adding organic material to the soil increases its ability to hold
water; reduces erosion from water and wind; decreases compaction and crusting of the soil;
and raises soil pH. A study at Virginia Tech comparing organic or inorganic fertilizers
determined that organic fertilizer is the better choice. Creating your own organic fertilizer
from leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps and yard debris recycles waste into valuable, no-
cost fertilizer. Natural fertilizers are less likely to burn tender, young plants as they are less
concentrated than chemical formulas. You may also want the peace of mind of knowing the
food you cultivate is free of noxious chemicals. Natural fertilizers are chemical-free and can
save you money.
Disadvantages of Natural Fertilizers
Natural fertilizers are slow to break down into the nutrients the growing garden requires.
Many natural fertilizers, such as manure, seaweed or fish oil, are quite smelly and are too
offensive to use on indoor plants. Gathering natural materials, such as seaweed, grass
clippings and leaves, to add to the compost pile is labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Distribution of nutrients in organic fertilizer varies. Organic materials break down at different
rates, so the composition and content of organic fertilizer is never consistent. It is a
misconception to believe that just because a fertilizer is organic, it is automatically safer.
Organic fertilizer, if you apply it incorrectly, can contribute to surface and groundwater
contamination, create a nutritional imbalance in the soil and cause salt burns.

CHEMICAL FERTILIZER
CHEMICAL FERTILIZER

Fertilizers enhance the growth of plants. This goal is achieved in two broad ways, the

traditional one being additives that provide nutrients. The second mode by which some

fertilizers act is to enhance the effectiveness of the soil by modifying its water retention

and aeration. Fertilizers are typically provided, in varying proportions (Dittmar et al.,

2009):

three main macron

Mineral

By many definitions, minerals are separate from organic materials. However, certain organic
fertilizers and amendments are mined, specifically guano and peat. Other mined minerals are
fossil products of animal activity, such as greensand (anaerobic marine deposits), some
limestones (fossil shell deposits), and some rock phosphates (fossil guano).

Peat, a precursor to coal, offers no nutritional value to the plants, but improves the soil by
aeration and absorbing water. It is sometimes credited as being the most widely use organic
fertilizer and by volume is the top organic amendment.

Peat is the most widely used organic amendment.

Animal sources

Animal sourced materials include both animal manures and residues from the slaughter of
animals. Manures are derived from milk-producing dairy animals, egg-producing poultry, and
animals raised for meat and hide production. When any animal is butchered, only about 40%
to 60% of the live animal is converted to market product, with the remaining 40% to 60%
classed as by-products. These by-products of animal slaughter, mostly inedible -- blood, bone,
feathers, hides, hoofs, horns, -- can be refined into agricultural fertilizers including bloodmeal,
bone meal[1] fish meal, and feather meal.

Chicken litter, which consists of chicken manure mixed with sawdust, is an organic fertilizer
that has been proposed to be superior for conditioning soil for harvest than synthetic
fertilizers.[2]

Plant

Processed organic fertilizers include compost, humic acid, amino acids, and seaweed extracts.
Other examples are natural enzyme-digested proteins. Decomposing crop residue (green
manure) from prior years is another source of fertility.
Other ARS studies have found that algae used to capture nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from
agricultural fields can not only prevent water contamination of these nutrients, but also can be
used as an organic fertilizer. ARS scientists originally developed the "algal turf scrubber" to
reduce nutrient runoff and increase quality of water flowing into streams, rivers, and lakes.
They found that this nutrient-rich algae, once dried, can be applied to cucumber and corn
seedlings and result in growth comparable to that seen using synthetic fertilizers.[3]

Treated sewage sludge

Main article: Biosolids

Sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, is effuent that has been treated, blended, composted,
and sometimes dried until deemed biologically safe. As a fertilzer it is most commonly used
on non-agricultural crops such as in silviculture or in soil remediation. Use of biosolids in
agricultural production is less common, and the National Organic Program of the USDA (NOP)
has ruled that biosolids are not permitted in organic food production in the U.S.; while biologic
in origin (vs mineral), sludge is unacceptable due to toxic metal accumulation, pharmaceuticals,
hormones, and other factors.[4]

With concerns about human borne pathogens coupled with a growing preference for flush
toilets and centralized sewage treatment, biosolids have been replacing night soil (from human
excreta), a traditional organic fertilizer that is minimally processed.