Out of the people I know, not a single one would recommend or even condone using inorganic fertilizer. I myself don't even want to use it and plan to try to weed it out of my methods as soon as possible. That being said, I am currently using the stuff... why? because the last tenant left a bunch here and I'm not wasting anything. Also disposing of the stuff could potentially harm the environment so in this case, yes, I am being green by not being green.
This of course means I'm going to have to work a little magic to offset the downsides of long term use of the stuff.
 |
| Suspect zero! No, I never watched the film. |
All fertilizers come with an N-P-K rating stating the relative amounts of each element in the mix.
- N = Nitrogen: helps plants grow foliage and vegetation
- P = Phosphorous: helps with root and shoot growth
- K = Potassium: Flowering, fruiting and general hardiness
Aside from this there are 3 other majour nutrients and 7 trace nutrients. let's not explore them all in detail. Suffice to say your plants need them all.
Inorganic fertilizer is mined and then processed in labs to create compounds that the plants in your soil can use easier. As a result it's beefed up in those 3 main nutrients as they will give you more bang for your buck. Some inorganic fertilizers do add the trace elements though.
Right so what are the downsides here?
- It's mined. I just hate that :p
- It's mined. Most of the soil we have already contained the correct amount of nutrients in abundance. The fact that it's mined means it's introducing large quantities of these minerals that shouldn't be there.
- More bang explodes your soil. Plants love those 3 nutrients and will grow to bumper sizes when they have the correct amounts. However they also need the rest of the nutrients and will use them all up in their manic growth spurts. In the end your soil will be leeched of these and without continual attention will become infertile or toxic.
- It burns plants. Ok any over fertilization will do this but it's so much easier when the stuff is so concentrated. plus I needed to point this out for the next point...
- It burn plants you can't see. Upsetting the natural nutrient balance creates a hostile environment for beneficial micro organisms. These micro buddies of yours help keep your soil healthy by cycling minerals, airing soil etc. Once they are gone your soil steps closer to being dead and inert.
Ok there's probably more to it then that but I'm relatively new to this. Keep this in mind though, compost that comes from something living is made up of everything living things need to survive so that's exactly what it's going to give your soil, and in healthy quantities because that's what it will try to take from the soil in life - Healthy quantities of what it needs.
What a mouthfull.
Ok, I've heard Inorganic fertilizers are fine in small quantities. Maybe true, I don't know. For now I'm using large quantities to enrich my custom potting soil. I enjoy learning by error :P
 |
| Me doing the dirty deed |
I found a kilo of 20-20-20 and a tub of a branded 15-30-15 which boasts trace elements. We'll see. Above I'm pouring half a soup spoon of each dissolved in 5lt of water into about 50lt of potting mix Limey soil/compost/vermiculite (I'll do something about potting mixes at a later date)
 |
| It looks better now :D |
So that's how I'm going to try to incorporate the stuff into my practices. I'll enrich old potting soil after I harvest, use it in the new pots and hope for the best.
I'm also making sure I let weeds grow a bit before pulling them out, it's a great way to cycle nutrients. I have some green manure seeds on the way which will hopefully help out with managing these fertilizers, more on that when I've run the experiment. Of course I have a little compost pot (the biggest pot I could get) and I'm looking in to getting companion plants to act as another form of green manure.
So until the inorganic stuff runs out (call it spartan, frugal or just plain cheap behavior) I'm going to hold off on buying any organic stuff... really though I'll probably break this resolution.
Please leave any comments pointing out my lack of knowledge or glaring misunderstandings. If I've got something wrong I want to know!
Oh for the sake of even headedness I shall briefly point out the benefits of inorganic fertilizers
- Precision: You know exactly what quantities of elements you're putting in.
- Disease control: Organic fertilizers can carry disease (who cares? do you want your plants to be pansies!?! I mean if they aren't actually pansies!).
- Space management: They are entirely soluble and so take up no space and are therefore easier to apply.
- Groovy colours: Bright blue is pretty man... sooooo pretty.
- Cheap: as chips.
