The debate over organic v's chemical fertilisers
Ask most any farmer whether they prefer organic or chemical fertiliser, and chances are you’ll spark a lively debate. However, if you could ask your plants the same question, you’d find out that at the most basic level, they really can’t tell the difference – nutrients are nutrients.
Yet there ARE significant differences between organic and chemical fertilisers in terms of nutrient availability and the long-term effects on soil, plants, and the environment. So how does a conscientious gardener decide?
Terminology
To begin with, the terminology can be confusing, since labels and farmers freely throw around words like organic, natural, inorganic, chemical, synthetic, artificial, and manufactured. The good news is that the choice can be reduced to either organic or chemical fertilisers.
Organic Fertiliser
The words “organic” or “natural” in this case simply means that the product is only minimally processed, and the nutrients remain bound up in their natural forms, rather than being extracted and refined. In the case of fertiliser, “organic” does NOT refer to the standards of processing associated with food.
Organic fertiliser is usually made from plant or animal waste or powdered minerals. Examples include manure and compost, as well as bone and loam. They are usually sold as “soil conditioners” rather than as fertiliser, because the nutrient ratios are difficult to guarantee.
Organic fertilisers may be processed in a factory, or, in the case of manure and compost, at a farm.
There is also a growing selection of more highly processed products now available, with labelled analysis of nutrients and contents.
Advantages of Organic Fertiliser:
- In addition to releasing nutrients, as organic fertilisers break down, they improve the structure of the soil and increase its ability to hold water and nutrients. Over time, organic fertilisers will make your soil–and plants–healthy and strong.
- Since they are the ultimate slow-release fertilisers, it’s very difficult to over fertilise (and harm) your plants.
- There’s little to no risk of toxic build-ups of chemicals and salts that can be deadly to plants.
- Organic fertilisers are renewable, biodegradable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
- Although rather expensive in packages, you can make your own organic fertiliser by composting or find inexpensive sources—such as local dairy farms—that may sell composted manure.
Disadvantages of Organic Fertiliser:
- Microorganisms are required to break down and release nutrients into the soil. Since they need warmth and moisture to do their job, the effectiveness of organic fertiliser is limited seasonally. The good news is that these microorganisms obtain energy from decaying plant and animal matter, so an application of organic fertiliser provides a complete package of nutrients for your soil.
- Organic fertilisers break down according to nature’s rules, so they may not release nutrients as soon as you need them. You have to be patient – you won’t see improvement overnight. In fact, you may actually see a deficiency in your plants during the first couple of months until the first application breaks down. Hang in there! You’ll most definitely be rewarded.
- Nutrient ratios are often unknown, and the overall percentage is lower than chemical fertilisers. However, some organic products are actually higher in certain nutrients.
Chemical Fertilisers
Chemical fertilisers (also called inorganic, synthetic, artificial, or manufactured) have been refined to extract nutrients and bind them in specific ratios with other chemical fillers. These products may be made from petroleum products, rocks, or even organic sources. Some of the chemicals may be naturally occurring, but the difference is that the nutrients in chemical fertilisers are refined to their pure state and stripped of substances that control their availability and breakdown, which rarely occurs in nature.
Advantages of Chemical Fertiliser:
- Since nutrients are available to the plants immediately, improvement occurs in days.
- They are highly analysed to produce the exact ratio of nutrients desired.
- Standardized labelling makes ratios and chemical sources easy to understand.
- They’re inexpensive.
Disadvantages of Chemical Fertiliser:
- Chemical fertilisers are primarily made from non-renewable sources, including fossil fuels.
- They grow plants but do nothing to sustain the soil. The fillers do not promote life or soil health, and even packages labelled “complete” do not include the decaying matter necessary to improve soil structure. In fact, chemical fertilisers don’t replace many trace elements that are gradually depleted by repeated crop plantings, resulting in long-term damage to the soil.
- Because the nutrients are readily available, there is a danger of over fertilisation. This not only can kill plants but upset the entire ecosystem.
- Chemical fertilisers tend to leach, or filter away from the plants, requiring additional applications.
- Repeated applications may result in a toxic build-up of chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, and uranium in the soil. These toxic chemicals can eventually make their way into your fruits and vegetables.
- Long-term use of chemical fertiliser can change the soil pH, upset beneficial microbial ecosystems, increase pests, and even contribute to the release of greenhouse gases.
Making a Choice
If you wish to live in harmony with nature and make a lasting improvement in your own patch of earth for generations to come, organic fertilisers outweigh chemicals by leaps and bounds.
Can a shot of chemical fertiliser make your containers spill over with blossoms, and give you the biggest tomatoes and greenest lawn in the neighbourhood? Absolutely. Just be sure you understand what’s really happening to the earth under your feet, so that you’ll make your choice consciously.
BioIQ was born out of an ambition to reduce the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and improve soil health, migrating farmers and agribusinesses to programs more sustainable and safer to use.
Robert Rushford and Mike Tyrrell offer a new plant nutrition solution that provides regenerative and all natural solutions for farmers, land managers [and homeowners] to improve the health of the planet through scientific innovation.
BioIQ is made for Farmers and Land Managers … A leader in fertiliser and soil conditioner technology.
BioIQ
Robert Rushford CEO BioIQ 1300 090 261
