Organic Gardening Guru|Tips For Those Growing Their Own Food Organically
Feb
05
Filed Under (Quick Gardening Tips To Make Gardening Easier) by admin
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Fertilizers - Pro’s and Con’s
The following is in no way intended to be the last word on the chemical-vs-organic debate, but rather a basic outline describing the pros and cons of each.
If you were to ask 100 people for their opinions on this subject, you might well receive a hundred different points of view. In my humble opinion, if used properly, both chemical and organic fertilizers can be safe. However, if used improperly, both can be, without question, unsafe.
Chemical
In very basic and general terms, a chemical fertilizer is a compound (collection of ingredients) that has been chemically processed or refined to increase its potency.
The introduction of chemical fertilizers in the early to mid 20th century is in many ways responsible for the massive increase in food an individual farmer can produce.
The main problem is the result of applying too much or an over-application of this class of fertilizers.
Any plant (wheat, corn, etc.), can only use so much food during its growth cycle.
What’s left over tends to travel into groundwater, streams, lakes and the ocean, due to rain or irrigation. This pollutes the natural environment and has caused a great number of problems.
More recently most farmers and fertilizer manufacturers are well aware of these problems and work hard to use this class of fertilizers responsibly.
The home gardener needs to be aware and use any chemical in a responsible manner as well. This is one instance where “too little” is much better than “too much.”
Fertilizers - Pro’s and Con’s
The following is in no way intended to be the last word on the chemical-vs-organic debate, but rather a basic outline describing the pros and cons of each.
If you were to ask 100 people for their opinions on this subject, you might well receive a hundred different points of view. In my humble opinion, if used properly, both chemical and organic fertilizers can be safe. However, if used improperly, both can be, without question, unsafe.
Chemical
In very basic and general terms, a chemical fertilizer is a compound (collection of ingredients) that has been chemically processed or refined to increase its potency.
The introduction of chemical fertilizers in the early to mid 20th century is in many ways responsible for the massive increase in food an individual farmer can produce.
The main problem is the result of applying too much or an over-application of this class of fertilizers.
Any plant (wheat, corn, etc.), can only use so much food during its growth cycle.
What’s left over tends to travel into groundwater, streams, lakes and the ocean, due to rain or irrigation. This pollutes the natural environment and has caused a great number of problems.
More recently most farmers and fertilizer manufacturers are well aware of these problems and work hard to use this class of fertilizers responsibly.
The home gardener needs to be aware and use any chemical in a responsible manner as well. This is one instance where “too little” is much better than “too much.”
