Organic vs Natural Fertilizer
Lawn care is one of the easiest ways to “go green” and you won’t have to pay more or sacrifice quality by going the organic route. In fact, organically treated lawns look better than their chemically slathered counterparts if cared for properly. Folks, you should be excited about this! Organic lawn care is the ultimate in balanced green living!
Fertilizer For Nutrients
I think it’s pretty obvious that fertilizer is used to make lawns green and thick. But there is a lot more to it than just throwing down some pellets that came in a bag labeled “Step 2″ or “Step 3.”
Fertilizer is …Any of a large number of natural and synthetic materials, including manure and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compounds, spread on or worked into soil to increase its capacity to support plant growth.
It is important to keep in mind that fertilizer IS NOT plant food! Plants create their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Fertilizers (nutrients such as Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus) only serve to support this process. And, just in case you are wondering, grass is a plant!
There are 2 classifications to deal with: Natural Fertilizer and Organic Fertilizer.
Natural Fertilizers
What is Natural fertilizer? The term “Natural” refers to “Existing in or formed by Nature” or “based on the state of things in nature; constituted by nature”
So let me ask you folks, is everything in nature safe to put on your lawn? Crude oil is found naturally in Texas, but I don’t think any of us would spread it in our front yard. In addition, do you see a difference in elements that are found naturally or made synthetically if they are chemically exact matches? Phosphorus for example, is a basic element in lawn fertilizer. There are plenty of places where phosphorus is mined from a natural deposit, yet, phosphorus is also manipulated in the lab and used in your daily vitamins. Which one do you want in your stomach?
Phosphorus in its natural state is not always concentrated enough to be effective for your lawn anyway. In other words, you might have to spread 20 pounds of naturally found phosphorus on your front lawn in order to get the same results that 1 half-pound of synthetic will get for you. Which is better for the environment in your opinion?
The point here is that just because something is “natural” does not mean it is automatically good for your lawn or the environment. Sometimes science improves on nature. The other thing to keep in mind is the advertising you see on TV and websites. If someone is touting their products are “all natural” or “naturally derived” they are playing on your sense of emotion. Most folks think the terms “natural” and “organic” are interchangeable… they are NOT! To sum this up: natural fertilizers are not always the best to use on your lawn.
Organic Fertilizers
What is Organic fertilizer? The term Organic means: “Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms” You can see that organic could be classified as “a step closer” to being environmentally aware in this regard. To further confuse you, some things that are organic are also natural, but not everything natural is organic! Got it? Furthermore, just because something is organic, does not give you the right to spread massive amounts of it all over everywhere without regard. Too much of a good thing ain’t always good. Rotten bananas are organic, but you wouldn’t eat 100 of them would you?
Organics for lawns can come in many forms such as blood meal, poultry waste(chicken parts and chicken poopy), manure(cow poopy), compost and fish emulsion, just to name a few. Organics are the best for your lawn, period!
The main concern that folks have with organics is that they take a while to produce results. But I have never had a problem with this.
I hope that after reading this article you have a good understanding of natural and organic lawn fertilizer because in future articles, we are going to learn exactly which ones to use and how to use them to achieve superb results!
