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Why should we choose organic fertilizer over chemical fertilizer?

Does it matter where a plant receives it NPK?

When you view soil as a living organism, (it is and we should), you can easily see why it might matter what type of fertilizer we choose to use: Chemical fertilizers, in effect, “kill” the soil while organic fertilizers improve and sustain the soil. The following gives details of the affect chemical fertilizers have on our soil.

Soil Friability:

Chemical fertilizers destroy the friability of soil.

•  Chemical fertilizers contain acids, including sulfuric and hydrochloric acids. These acids dissolve “soil crumbs”, the material that holds rock particles together.
   
  
• When these cementing materials are destroyed, the result is a compacted surface that prevents rain water from entering the soil.

Soil Micro-Organisms:

Chemical fertilizers affect micro-organisms living in the soil.

• This acidity also adversely affects the soil ph, thereby changing the kinds of microorganisms that can live in the soil. These microorganisms are beneficial because they provide plants with natural immunity to diseases.
  
  
• Many plant diseases are prevented by these beneficial antibiotic-producing bacteria and fungi (such as mycorrhizal) that thrive around the plant root in a healthy soil.
  
  
• That is why, if we use chemical fertilizers, we must offset these harmful acidic effects by adding organic matter and lime to the soil.

Ground Water:

Chemical fertilizers leach away into our ground water without fully benefiting the plant.

• Highly soluble fertilizer dissolves into the soil quite rapidly. Since plants can only absorb a certain amount of nutrition at a time, much of the fertilizer simply leaches away.
  
  
• Not only is this leaching detrimental to our ground water, these chemicals also seep into the subsoil. There they interact with clay, forming impermeable layers called “hardpan”.
  
  
• Money is wasted, soil conditions are undermined, and plants are not nurtured.

Earthworms:

Chemical fertilizers, because of their acidity, kill the “great aerators” of the soil.

• Earthworms are extremely important to a healthy soil. They are constantly boring throughout the soil, aerating it and depositing rich castings as they consume organic matter.
   
  
• You’ll rarely, if ever, see earthworms in soil that has been treated with chemical fertilizers. Without these wonderful creatures, the soil suffers from lack of aeration and the elimination of naturally occurring fertilizers.

Plant Diseases:

Chemical fertilizers encourage plant disease.

• Fast-release chemical fertilizers have a high nitrogen content compared to slow-release organic fertilizers. When there is an overabundance of nitrogen (N) in relation to phosphate (P), plants are more susceptible to mosaic infections.
  
  
• High nitrogen, as well as a lack of trace elements, is also related to fungal and bacterial disease in plants and vegetables.

Nutrition and Flavor:

Chemical fertilizers produce fruits and vegetables with lower nutritional value and less flavor.

• Citrus grown with large amounts of soluble nitrogen has lower vitamin C than those grown with organic fertilizers. Corn grown with the soluble nitrogen of chemical fertilizers contain less protein.
   
• The lack of trace elements in chemical fertilizers not only means an increase incidence of plant diseases, but it also means there is less nutrition from the fruits and vegetables for the consumer. Trace minerals are an important component of healthy nutrition.
  
  
• Compounding the problem of  not providing trace elements, chemical fertilizers also prevent the plant from absorbing them from the soil. This lack of absorption caused by chemical fertilizers can be explained by the following chemistry lesson:
  
  
  • Minerals are transferred via “colloidal humus particles” found in healthy soil. These particles are negatively charged and attract positively charged elements, such as potassium (K), sodium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, aluminum, baron, iron, copper and other metals.
    
    
  • Large doses of sodium nitrate dumped into the soil will, over time, radically change these humus particles. The result is trace elements are crowded out because the humus particles become filled up with the excess sodium.
    
    
  • In essence, even though they may be present in the soil, these other essential minerals are unavailable to the plant.
    
    
• As for flavor, most everyone will agree there’s no comparison between the taste of fruits and vegetables grown organically and those grown chemically.
  
  
• This improved flavor is probably due to the superior nutritional content, including trace minerals, of organically grown plants.

In Summary:

Chemical fertilizers provide short term results yet, in the long term, damage the soil, ground water, and our health.

Organic fertilizers:

• Provide slow-release plant nutrients,
• Avert “run-off” and retain moisture in soil,
• Improve the condition of the soil,
• Prevent plant disease,
• Increase nutritional content in plants, and
• Produce tastier fruits and vegetables.

So, yes it does matter where plants get their nutrition. It’s a no-brainer, really.

Pure Black Castings ™:

All Natural Certified Organic Fertilizer:  Mother Nature's finest worm castings provides:

• Essential, slow-release, NPK and trace minerals for healthy plants and tasty fruits and vegetables. 
• Bio-humus (organic matter or humate) for water retention.
• Humic acid to enhance soil nutrient availability.

VermaPlex ™:

Plant pro-biotic and soil inoculant: Derived from Pure Black Castings:

• Rich in beneficial microorganisms and specially balanced humic acid and plant extracts which includes:
• Sea kelp, widely recognized as an excellent source of auxin, cytokines, and natural hormones.
• Recommended as a companion product to Pure Black Castings.

Using VermaPlex™ and Pure Black Castings™ is a sustainable method of plant care. 

Take care of the microbial biodiversity of the soil and the soil will take care of the plants.

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