Chapter 2
Organic Ingredients
Basic Ingredients for Organic Fertilizers
Sources and Levels of Organic Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium (NPK)
Nitrogen:
(For producing leaf growth and greener leaves) |  |
| Compost manure | 0.5 |
| Dried blood | 12-15 |
| Cottonseed meal | 7 |
| Cocoa bean and peanut shells | 1 |
| Bone meal | 4 |
| Weeds and grass clippings | 0.9 |
Phosphorus:
(For proper seed development; hastens maturity; increased seed yield and flower production; fruit and vitamin content; increased resistance to winterkill and diseases) |  |
| Phosphate rock | 30-32 |
| Bone meal | 21 |
| Dried blood | 3 |
| Cottonseed meal | 2.5 |
Potassium:
(For promoting early growth; improves stem strength and cold hardiness; better color, flavor and keeping quaility of fruits and vegitables; good for root system) |
| Potash, plant residues | 0.5 |
| Manures and compost | 2.7 |
| Granite dust | 5 |
| Greensand | 5 |
| Basalt rock; wood ashes | 7 |
| Hay | 2 |
| Leaves | 0.6 |
| Seaweed (kelp) | 5 |
Organic Amendments
ALFALFA MEAL (3N-lP-2K) Alfalfa (meal or pellets) is one of the green manure crops and contains small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, which feed the plant. However, the biggest benefit of alfalfa is from the work it does in the soil. Alfalfa contains the hormone Triacontanol, a plant growth regulator. Alfalfa meal can be top-dressed and watered in, but quicker benefits are had when alfalfa is brewed into a tea. The primary boost comes from the millions of microbes in the fermented meal that activate the soil organisms that then convert nutrients into forms available to plants. Roses love it. Only apply alfalfa to the surface—if placed in the root zone, the rapid decomposition of alfalfa will generate heat which can damage the roots.
BLOOD MEAL (12-2-1) Blood meal is a slaughter house by-product and is an excellent source of quickly-available organic nitrogen when used as a top dressing and watered in. Blood meal is completely soluble and can be mixed with water and used as a liquid fertilizer. Meal fertilizers, when not brewed, work best when they are scattered on top of the bed and watered in. Meals blended in the soil can become hot (called curing). All meals are used up fast since bacterial action works quickly.
BONE MEAL (2-12-2) Bone is used as a long-lasting source of phosphorous as well as low levels of nitrogen, potassium and calcium. The extremely slow availability of nutrients from bone meal make it a very safe fertilizer, especially when planting or potting very young or new plants.
COMPOST Compost is the decomposed, cured form of organic matter. Compost, worked into new beds or top dressed and watered into established beds, increases microorganism activity and improves soil character and moisture retention. There is some nutrient value as well. The best source for good compost is making your own.
COTTONSEED MEAL (7 2-2) Cottonseed meal is a good natural fertilizer with a high percentage of organic nitrogen—perhaps the second best source of organic nitrogen after blood meal. Cottonseed meal is easily obtained at your local feed store. The nitrogen is broken down slowly and is available to the plant over a period of time. Cottonseed meal acidifies the soil.
EARTHWORMS Worms are nature's own tillers and soil conditioners. Their main benefit is to soil structure, where their many tunnels loosen the soil, improving aeration and drainage. Worms don't make the soil healthier, but are an excellent indication of healthy soil. If your pH is way off, earthworms won't stay around; they will leave if they don't like it. Earthworms can be introduced to new beds, but will eventually find their own way to them.
FISH EMULSION (8-12-2) Fish emulsion is an all-natural organic fish fertilizer with a reputation for eliminating plant doldrums. Many exhibitors refer to it as their secret to growing show-winning blooms. When used as a liquid drench, results are quicker than with other organics. It is a low-nitrogen concentrated liquid food containing a wide range of trace elements that will green foliage, grow vigorous roots and big blooms, while also enriching the soil. It's a must for Miniatures. Its odor dissipates rapidly.
FISH MEAL (8-12-2) Fish meal is a great natural fertilizer, high in phosphorous and high in organic nitrogen. Fish meal is quick acting, offering a sustained supply of nutrients. Because it has a strong odor, don't scatter fish meal; instead, plug it in a series of holes about ten inches deep that can then be covered with about four inches of soil.
GROUND TREE BARK Ground bark is sold as a soil conditioner which improves drainage. It has good water holding capacity and eventually breaks down to humus. Tree bark reportedly has a deterrent effect against nematodes. Many rosarians like to use it in chunk form for mulch. It's use will cause a temporary drop in nitrogen levels in the soil so additional amounts of nitrogen must be added.
MANURES Manures are a good source of nutrients and organic matter. Aged horse manure can be found in this area and is preferred; it is excellent as a soil conditioner for any kind of soil or as a mulch. In addition to being an organic source of nitrogen, decomposing manures are chelating agents that function to make trace metals available to plants. Dehydrated cow manure (2-1-2), dried and pulverized, comes in fifty pound bags. It has been heat treated to kill weed seeds and is convenient, easy to apply and long-lasting. Manures may be high in salts. About half of the nutrients remaining in manures will be available each year.
MILORGANITE (6-2-0) Milorganite is 100% natural, organic heat-dried, activated sewage sludge in a fine granular form. Heat-treated for sterilization, it is inoffensive and easy to handle. It is a high nitrogen source that is also a good source for iron and other slow release trace elements. Milorganite is easy to top dress with and can be watered into beds; it also won't burn roots when used in a soil mix.
SEAWEED PRODUCTS Kelp meal (1-0-8) is a dry fertilizer made from iron seaweed and is very high in potassium and trace elements. It is an excellent source of plant hormones that stimulate plant and root growth. Liquid seaweed (4-2-3) has the same characteristics as kelp meal and is a quick boost for greening foliage. When mixed with fish emulsion, it can't be beat.
SPHAGNUM PEAT MOSS Peat moss is an excellent, long lasting, slow-decaying organic material whose greatest value is as a soil amendment promoting moisture retention and improving soil structure. Peat moss can hold water and nutrients ten to fifteen times its own weight when fully saturated and can still hold 40% air. It has little nutrient content itself, but is excellent at holding nutrients to prevent them from leaching iron from the soil. Over time, it will release them to the plant. Do not apply it to the surface. Sphagnum peat moss will repel water when dry; however, once wet and mixed with the soil, it will readily take up moisture. It increases soil acidity, so lime should be added to it at the time of application. Its good traits last about five years before it decomposes, which explains the logic of not planting a new rose in an old rose hole.
Cornmeal
Cornmeal—plain old cornmeal right out of the kitchen—has a terrific use in gardening, landscaping, and farming, even for your potted plants. It is a natural disease controller. Dr. Joe McFarland and his staff at the A&M Research Station in Stephenville discovered that something in cornmeal is effective at controlling fungal diseases on peanuts. It is also effective on brown patch in St. Augustine and on damping off in seedlings. Use it at about 20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. surface area of soil. Use cornmeal around all disease-prone plants like photinia, fruit trees, turf and seed flats. Horticultural cornmeal is even better and is available in large bags at many of the garden centers and feed stores that sell the organic products.
For a good fungal-preventive, mix a thin layer of cornmeal in with your gardening soil as you turn it for planting. It will prevent many of the damping off and other fungal problems in your garden—flower or vegetable.
Cornmeal for Disease & Algae Control
Do you have yellow leaves on your photinia, brown patch in your St. Augustine grass, or algae in your pond or water feature? You don't have to use toxic chemicals like the synthetic fungicides or heavy metal products like copper sulfate. There's a terrific solution to these problems that is totally natural. Cornmeal—and it's now available from the garden centers and feed stores in 25 pound bags. Cornmeal controls diseases better than any of the toxic chemical pesticides.
DISEASE CONTROL - Use cornmeal for root or soil-borne fungus problems at 10-20 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. Cornmeal works as a disease fighter in the soil by providing and stimulating existing beneficial microorganisms that feed on pathogens such as rhizoctonia, better known as brown patch in St. Augustine. Cornmeal at about 2 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. also works on seedlings to prevent damping off or any other soil-borne fungal diseases on both food and ornamental crops. One application may be all that is needed, but multiple applications are okay if necessary because cornmeal serves as a mild organic fertilizer and soil builder. The cornmeal needs moisture to activate. Rain won't hurt cornmeal's efficacy because, like all organic products, it is not water-soluble.
ALGAE CONTROL - For floating, paint-like, and filamentous algae in water, use cornmeal at 5 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. or 150-200 lbs. per acre. The cellulose in the cornmeal helps to tie up the excess phosphorous in water, balances the water chemistry and thus kills off the algae. The organic carbon in the cornmeal enables the beneficial bacteria in the water to flourish at the expense of the algae. Then the decomposing algae provide a source of carbon for the bacteria. One or two treatments are usually enough to control the algae for several months.
Caution: any fast algae kill from any product can cause an oxygen deprivation and result in fish kill.
Corn Gluten Meal: Good News for Gardeners
One of the most important breakthroughs in organic lawn care has its roots in a fortunate accident by Iowa State University researcher Nick Christians. The natural herbicide that resulted from Christians' research (made from corn gluten meal) is now patented, and is licensed to 15 distributors for use in turf and home gardens.
Christians discovered corn gluten meal's herbicidal activities more than a decade ago while using leftover cornmeal to grow a pathogen found on golf course turf. While the experiment was a "failure" for its original intent, Christians found that the protein part of the corn—corn gluten meal (CGM), a corn milling byproduct—could inhibit root growth. He also discovered that the corn gluten meal contains 10% nitrogen by weight, thus making it an ideal "weed and feed" product.
CGM is labeled for use on turf, field crops, and home gardens. Among the weeds controlled with pre-emergent application of the product are crabgrass, dandelions, smart weed, redroot pigweed, purslane, lambsquarters, foxtail, and barnyard grass. Both powder and pelleted formulations are available—Christians says research shows that both forms are comparable in effectiveness.
Christians is now looking at the effect of corn gluten meal on garden seeds. While the research is still in the early phase, initial indications are that deep-seeded species such as beans and peas as well as radishes fare very well with CGM. However, shallow-seeded species such as carrots and lettuce seem to incur damage. Most labels call for the herbicide to be applied pre-emergent in the spring and fall. Is CGM suitable for your garden? Christians says the best approach is to first try the product on a small area of your yard or garden.
In turf situations, the CGM is often applied at 20 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft.; in garden situations, the rate may vary from 20 to 60 lbs. per 1000 sq. ft. Garden seed can be sown slightly deeper than usual and CGM broadcast uniformly over the area and lightly raked into the surface, then watered in well. The CGM then inhibits growth of the weed seedlings' root tips.
Potential problems with CGM stem from the fact that extensive moisture and microbial soil activity can reduce its effectiveness. The other drawback is the higher cost of CGM as compared with other weed and feed products. For instance, one catalog offers a bag of CGM treating 5,000 sq. ft. of lawn for $43; a conventional weed and feed product with a 27-3-6 analysis costs $15.00 to treat the same area. However, many consumers seem willing to pay the higher price because of its nontoxic nature.
Epsom Salts
Epsom Salts are simply superb for everything in your yard-trees, shrubs, flowers, and especially your lawn. Epsom Salts contain 16% magnesium and 22% sulfur to deepen the color, promote new growth, and even help strengthen stems and roots. It'll really pump your plants up! Simply work it into the soil before planting, or add a pinch to the hole at planting time. There's no doubt about it: for deep-down green, Epsom Salts work really keen!
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