Organic+Fertilizer

=Organic Fertilizer=

What is organic fertilizer?
Organic fertilizers are natural occurring substances which provide plants with necessary nutrients, and are not human-made chemicals.

What are some types of organic fertilizers?
There are many different types of organic fertilizers, including worm castings, humate, green sand, compost, manure, mulch, or even seaweed. Any natural compound which can break down into beneficial nutrients can be considered a fertilizer.

Can I buy some of these fertilizers?
Organic fertilizers can be purchased relatively inexpensively and a little can go a long way for your plants. For example, Elizabeth Anna of 2 Hands Urban Farm said, "Green sand is inexpensive and goes a long way. 40 lb. goes for $12.00, Worm castings with red wigglers can be bought for $3.50 lb. if we pick lots of worm for you it goes for $5lb. or you can buy a large bag for $24.95. Humate goes a long way, all you need is sprinkles, so you do not need much, since this is the gold for your garden. We sell this by the lb. too. ($3.50) You can spend less then $20.00 and have more then 40lbs of fertilizer." Every time you water straight from the hose, you have to think about washing away a lot of the nutrients that the plants need. If you aren't adding the fertilizer, the chlorinated city water running out of your hose is leeching away the good things in your garden bed. Also there are plenty of products that use worm castings in the fertilizer solution, just be careful what is on the label. There is a company called Terracycle that makes a plant food from worm poop that is really nice.

Can I get some of these fertilizers for free?
Yes! Listed below are some of the fertilizers you can get for free.

Mulch
We have plenty of free mulch. You should probably add some mulch for the top of your soil as the existing mulch breaks down and is absorbed by the plants. Feel free to use the wheelbarrow to cart as much mulch as you would like from the large mulch pile in the parking lot, or use some of the bags of grass and dry leaf yard waste that we have, or bring your own! This will help retain the moisture in the soil and block weeds from sprouting up.

Manure
If you are know someone with cows, horses, chickens, or turkeys, they may be willing to give you some of their manure. This is very good fertilizer, but before you use it, make sure the manure has had time to compost. Composting allows harmful bacteria to die and also kills any weed seeds that may be present. Also, using fresh manure can "burn" your plants with an overload of nitrogen. Generally, two year old manure or older should be safe, and in some cases less time is necessary. Manure from herbivores is considered best. Other types of manure can be used, but the risk of contamination is higher.

Compost
If available you can also use some of the compost that we will have alongside of our tool shed. Although we will just be starting the compost pile, as we add more leaves and yard waste, coffee grounds, kitchen waste, etc. we should eventually have some very nutrient rich compost. sprinkling some of our compost in whenever you plant new seeds or seedlings is a good idea. Check out our section on composting for more information.

Vermicompost
You can also make your own worm-compost at home. Just put your food scraps in a breathable container along with some worms, and they will steadily turn the scraps into very rich compost. Make sure to provide them with enough scraps that they don't starve, and to keep them in a temperature controlled area, and they should thrive. Look up vermicomposting for more details.