A beautiful, bountiful garden is everyone’s dream, of course, but it’s becoming increasingly important for us all to work with the natural landscape rather than against it, as the realities of climate change come home to bite.
Traditionally, fertilisers have been used to help encourage plant growth and yields, concentrated sources of plant nutrients in organic or chemical form, typically nitrogen (for green leafy growth), potassium (for flowering and fruiting) and phosphorus (for root and shoot growth).
However, if you want to be an eco-friendly gardener, you might want to find other ways of supporting your plants at home, since these fertilisers can cause water pollution, soil degradation, nutrient imbalances and even contribute to climate change itself, with synthetic fertiliser production an energy-intensive process that relies heavily on fossil fuels.
So what are the alternatives?
… For nitrogen
Consider looking into seaweed extract, fish emulsion, cottonseed meal and blood meal to help your plants meet their nitrogen needs. Nitrogen will help your plants grow well and will give them a lovely dark green colour.
… For phosphorus
Rock phosphate and bone meal are both great for providing plants with phosphorus, which is what you need for strong root growth and development.
…For potassium
Invest in the likes of sulphate of potash and greensand if you want to up your plants’ potassium levels and help them stave off diseases, making them hardier over time.
Basically, organic fertilisers are those that are derived from animals, minerals or plants, whereas non-organic products (synthetic) are manufactured chemically. Non-organic water-soluble products will deliver nutrients rapidly, or you can find controlled release options that work slowly over time.
In contrast, organic fertilisers take effect more slowly because the nutrients contained within have to be broken down by soil microorganisms before nutrient uptake by plants can occur.
If you’d like to find out more about eco-friendly gardening practices, get in touch with the LW Landscapes team today.