Best Organic Fertilizers for Gardening

If you want healthy plants that produce an abundance of produce then you will need to fertilize your garden. But don’t reach for those chemical laden fertilizers, instead use some of the best organic fertilizers for gardening!

Why you should be using organic fertilizers

What most people don’t realize is that soil is teaming with life. Worms, microorganisms, and microbes are all living underneath your feet.

This soil life helps your plants grow healthy roots, shoots, and leaves. Soil life is also very fragile and needs some TLC so you can reap the best harvest.

Synthetic fertilizers are so concentrated that they can actually kill this soil life! Think of synthetic fertilizers like steroids. They make your plants look super healthy and strong but in reality it is hurting the soil, and your plants aren’t as healthy as they seem to be.

Unlike synthetic fertilizers organic fertilizers have higher concentrations or micro-nutrients. This means healthier plants and more nutrient dense food.

Organic growing takes patience

You cannot expect organic gardening to work in a week or month or even a whole year. Most people try to grow organically and give up because they say their plants suffered. This is because you can’t simply slap a bandage on your soil and hope it heals in a day!

If you have been using synthetic fertilizers it will take time to nourish your soil life back to health. The good news is it all gets better from the first day you start using organic methods.

My garden has been completely organic (actually more like beyond organic) for over five years and I can say every year my garden gets healthier and more abundant.

Compost

Compost should be number one on every gardener’s list for fertilizers. Not only is compost chocked full of nutrients, compost is also full of soil life. After I clean my chicken coop I compost the bedding and use it in my garden.

You can put compost in holes before you plant vegetables, use it as a seed bed, or side dress your garden plants with it. Compost, like all organic fertilizers, is a slow release fertilizer which means your plants get a steady supply of nutrients instead of a quick surge.

You can get compost from farmers, your city dump, or you can make your own compost out of vegetable scraps, leaves, and chicken bedding.

Compost tea

Compost tea has all of the benefits of compost in a liquid form! Compost tea is made by “steeping” compost in water to “extract” the nutrients.

A simple way to make compost tea is to take an old pillow case, fill it with compost, and then steep it in a bucket for a few days while stirring occasionally. You can learn how to make compost tea here.

Fish Emulsions

Fish emulsions are a great organic fertilizer for your garden. These emulsions are made from the scraps of fish that are ground down into a slurry. This slurry is then filtered to take out bones and meat.

Unlike synthetic fertilizers fish emulsions will not burn your plants, plus it is a slow release fertilizer. I like to mix two tablespoons of fish emulsions with a gallon of water and foliar feed my plants.

I like to use Alaska fish emulsions for my garden because they are organic and are a great price. You can buy Alaska fish emulsions here.

The only downside with fish emulsions is the fishy smell. Be aware that it will take at least one day after spraying for the fish smell to go away.

Worm Castings

Worm castings is just a nice name for worm manure. Worms naturally eat organic matter in the soil and excrete nutrient dense manure that plants then use.

You can either make your own worm farm for worm castings or you can buy worm castings already bagged. You can also make worm casting tea if you want a foliar spray for your garden.

Bananas, Coffee, and Tea

Banana peels, spent coffee grounds, and tea are all great soil amendments. While there is debate as to whether these are truly good for the garden I believe they are for two reasons.

1. Adding organic matter is always beneficial to soil life which in turn helps plants grow better.
2. Bananas, coffee grounds, and tea leaves all have nutrients that plants need.

Organic matter (why it matters)

Organic matter is the best friend you will ever have in the garden. Organic matter holds water and nutrients in the soil so plants can easily obtain them.

Organic matter has a negative charge while soil nutrients have a positive charge. This creates a Cat ion effect where the organic matter “holds” onto soil nutrients instead of washing away in the water.

To make your fertilizers work longer and create beautiful soil you should add organic matter to your garden. The best way to do this is by mulching your garden.

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