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Vegetable and flower gardens need fertilizer to add key nutrients to the soil to thrive. It’s important to consider using the best organic garden fertilizer you can find that naturally promotes healthy growth for your garden without introducing synthetic chemicals to your soil.
While traditional fertilizers may get plants to grow faster, they also have the potential to damage the environment and pose a risk to the well-being of anyone who eats your plants. Traditional fertilizers are usually composed of synthetic chemicals like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that can be harmful if ingested.
Organic garden fertilizers, on the other hand, can be an eco-friendly and safer alternative for both your plants and the environment.
What’s the Problem With Synthetic Fertilizers?
When synthetic fertilizers are used in vegetable gardens, there is a risk that they can be absorbed by the vegetables and become part of the food we eat. This is a concern since many synthetic fertilizers contain harmful chemicals like heavy metals, which can accumulate in the soil and be taken up by the plants. These chemicals can then enter our bodies when we consume the vegetables.
Synthetic fertilizers can also cause soil degradation over time. These fertilizers increase the soil’s acidity levels, which damages soil structure, making it harder for plants to absorb nutrients. As a result, the soil becomes less fertile over time, making it harder to grow healthy vegetables in the future.
Synthetic fertilizer can also burn the roots of your plants, which means you won’t be able to eat those juicy tomatoes you’ve been waiting all summer for.
The use of synthetic fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphate can even lead to higher toxicity levels in groundwater, causing water pollution. As these fertilizers reach streams, rivers, and lakes, they can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems.
What Kinds of Organic Fertilizers Are Better for the Environment?
There are several types of organic fertilizers that are better for human health and the environment compared to synthetic fertilizers. Here are some examples:
- Compost: Composting is the process of breaking down organic matter, such as food scraps, yard waste, and leaves, into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. It makes an excellent organic fertilizer that can improve soil structure, retain moisture, and provide essential nutrients to plants. It is also eco-friendly because it reduces waste.
- Manure: Animal manure, such as cow, horse, or chicken manure, is a rich source of organic matter and nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. However, you need to make sure it’s been aged or composted before use to avoid the risk of pathogens and weed seeds.
- Fish Emulsion: Fish emulsion is a liquid fertilizer made from fish byproducts that’s high in nitrogen and other nutrients. It is an excellent source of micronutrients, like iron and zinc, that are key for plant growth.
- Green Manure: Green manure is a cover crop that is grown and then tilled back into the soil to improve soil structure and add nutrients. Examples of green manure crops include clover, alfalfa, and rye.
- Seaweed fertilizer is a mineral and nutrient-rich organic fertilizer that stimulates root growth, improves soil fertility, and enhances resistance to environmental stresses. Seaweed is an environmentally friendly option that can be harvested sustainably and does not contain harmful chemicals.
- Worm castings, also known as vermicompost, are a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer that provides several benefits to your garden. They are created by earthworms digesting organic matter (yes, we’re talking about worm poop, y’all!), and the resulting fertilizer is a highly fertile soil amendment that improves soil structure, promotes root growth, and enhances plant health.
These types of organic fertilizer are generally safer and more sustainable than synthetic fertilizers.
9 Best Organic Fertilizer for Vegetables
Here are some of the best organic fertilizer brands for vegetable gardens that you can order online or pick up from your local garden center.
1. Neptune’s Harvest Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer
Neptune’s Harvest fish and seaweed fertilizer is an organic fertilizer that combines two powerful ingredients – fish and seaweed – to provide a range of essential nutrients for plants. The fish emulsion is a natural source of minerals like nitrogen and potassium, while the seaweed extract promotes plant growth and development. The fertilizer is easy to apply, and its nutrient-rich composition can help improve the quality of your garden soil quality as well as boost your veggies’ growth.
2. Espoma Organic Garden-Tone
Garden-Tone is designed to provide plants with the essential nutrients they need to thrive, including nitrogen and potassium. It’s made from natural and sustainable ingredients, including bone meal, poultry manure, feather meal, and alfalfa meal, which are slow-release and gentle on plants. Garden-Tone can improve your soil and stimulate your plants’ roots to grow faster, making it a great choice for organic gardeners.
3. Dr. Earth Organic Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer
Dr. Earth Organic Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer is an organic fertilizer made from a blend of natural and sustainable ingredients, including fish bone meal, alfalfa meal, feather meal, and kelp meal that provide essential nutrients for veggie growth. This fertilizer is also enriched with probiotics, which can help improve your soil’s health and promote beneficial microbial activity.
4. Jobe’s Organic Vegetable & Tomato Fertilizer
Jobe’s Organic Vegetable & Tomato Fertilizer is formulated specifically for helping vegetables and tomatoes grow. It’s made out of bone meal, poultry manure, and sulfate of potash and enriched with Jobe’s Biozome, a blend of microorganisms that can help improve soil quality, enhance nutrient uptake, and increase resistance to things like heat and drought.
5. Down to Earth Organic Vegetable Garden Fertilizer
Down to Earth Organic Vegetable Garden Fertilizer is specifically created for use on vegetable gardens. It’s made out of feather meal, fish bone meal, and alfalfa meal, which together provide the nutrients your fruits and veggies need to grow. The fertilizer is designed to release nutrients slowly, providing a consistent source of nutrition for plants over time.
6. GS Plant Foods Organic Liquid Kelp
GS Plant Foods Organic Liquid Kelp is made from the seaweed Ascophyllum Nodosum, which is rich in nutrient and minerals and great at improving plant root growth. This fertilizer can be applied by mixing it with water and spraying it on your garden veggies with a hose or hand sprayer.
You can use liquid kelp fertilizer on a wide range of plants, including vegetables, fruits, flowers, and lawns.
7. Sustane Naturally All Purpose Plant Food
Sustane Naturally All Purpose Plant Food is made from composted turkey litter and other natural ingredients. It’s designed to provide a balanced blend of nutrients that increase plant growth and make soil more nutrient-rich.
Sustane’s plant food helps improve soil structure, stimulate microbial activity, and increase soil’s water-holding capacity. It’s easy to apply and can be used on a wide range of plants, including vegetables, fruits, flowers, and lawns.
8. Wiggle Worm Soil Builder Pure Worm Castings
This organic fertilizer is made from pure earthworm castings (again, yes, it’s worm poop!) that are rich in nutrients and beneficial microorganisms. This fertilizer is easy to use and can be added to soil or used as a top dressing for plants. It can help improve soil and stimulate the root growth of your garden fruits and veggies.
9. Charlie’s Compost
Charlie’s Compost is an organic fertilizer made from a blend of vegetarian and antibiotic-free chicken manure, bio char, organic grasses, and residue from organic crop production. The compost is rich in organic matter and essential nutrients that improve soil, enhance fruit and veggie growth, and increase microbial activity within the soil. You can add this compost to the soil or use it as a top dressing for plants.
Greener Gardening Through Organic Fertilizers
If you’re growing an organic garden, and especially if you plan on eating those delicious veggies you’re producing, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the best organic fertilizer for vegetables. Your fertilizer should come from organic products such as manure, seaweed, fish, compost, of worm castings that deliver the nutrients your plants need to grow and keep the soil rich and healthy for future growth.
We hope these organic fertilizers help you grow big, juicy tomatoes and delicious zukes and cukes all season long!
If you are in the market for an organic lawn fertilizer, check out our guide to help you pick the best one for your yard.
