Natural fertilizers

All of us that garden know the benefit of fertilizer in building up the soil. Without it, our gardens would be pathetic.

There are many types of fertilizers, organic and chemical. It has been proven over and over that organic types are by far the best. Manures, compost, seaweed, and others.

Some, such as seaweed can be expensive. Anything that has to be trucked for any distance is going to be very costly from now on. Probably unaffordable for most of us.

Now, animal manures are probably the best all around fertilizers. But they're not easy to get if you're not close to a source such as a farm or stable.

Besides, your neighbors may have something to say about the odour. You could lose some friends too.

Using chemicals, for most of us, is just not in the best interests of the garden, and ultimately us. Is there a way that we can safely put fertilizer on our gardens and ruin our bank account, or poison us? Yep! You bet!

On any bag of fertilizer you will three sets of numbers designating the percentage of the three most needed ingredients. They list the amount of nitrogen(N), potash(P), and phosphorus(K). If you can put those three on your garden you should have decent crop.

Chemical types most generally have only those three, nothing else. But what if you could put those on but have some trace elements too? Yet not be afraid of burning the soil, harming the earthworms, or wear protective clothing that makes you look like an alien?

Well, you can! Go to a farm store and buy a bag of dehydrated alfalfa, then go to a nursery (the farm store might have this also) and buy some bone meal. Then go to your wood-burning stove and clean out all the ashes. If you don't have a stove, go to one of your friends that does get haul his ashes away. If nothing else, burn some old tree branches to get ashes. Whatever! Get some wood ashes.

Now, the alfalfa will supply the N, the ashes will supply the P, the bone-meal will supply the K. Sprinkle this where you will plant, no need to put it over the whole garden, weeds love fertilizer too. Just sprinkle it on the part where the plants will be. Work it into soil good and sprinkle it lightly.

You may have to put more on than you think. It won't hurt to cover the ground good. You will not kill anything if you get a little too much on unlike chemical types. And it certainly won't kill your gardening partners, the earthworms.

Owen Newman