Organic Fertilizers

[Frog Valley Farm]

No news here

[Mark in Texas]

So, this thread is titled 'organic fertilizers'.  A discussion was begun addressing this subject.  It’s something that interests me.  If there is a thread that doesn’t interest me or advocated something I don’t agree with I don’t participate.
But, I feel, Mark, for some reason needed to interject with a fusillade of contrary points that included personal insults and notions of 'thought police'.
Is this Texas humor? As some have suggested.
It’s intimidating if you have to deal with this sort of thing on a forum that I have really enjoyed and have tried to set a positive example on.  Makes me feel like taking a break from the fruit forum.
Saludos
Peter

Buenas dias Peter!   Seems I missed your contributions regarding organic fertilizers...... or you here to rant and do what you've accused me of doing?   

Perhaps I can offer this group some bonafide recommendations based on my 45 years of experience.   

As mentioned I planted 2 years of farm land in legumes too, cost big bucks in hired labor and seed.



Isolated strip of hairy vetch (N fixing legume) flowering last year, 14 years after planting it.



Random Madrid yellow sweet clover (N fixing, biological "soil plow") flowering 14 years later.



Not necessarily in order of importance..... but I've used the following goodies in bulk potting mixes and veggie gardens and such:
- blood meal - nitrogen
- bone meal - phosphorous
- compost - fairly balanced regarding NPK but can be low in N
- horse manure - my fave.  Make sure you know your source as most horse grazing pastures are sprayed with broad leaf herbicides     such as picloram or dicamba which will be passed thru the animals gut
- horse nuggets aka alfalfa for the alcohol based hormone called triacantonol
- cottonseed meal

What really matters - nutrient values:
https://www.gardeningchannel.com/15-of-the-best-common-organic-fertilizers/

Now for some facts based on myth busting.   Am here to help. 

After you finish with myths regarding compost teas feel free to move on to the expose' of Biodynamics agriculture and The Myth of Organic Superiority: "Organic products are safer than chemicals".

https://puyallup.wsu.edu/lcs/

Scientific Literacy

    The Myth of Biodynamic Agriculture (pdf)
    The Myth of Companion Plantings (pdf)
    The Myth of Absolute Science (pdf)
    On Eco-Terrorism (pdf)
    The Myth of Folklore Gardening (pdf)
    The Myth of Organic Superiority (pdf)

Bueno bye

[Mark in Texas]

Thanks for that Mark!

Going to talk to wife about this.

Grow "hard".   

[johnb51]

What also really matters: healthy, fertile, living soil.  Accomplish that, and the battle, actually the war, is won.

[NateTheGreat]

Mark do your in-ground legumes get nodules? That sweet clover from the greenhouse pot didn't look like it had any. Might not actually be fixing nitrogen.

[Mark in Texas]

Mark do your in-ground legumes get nodules? That sweet clover from the greenhouse pot didn't look like it had any. Might not actually be fixing nitrogen.

Yes but they get knocked off when I pull them out.   I spent months researching, talking to university pros, to find material that will act as a "biological soil plow" to break up my clay hardpan. You may have heard of some - daikon radish, clover, vetch, etc.

Here's a sweet clover plant that I pulled up getting a bucket of washed sand.  Hunky sucker!  Half of it is missing because of the damage from the bucket.



Volunteer clover:



Down side is this clover is a magnet for mealybugs which I've been fighting for years and right now.