Keep Your Garden Healthy With These Plant-Based Fertilizers

Is gardening harder than it should be for you? Learn more about why it's important to have newer equipment to garden with.

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When my husband and I planted a garden, we realized that we were trying to make do with the same old supplies that we had used for years. Instead of planting flowers easily with hole digger or removing dandelions with a straight weed removal tool, we were trying to save money by using old, rusty, uncomfortable supplies. Fortunately, a friend of ours told us about a great garden store in town that had great prices and a helpful staff. We went, took a tour of the store, and talked with a salesperson about what we needed. Having the right tools made a huge difference. Check out this blog to educate yourself on garden equipment.

Keep Your Garden Healthy With These Plant-Based Fertilizers

6 June 2016
 Categories:
, Blog


When you are growing your garden, whether you are trying to get beautiful rose bushes are planting crops, it helps to stay away from chemicals. Traditional fertilizers contain a lot of chemicals that can be poisonous to certain plants as well as any friendly creatures that want to visit your yard. Instead of doing damage to the Earth, try organic fertilizers. There are many plant-based ones that are cost-effective and provide the necessary nutrients to your plants.

Cottonseed Meal

Cottonseed meal is a very popular option when you are looking for a plant-based fertilizer. Cottonseed meal comes from cotton manufacturing as a byproduct of the process. Some of the nutrients it can provide to your plants include phosphorous, potash, and nitrogen, which plants need to grow healthy. It is completely safe to use on all your plants, though it is especially good for plants that like to have more acid in their fertilizer. This includes turf grass, vegetables, shrubs, roses, and azaleas.

Kelp Seaweed

Kelp seaweed is a plant-based fertilizer that comes from marine algae. It is especially important for fruit and vegetable growth, though can also be used on plants and shrubs as well. With kelp seaweed, you get a lot of micronutrients and macronutrients, such as potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorous. There are also lots more vitamins and minerals in kelp that can be transferred to your plants to keep them healthy. There are different forms of kelp seaweed, depending on how you want to use it. You can find it in a liquid form, dried form, or extract, such as kelp meal.

Green Manure

Instead of the manure coming from cattle and other animals, green manure actually comes from the very plants that are in your yard or garden. This is often the plant-based nutrient of choice by farmers since they already have plenty of plants to get green manure from. When you have a green manure crop, you simply cut it off and plow into the soil or just leave it in the ground where it is to provide nutrients to nearby plants. You can speak to a landscaping professional to learn about exactly what plants can be used for green manure or get these crops from a local nursery. Some common ones include alfalfa, clover, and winter wheat.

Molasses

Believe it or not, molasses, which is a byproduct of sugar manufacturing, can also be used as a plant-based fertilizer. The sugar in molasses can provide nutrients to your plants to help them grow without using chemical-ridden fertilizers. The molasses comes from sugar beets or sugar cane, so if you grow these, you already have it naturally in your yard.

For organic plant nutrients, contact a business such as Toledo Indoor Garden.