Organic fertilizer: properties, effects & benefits

The use of organic fertilizers is essential for sustainable gardening. We will show you the advantages of which organic fertilizers are available and how they work.

Again and again you read about organic fertilizers or see them on the shelves in the garden center. But what are these organic fertilizers all about? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using them? Here's everything you need to know about organic fertilizers to feel like a real pro in the fertilizer department.

The word “organic” has almost been a household word for a number of years. A wide variety of products are now available in organic quality: from clothing to food and furniture. In the following you will find out what constitutes an organic fertilizer and why it is not only good for your plants in the garden and on the balcony.

Organic fertilizer: composition

In principle, bio-fertilizers can consist of organic waste and / or animal excrement, i.e. rotting plant parts or animal waste. These organic fertilizers include manure, slurry or compost and sometimes substances such as horn shavings or horn meal are also mixed in. Animal ingredients in the fertilizer are not optimal for the health of your garden.

Advantages of animal-free fertilizers in organic quality are for example:

• Plant-based raw materials usually have one lower heavy metal pollution as animal residues
• Plant-based raw materials are not contaminated with animal antibiotics or hormone residues
• The risk of developing resistant bacteria in your garden or on your vegetables is minimized

To avoid these dangers and to manufacture a product where there is absolutely no ethical or environmental concerns there, we have ours Plantura fertilizer in organic quality developed. In addition, they come completely without animal raw materials and are therefore ideal for all garden and animal lovers.

The group of organic fertilizers also includes microorganisms that are applied, for example the To improve the uptake of nutrients by the plants or to reduce the decomposition of plant residues in the soil support. Such microorganisms are often referred to as effective microorganisms (EM) and can include, for example, rhizobia, azotobacter, blue-green algae or different bacteria.

Effect and benefits of organic fertilizers

Soil improvement, revitalization of the soil organisms and building up humus are at the top of the effectiveness of organic fertilizers. In addition, they naturally strengthen the plants and ensure healthy growth. However, when you use organic fertilizers, not only are you adding nutrients to your plants, you're also bringing out nourishment for vital soil organisms and microorganisms such as earthworms.

Microorganisms are important for the digestion of nutrients and often also helpful for the plant roots. The organic matter in organic fertilizers builds up humus and thus improves the water balance of the soil. A good water balance is a great advantage for us gardeners. On the one hand, our plants are well supplied with water and when it rains, our entire garden is not immediately under water. The reason for this lies in the improved soil structure; this guarantees a fertile basis for the garden plants.

If you have loamy or clayey soil in your garden, then organic fertilizers can make this soil more permeable. However, if your soil is sandy and you use organic fertilizers, you will notice a better water retention capacity after a while.

Compared to mineral fertilizers organic fertilizers release nutrients a little more slowly, but this does not have to be a disadvantage for us or our plants. A slower release brings about a long-term effect of the fertilizer and the nutrients are not so easily washed out. It is also important to mention that organic fertilizers contain the same nutrients as mineral fertilizers. They only differed in the amount of nutrients they contain.

The advantages of organic fertilizers at a glance:

• They promote humus formation
• They do not contain any chemical-synthetic substances
• They are richer in nutrients and more natural fertilizer alternatives
• They support the soil organisms
• They improve the growth of your plants
• And they also improve the soil structure in your garden

Organic fertilizer for lawn, vegetables, tomatoes and Co.

Our plants need some help and support in order to grow healthy and vital. Organic fertilizers like ours Plantura fertilizer represent an ideal source of all important nutrients and also ensure a healthy soil.

Organic fertilizer for lawns

Optimal organic lawn fertilization should start early in the year. In spring you can use a high quality soil activator like ours Plantura organic soil activator that improve the structure of the soil. This allows the grass to absorb the nutrients better over the year.

If your lawn is adequately watered and mowed regularly, you should also consider the Fertilizing your lawn respect, think highly of. To get a full and dense lawn, it is necessary to fertilize up to three times a year. You can start with the first fertilization in April and a second fertilization is recommended from the end of May. These fertilizations support a good start to the vegetation and guarantee even growth throughout the summer.
From August you can start thinking about fertilizing the autumn lawn. With the autumn lawn fertilization you can strengthen the winter hardiness of the lawn and fertilizers with long-term effects ensure a dense lawn without weeds.

For optimal fertilization throughout the garden year, you can use our Plantura Organic lawn fertilizer To fall back on. Our Plantura is recommended for lawn fertilization in autumn Organic autumn lawn fertilizer. Our Plantura Organic fertilizer are free from animal substances and their optimal nutrient composition guarantees an optimal supply of your lawn with the most important nutrients.

Organic fertilizer for vegetables

When it comes to vegetables, in particular, it is important for most of us not to use chemicals and to fertilize the plants organically. Our Plantura organic universal fertilizer provides a wide variety of vegetables, including berry bushes, with optimal nutrients. It is made from natural raw materials and does not contain any animal ingredients.

Another long-term fertilizer for your garden is sheep's wool. The advantage of this is the good water storage capacity, and it also loosens the soil. You can also easily make compost yourself from kitchen waste and plant material from the garden and use it as a high-quality organic fertilizer. Another way to fertilize vegetables of all kinds is coffee grounds, which are also particularly suitable for tomatoes. You can also biologically fertilize your vegetables in the garden with manure from different plants. Recommend themselves for this Liquid manure from nettles or field horsetail, after all, the effect has already proven itself with our grandparents. In addition, the raw materials can often already be found in our garden - often to our displeasure as weeds. All of these alternative methods can ideally be supplemented with an organic fertilizer.

Organic fertilizer for tomatoes

For organic tomato fertilization, you can use not only commercial products such as horn shavings but also manure that you have made yourself from nettles or comfrey. Your compost from your own garden is also ideal for tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum). In principle, cow and horse manure are also suitable as organic fertilizers. Since tomatoes are so-called heavy eaters, they need a lot of nutrients in order to develop optimally. We can particularly recommend ours Plantura organic tomato fertilizer.

This long-term fertilizer is made from purely vegetable substances and is organically certified. It invigorates the soil and, in addition to its optimal NPK ratio, also has extra potassium for excellent fruit quality in your tomatoes.

Homemade organic fertilizer

The most common self-made fertilizers are definitely compost, manure, manure or mulching. Farm manure, i.e. animal manure, is obtained from a wide variety of animal species. The composition is different: cattle manure, for example, has a higher nitrogen content than horse manure, but the potassium content in horse manure is higher.

The own production of liquid manure from parts of plants, which are also called herbal manure, is a very sustainable and inexpensive method for the production of fertilizers. Another advantage of such manure is not only in the plant-strengthening effect, but also in the effect against pests and fungi. Such manure, teas or broths are made from different plants and water and they should definitely be diluted before use. The following liquid manure can be used for fertilization and at the same time for plant protection:

• Field horsetail: Plant strengthening and effective against fungal diseases
• Comfrey: nitrogen-rich fertilizer that is also suitable for foliar fertilization
• Nettle: Plant strengthening and growth promotion
• Fennel: good fertilizing effect
• Chamomile: plant tonic and anti-rot
• Dandelion: high in potassium and calcium
• Yarrow: rich in potassium and silica

Another self-made organic fertilizer is compost. Each of us should have a compost, because it allows us to turn plant residues into high-quality fertilizer. Rotting decomposes plant residues in the compost and the resulting fertilizer can be used in the garden. You can compost anything, from cutting lawns to kitchen waste such as potato peels. When composting, however, make sure not to add any plant parts that are covered with pathogens to the compost. In this way, the pathogens are easily dragged throughout your garden and can spread unhindered. If you don't want to take that risk, you can use commercial organic fertilizers instead use that certainly does not contain weed seeds, pathogens or other harmful substances contain. In addition, you have the advantage of knowing exactly how many nutrients you are applying with commercial fertilizers, because the nutrient content is constant and stated on the packaging, for example with our Plantura Organic fertilizers.