Do you use chemical fertilizers?

[Vinaya]

I use chemical fertilizers in my farm. The reason why I use chemical fertilizer in my farm is I am unable to produce enough compost for my farm land. Though organic fertilizer can be purchased, it is more expensive than the chemical fertilizer.Furthermore,when chemical fertilizer is used, yield is always better.

 

[Chuck]

Never. At first, chemical fertilizers do produce higher yields, but, over time, it takes more and more fertilizer to produce the same yield. Not only that but all chemical fertilizers leave salts which burn out the organic matter in the soil which in turn depletes the micro-organisms which enable plants to uptake nutrients. When this finally happens you end up with worn out soil. By using organic fertilizers you feed not only the soil but the plants as well. My garden has never had any chemicals of any kind applied in almost 20 years. I actually use less and less fertilizer each year and insect problems are minor to almost nonexistent. Here in the US many large commercial growers are going to a no till, organic fertilizer system. The price of chemical fertilizers fluctuate and is determined by the price of oil so when the price of oil goes up so does the price of chemicals. A couple of years ago organic pelleted fertilizer was quite a bit cheaper than chemicals.

Adding compost is great but it is very difficult if not impossible to make enough of it to supply a large area. But one doesn't actually need compost. Any organic substance will work if simply incorporated into the soil. A green manure cover crop works wonders. Many farmers around here plant their fields with it in the fall and then in the spring plow it under before planting time. This cuts down even more on fertilizer costs.

Leaching is another problem with chemicals. Chemicals do not adhere to soil like organics do. They dissolve and wash away much much easier than with organics, thus polluting ground water. Look at what is happening in Florida with all of that toxic algae they are experiencing. It is being caused by runoff of high nitrate chemical fertilizers being dumped into Lake Okeechobee and then being released into the ocean to prevent flooding. It is a major disaster and so far they haven't a clue about what to do about it.

 

[digger]

I started a vegetable garden so we could eat organic foods and that means no chemical fertilizers at all. My dad has taught us to enrich the soil naturally by mixing in dried leaves and sun-dried fish innards. I know that most vegetable vendors here sell vegetables that are treated with chemical fertilizers by commercial farms. I was shocked to learn from my cousin that some would even use urine to produce bigger vegetables. Ugh. These facts discouraged me from eating vegetables when I was younger.

 

[Corzhens]

I remember a time when my husband bought chemical fertilizer. It think it is called urea that he used for the mango tree and other small trees like lemon. But that was only once and he never used chemical fertilizers again. He said that he just tested if it is more effective. And his conclusion is organic fertilizer is much better, clean and more effective. Our main source of fertilizer is our compost bin that never run out of good soil for a potting medium aside from providing fertilizer to our garden.

 

[SydneyGee]

We try to only use the bottled/bagged organic concentrate fertilizers from natural sources. It is basically just fish meal/waste and herbivore manure mixed up. We are planning on asking the local university who has chickens if we can use their manure for fertilization as well as coffee grinds and tea leaves. I have not seen a difference in yield from years ago with a different garden we used chemical fertilizer, so might as well go organic.