By Richard Wilson
What are your options with organic fertilizers? Turns out there are quite a few good ones. For the gardener new to the idea of organics, the array of options often made available can be confusing. There are dozens of organic natural fertilizers available, each with different characteristics and ease of use and not all having convenient labels with simple how-to information to go with them. Those used to exacting recipes and step-by-step measurements and instructions are often bewildered by the apparently willy-nilly “shovel it on” methods of the experienced organic gardener.
The beauty is, gardening is not an exact science where beakers of measured fluids and charts of soil characteristics and plant viability are the norm. Instead, it’s an “artful science” in which intuition and “feel” have as much to do with it as knowledge and fact. Understanding the common organic fertilizers available is as simple as knowing what organic materials each offers your soil and how “available” (easily accessed) those offerings are for plant growth.
To that end, here’s a list of common organic fertilizers and what they offer. NPK ratio or Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P), and Potash (K, potassium) percentages are by weight and “availability” is measured as immediate (fast release, available within hours), moderate (moderate release, available within a few days), and slow (slow release, available in weeks). We’ll include other notes about effects the fertilizer may have on soil pH levels (acidity) and extra “bonus” soil nutrients the type of fertilizer is known for. Your local garden centers may not have some of these organic fertilizers, so try an online retailer that specializes in organic gardening.
Don’t miss our top three favorites from this list of organic fertilizers at the end of the article!
Alfalfa meal:
2.5% N, 1% P, 1.5% K
Slow to moderate
Best known as a “hay” for animals, meal is one of the plant-based fertilizers. It is just ground up alfalfa that makes it compost faster in the soil. Best tilled in as an early spring additive, well before planting.
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Bat guano:
8% N, 6% P, 1% K
Moderate to immediate
The most common source of guano, bat guano is relatively fast in uptake and so is often used between crop rotations (mid-summer harvest / replant) or in late spring just before planting. Bird guano has higher nutrition numbers, but seabird guano is only available in a few parts of the world.
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Fish emulsion:
9% N, 0% P, 0% K
Immediate
This is a great additive when nitrogen levels are low and leafy plants need a good boost. Fish fertilizer is slightly acidic, so some plants may not tolerate it as well as others.
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Cotton seed meal:
6% N, 3% P, 1% K
Slow
A common plant fertilizer in areas where cotton is grown, this is a favored year-end, pre-winter mix. Adding it to the soil before cover crops or mulch are put on gives a rich nitrogenated soil in the spring.
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Corn gluten meal:
0.5% N, 0.5% P, 1% K
Slow
Another common late-season, winter preparation additive, corn gluten is a good soil stabilizer for winter.
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Seaweed:
1% N, 2% P, 5% K
Fast
Also a great source for zinc and iron, seaweed is one of the most beneficial organic fertilizers that is freely available on the coasts. Cereal grains and other high-potash crops can especially benefit from seaweed.
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Cow manure:
2.5% N, 1% P, 1.5% K
Moderate
Probably the most common organic fertilizer in use in the western world, cow manure is comparable to good compost in nutrient value and uptake. It may contain weed seeds, but is otherwise a gardener’s best friend. Avoid manure from dairies and other industries where the cattle receive a lot of salt.
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Chicken manure (poultry):
3.5% N, 1.5% P, 1.5% K
Fast
Another of the animal manures, poultry manure is often used in agriculture when organic growing needs a quick boost. Most often, poultry manure is added after harvest and before a second planting.
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Greensand:
1% N, 1% P, 5% K
Moderate
Literally ground up green limestone, it’s a shallow marine sediment and thus full of the richness that the lakes and oceans can offer. The amount of nutrient depends heavily on the source of the sand.
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Compost:
2% N, 1.5% P, 1.5% K
Moderate
Compost’s actual contents are highly variable and dependent on what was used to make them. Most good compost is a roughly even mix of the big three essential nutrients and can produce somewhat alkaline soil. Often added before planting, in-between plantings, or at the end of the growing season. Rough compost can also be used as a beneficial mulch. Also, try worm composting and making compost tea.
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Soybean meal:
3% N, 0.5% P, 2.5% K
Moderate
Uptake will depend heavily on conditions, but in general, soybean meal is a good additive for longer-lasting results during soil maintenance.
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Blood meal:
12% N, 1.5% P, 0.5% K
Fast
While acidic, blood meal is a very fast “booster” for nitrogen-hungry plants or plants suffering from deprivation of organic compounds. Is most often poured directly over the plant roots and then covered in mulch.
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Bone meal:
4% N, 20% P, 0% K
Moderate
This is most often used in situations with poor soil quality where the soil requires serious amendment to bring it up to par. Soils that routinely show high amounts of nitrogen or that produce nitrogen-burnt plants benefit from bone meal.
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Feather meal:
12% N, 0% P, 0% K
Moderate
Another nitrogen booster, this is most often used pre-season, before planting, to “pump up the soil” before garden plants go into it.
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Fish meal:
10% N, 5% P, 4% K
Fast
A fast uptake for a balanced boost of all nutrients is had with fish meal. There’s a reason Native Americans planted a fish at the base of their corn plants in popular legend.
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Our Top Three Picks from the List of Common Organic Fertilizers
Overwhelmed because there are too many choices? Don’t fret. We’ll narrow it down to just three good, basic choices.
1. Compost
Compost is our first pick of organic products because of the unbelievable difference it makes in overall soil health, soil structure and soil qualities. The bonus is the nutrients that are added to the soil. Also, compost is accessible to everyone. Urban gardeners can compost on their kitchen counter or put a worm bin in their entryway. If you have a small yard, there are a ton of composters available that are easy to use, and some can make their own. Gardeners have been making composters from pallets long before Pinterest came along..
Find a compost tumbler here.
2. Manure
We are going to lump cow and chicken manure together, because we love both and feel both need to be included for different reasons. Cow manure makes for a great all purpose fertilizer and is easy to mix in the top few inches of soil when planting. It is also easy to incorporate in large gardening spaces. Chicken manure gives that pop of fertilizer to the plants and is more concentrated. Small amounts of chicken manure go a long way.
Make sure you are careful when adding manureto the garden. If you age and compost cow and chicken manure on your own, be prepared for a ton of weeds. It is almost worth purchasing from a gardening store, but is easy to find. There are also organic cow manures readily available if you want to take it another step further.
3. Fish Meal
This is another one of our favorites because it is so easy to use and very versatile. Find a plant that does not respond well to fish emulsion and it may not be worth growing. This one organic fertilizer serves well in the vegetable garden and flower garden, and is just as beneficial for container plants.
Try using all three of these organic fertilizers for optimal soil and plant health! Mix compost in your soil, add manure when planting, and finish it off and maintain nutrients with fish emulsion every few weeks.
Want to learn more about different types of organic fertilizers?
Don’t miss these helpful resources for more information:
Selecting and Using Organic Fertilizers from Utah State University Cooperative Extension
Detailed List and Descriptions of Organic Fertilizers from Colorado State University Extension
