From news broadcasts, food labels and restaurants, to your own backyard, the organic craze is spreading across the country. With increasing members of society demanding “organic”, it may be time to offer a program specifically for this growing trend. A majority of you already return clippings, use IPM techniques, fertilize with slow release nitrogen, spot treat and minimize pesticide/herbicide applications, which all describe a successful sustainable lawn care program. By offering programs that highlight organic fertilizers during spring applications, you now have the ability to take this to the next step. The following article will discuss the history of organic fertilizers and several products used in the turf industry today.
Organic amendment …show more content…
Up until the early 1600s, the principal plant nourishment was thought to be water. The soil was thought to only provide stability and media in holding up the plant. It was not until the late 1700s when air, water, earth, salts, oil, and fire in a fixed state were added to the list of “principles of vegetation”. As soil knowledge grew in the mid-1800s, so did the fertilizer industry. Around 1820, ammonium sulfate became first inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer produced and was a byproduct of soap production. A few decades later, on the same day in 1842, James Murray and John Bennet Lawes each patented the production of superphosphate. About a decade after Lawes and Murray’s discovery, the fertilizer revolution was born. However, almost a half-century later, the principal source of N was still organic materials, mainly animal manures. It was not until the mid-1900s with the development of new technologies that synthetic sources of plant food became the fertilizer of choice. The Haber-Bosch process reacted nitrogen, steam and natural gas at high …show more content…
The end-product is one the of the highest P containing organic sources. The expense of bone meal has limited its use in turf. Bone meal usually takes about 2-4 months to release the nitrogen and phosphorus. Research at Colorado State suggests that bone meal is only available to plants in soils that have a pH below 7.0 (Card et. al., 2014).
Blood meal is one of the highest N concentrations of any organic fertilizer source. It is rapidly available for plant uptake because of its high solubility. Blood meal is commonly used in other organic mixtures to give a quick plant response. The biggest drawback to blood meal products is that a large portion is composed of readily available N, causing potential burning of plant tissue and loss to the environment. Blood meal products have not been extensively used in turf due to this and its relatively high cost.
Another product that has received attention is seaweed extract or kelp. The advantage in using seaweed extracts or kelp products is the addition of several micronutrients. The biggest drawback with kelp products is the small quantities of the macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that are
Organic amendment …show more content…
Up until the early 1600s, the principal plant nourishment was thought to be water. The soil was thought to only provide stability and media in holding up the plant. It was not until the late 1700s when air, water, earth, salts, oil, and fire in a fixed state were added to the list of “principles of vegetation”. As soil knowledge grew in the mid-1800s, so did the fertilizer industry. Around 1820, ammonium sulfate became first inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer produced and was a byproduct of soap production. A few decades later, on the same day in 1842, James Murray and John Bennet Lawes each patented the production of superphosphate. About a decade after Lawes and Murray’s discovery, the fertilizer revolution was born. However, almost a half-century later, the principal source of N was still organic materials, mainly animal manures. It was not until the mid-1900s with the development of new technologies that synthetic sources of plant food became the fertilizer of choice. The Haber-Bosch process reacted nitrogen, steam and natural gas at high …show more content…
The end-product is one the of the highest P containing organic sources. The expense of bone meal has limited its use in turf. Bone meal usually takes about 2-4 months to release the nitrogen and phosphorus. Research at Colorado State suggests that bone meal is only available to plants in soils that have a pH below 7.0 (Card et. al., 2014).
Blood meal is one of the highest N concentrations of any organic fertilizer source. It is rapidly available for plant uptake because of its high solubility. Blood meal is commonly used in other organic mixtures to give a quick plant response. The biggest drawback to blood meal products is that a large portion is composed of readily available N, causing potential burning of plant tissue and loss to the environment. Blood meal products have not been extensively used in turf due to this and its relatively high cost.
Another product that has received attention is seaweed extract or kelp. The advantage in using seaweed extracts or kelp products is the addition of several micronutrients. The biggest drawback with kelp products is the small quantities of the macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that are