Which one do you usually use on your garden? I tend to choose factory made ones because they are more convenient. I've heard people telling me that it's better to use natural ones but I thought natural ones are hard to handle. Lately, my plants are not flourishing so I wonder if I should quit using artificial fertilizers. Also, which one is more cost effective in the long run?
Organic manure is always far much better for you [since it contains no chemicals] and for the soil. Chemicals in fertilizers will affect the soil pH, destruction of helpful micro-organisms in soil and so on. Another advantage of using organic manure is that it isn't that costly. If you are doing the composting yourself, all you need to do is dump all your kitchen wastes in the compost pit and wait. Simple and cost-effective.
As Denis says, organic manure is a better choice. It can also be a lot cheaper for you if you have access to horse or cow manure and are able to transport it your place. You can also install a compost bin. I know of a guy who has a perfectly good composting system in his apartment. He keeps three bins on his balcony for all his kitchen waste. I would slowly steer away from the chemicals. You will definitely notice a difference in taste when you start using organic fertilisers.
If you are ingesting anything in your garden you are poisoning yourself with chemical fertilizers. Always go for organic, non-chemical when it comes to your food. Manure is a good source, however, instead of cow, I would suggest Chicken, because it has more bang for the buck. I have used it for the last five years and my crop loads are enormous. Compost is excellent when you are preparing the soil at the beginning of the season.
Okay, thanks for the insights. If I were to switch to organics, which kind of organic fertilizers should I use. I also see people suggest Chicken a lot because of its price. How long before replenishing after each time? I mean what's the duration between each fertilizing?
You fertilize your planting bed before you start to planting season to get the soil ready for the plants. You have want to fertilize once during the growing searson, you want to be careful of burning your plants, so you do not over fertilize the soil. Fish Emulsion is a fertilizer that can be used without concerning yourself with over fertilization.
We use natural fertilizers, manure mostly. Where we live it's cheaper and easy to come by plus it's better for the soil and the animals/insects. My grandparents have some beehives so here's another reason why we prefer all natural fertilizers. There's more work involved in spreading manure on a field than using automation for chemicals but it's so worth it in the end.
