Liquid Organic Fertilizers

With most of the horticulture and agriculture world now rooting for organic fertilizers, they are fast becoming the most preferred way of enriching the soil with the nutrients that plants most need. Organic fertilizers are being used by farmers for their fields, by horticulturists at the time of landscaping, even winemakers prefer using these for growing their fine grapes. Organic fertilizers are available in various forms – powder, pellets and in liquid form.

Liquid organic fertilizers are one of the safest and most effective ways in which you can supply the soil with the major nutrients that it mostly lacks – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. While chemical fertilizers tend to increase the acidity levels of the soil causing it damage over the long term, organic fertilizers not only not increase the acid content but by stimulating the growth of microbes within the soil, they help maintain long-term fertility of the soil. Organic fertilizers also help improve the soil structure so that they can assist in growing strong, healthier plants. If the soil is too sandy, adding organic fertilizers can increase the water holding and nutrient holding capacity thereby making the soil more workable.

There are two ways in which one can apply liquid fertilizers – the first is by directly spraying on the plants while the second is through application to the soil. There are advantages to both methods.

• Plants can take in nutrients faster through the stomata that are located on their leaves and stems. By directly spraying the fertilizers on the plants, these nutrients are made available more easily through the leaves and stem, and thus absorbed faster.
• The other method called the direct application or the tea application provides the same kind of nutrients with the same concentrations. However, since nitrogen and potash are not very easily absorbed from the soil by the plants, in the direct application method, the plants may tend to lose out on some important nutrients.

One can find many kinds of liquid organic fertilizers in the market today.

• The most commonly available liquid organic fertilizer is of course the fish emulsion. This is essentially made from fish parts that have been ground up and liquefied. It contains a fairly high concentration of nitrogen and other trace elements so important for the healthy growth of plants. The fish emulsion liquid organic fertilizer can be either directly applied to the soil as tea or sprayed onto the leaves of the plants.
• Earthworm castings are excellent ingredients to form liquid organic fertilizers. Earthworms and earthworm castings have been known to play an important role in making soil healthy and in providing the soil with the necessary vitamins and minerals. This has led to the development of liquid organic fertilizers based on earthworm castings.
• Guano (bird or bat manure) is another very important and powerful ingredient of liquid organic fertilizers.
• Other types of liquid organic fertilizers have been made from a combination of any of the following – fish meal, sea kelp, rock phosphate, bone ash and many other organic ingredients.