Organic nutrient manufacturers are very secretive about their recipes. This makes it very difficult to write about them except where I have seen the results. Some commercial organic nutrients have been certified by independent organic bodies. There are some products that are claimed to be organic but have not been certified. This may be simply because the manufacturer wants to keep the ingredients secret. In the cases where the nutrient is not certified you have to decide whether you trust the manufacturer. There have been cases where the producer just uses the word organic to mean that there is some part of the nutrient made from organic products with a base of chemicals.
It is a common myth that you cannot provide enough nitrogen with organic nutrients. With modern organic nutrients it is quite possible to over-fertilise with nitrogen, so always use the nutrients as recommended on the labels. Don’t assume stronger solutions are better. Too much, even of organic nitrogen, will result in weak growth that is more vulnerable to pest attack. This can provoke the production of too many leaves, few flowers and tasteless harvests.
Bio Sevia is one of the latest organic nutrients and will give excellent results surprising to those who may have tried older attempts at organic nutrients made by less technically-minded producers. I know some people who have managed to use the new Bio Sevia range in hydroponics but the technique is so intricate that it would require an article on its own. I would recommend only using organics in soil unless you want to learn degree-level hydroponics. The use of their Trichoderma fungus additive is very much recommended to drive the best results from your plant. Bio Sevia is certified organic by Qualité France.
Canna have recently revised and improved the formulae of their Bio Vega or Bio Flores. They should now give even better results than before. Simple to use they are another one part organic nutrient for use with soil. The ingredients are all plant extracts but only hops are specified on the labels. Hop waste is a very rich organic nutrient mostly obtained from the beer brewing industry. For the those who don’t know the hop, the hop vine is a massive, fast-growing plant that reaches 8 metres tall from ground level every year. The hop vine drags huge amounts of minerals through its large root system. One of the problems of growing hops is feeding them fast enough to keep up with their growth. The hop flowers contain lots of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus as well as most of the minor minerals that were present in the soil in which it was grown. Canna Bio Flores and Vega are certified organic by the official organic certification body for the Netherlands.
Another Dutch certified organic nutrient with as many satisfied growers as Canna is Bio Bizz. Although they do not reveal the ingredients they are all plant- and mineral-derived. As they a little cheaper than the Canna products they are used by the majority of organic growers whom I know. Perhaps that says more about my friends than the relative quality of the two nutrients.
An old favourite that is still used by many organically-minded gardeners is Earth Juice. The manufacturers give the ingredients on the label. So, if you want to add your own favourite additives you will know whether they are already in the mix. Because of the high content of bird and bat guano it can smell quite objectionably bad to some people. Earth Juice contains molasses so you will not need to add any carbohydrate additives like Carbo Load. Both the bloom and grow formulae contain phosphates and potash so you may not need to add them to your soil.
Most one part organic nutrients will be short of phosphorus and/or calcium as they are one part nutrients (not A & B). It is quite difficult to make calcium and phosphate soluble at the concentrations needed in a one part nutrient. This is quite easy to allow for by adding rock phosphate or bonemeal to your soil mixture. The fungi in your soil will make these available to the plant.
Local Harvest is another great organic liquid Organic nutrient that performs just like a salt/chemical based fertilizer would. Based out of Sebastopol Ca. They have a Grow and Bloom and a Calcium supplement. I have heard great things about this product.
Another way to feed your plants organically is to make your own “compost tea”. Though some of these are made from well-rotted garden compost dissolved in water there are simpler, faster methods. Garden manure will contain a large range of organisms, not just those that help your plants. It is not possible to reproduce the entire ecosystem indoors so you must select those that help. These live teas can be made from fresh plants and manures. Traditional recipes involved comfrey, nettles and other herbs rotted in water for two weeks. This produced a very stinky liquid that was very good for the plants.
Modern compost teas are made with fungal or bacterial starters Some contain both bacteria and fungi. An air pump is essential to ensure that the mixture stays oxygenated. Keeping high levels of oxygen in the tea reduces the smell to tolerable levels but it is still best to put your composting bucket in a relatively unused room. High oxygenation also benefits the better types of bacteria and fungi. Compost tea made without oxygenation could produce very high levels of the most dangerous fungi and bacteria, for you and your plants. Using Liquid Oxygen or other hydrogen peroxide solutions is not possible with compost teas as the useful organisms will die immediately they are added.
Bacteria-dominated teas should contain plenty of protein rich plant matter such as vegetable waste, especially from beans and leafy vegetables. The bacteria-dominated teas can be diluted and used as foliar sprays when plants are young.
Fungi-dominated compost teas should be given small amounts of molasses or other sugary foods to feed the fungi. Too much sugar can be detrimental producing an overgrowth of common yeast, it is best to add a little every day. Phosphates can be added by the action of the fungi or bacteria on rock phosphate or bat guano.
Compost teas must always be made with chlorine-free water. Chlorine is added to the water-supply because it kills a wide range of bacteria, fungi and other disease-causing organisms, having the same action as bleach. It will also kill your beneficial organisms. You can get rid of low levels of chlorine by leaving the water to stand overnight but to be absolutely sure use a charcoal-based water filter or Reverse Osmosis filter.
If you don’t like the idea of all this bother for your plant food, you can get the same benefits by using any of the liquid organic nutrients as a short cut. Make up the solutions in your reservoir as directed on the bottles. Add a bacterial or fungal starter. Keep the mixture heavily oxygenated by an air pump driving air through airstones. Clean the airstones regularly so they do not become blocked. Use the liquid to feed your plants whenever they need it. After a week make another batch of nutrient. If your mixture smells sweet and yummy you can keep a little of your old nutrient tea in the bottom of the reservoir to start the new batch. However, after some time you will lose some of the organisms you need and should add the starters occasionally. You do not have to wash your reservoir thoroughly, the beneficial organisms should be keeping the nasty ones in check
Thanks Urban Garden Magazine for the Article – Original Page Here
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