Organic Fertilizer All the Rage in Canada

"Organic fertilizers are all the rage these days, and with good reason. They can provide plants with a long, slow feed, and their manufacture reuses waste products while putting less demand on natural resources.

Many gardeners, though, make the mistake of approaching the use of organic fertilizers in the same way as they might use a chemical fertilizer.

For instance, the other day a gardening expert on the radio was touting the benefits of guano, or bat droppings. He was right about guano being rich in nutrients. It has almost 20 per cent nitrogen in a form that can be taken up quickly by plants. And guano surely is natural: It's merely scooped out of caves where bats hang out, then bagged up for sale.

The problem is that guano is not much different in its effects on plants and soil from any quick-acting, chemical fertilizer. The same could be said for blood meal, poultry manure and other concentrated, quick-acting -- albeit organic -- fertilizers.

The thing missing from all chemical fertilizers and from concentrated organic fertilizers is bulky organic matter. Yes, plants benefit from bulk in their diet, just as we do."

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