With the winter snows melting away and the sun warming up the soil, we can see the life growing outside. It’s time to get out there and start our gardens off right, but what can we do to help our plants? One way to ensure that we give our little ones the best chance to succeed, is to amend the soil with great organic material. By building up a rich soil filled with organics, you will be providing all the nutrients that your plants will need for their growing season. 

One would be Bone Meal, a high phosphorus slow releasing fertilizer that also has some nitrogen and calcium. By having Steamed Bone Meal, this will make it more brittle and a faster acting fertilizer for plants to work with. When this happens the lime content of the bone meal is released. This will help reduce the soil acidity, so be careful around plants that love acidic soil. Since Bone Meal doesn’t move easily, it should be mixed in with a good airy soil or as a side dressing for established plants.

 

Another product that we recommend is Blood Meal, a fast acting, high nitrogen fertilizer that comes in a dried powder. Blood meal has one use in the garden; to help promote lush green growth. This makes it an easy fertilizer to burn plants with as well, so you will have to watch how much you do use at one time. As an added bonus, it can be used as a deer repellant. You can fill nylons with Blood Meal and hang them in places that deer like to congregate to keep them out of these areas.

Kelp Meal is a classic organic fertilizer that has been used for years. Kelp Meal is a great source of trace elements and contains 70 minerals. The vitamins, hormones, and amino acids contained in Kelp Meal also helps contribute to the soil life structure and nitrogen fixation. With all this goodness, your plants will grow strong and be more resistant to many diseases, late frosts, and droughts. All these also help out with plants that are being transplanted to help get re-established in their new environment.

For an acid loving plant, Cottonseed Meal is what you're looking for. A byproduct of oil extraction, Cottonseed Meal has a good source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, making it a great all around fertilizer. This non-burning organic is great for both new transplants and pre-existing plants. Works great for plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, blueberries, and evergreen conifers.

A slow releasing potassium fertilizer is Greensand, which comes from ancient seabed deposits. Greensand comes from an Iron silicate giving it a natural green color and contains numerous micronutrients. Since Greensand is just potassium, it is recommended that you use other amendments to help increase proper growth, but great for preparing soil for several years.

One popular fertilizer is Bat Guano that is mined from sheltered caves to keep decomposition to a minimum. Now depending upon how long the guano sits will depict what the N P K level is going to be. The Bat Guano’s nitrogen content is released in a vapor making it a great, fast acting growth enhancer for plants to feed off of. However, it can also burn the plant just as easily if too much nitrogen is used. As the Bat Guano releases the nitrogen, what is left over is a high phosphorus super bloom fertilizer that is great on all plants to help increase blooming. 

A great additive for any soil is Earthworm Castings, which is digested humus and other decomposing organic matter that leaves a rich nitrogen source and other elements. Earthworm Castings make for a good soil amendment that promotes fertility and structure that will not burn plants. It’s a heavy mix and shouldn’t be used more then at a 20% ratio to any soil, or you could inhibit root growth.

Kelp, Guano, Blood Meal and all these make for great organic fertilizers for your garden or containers. A mix and match combination of several will contribute to a good, healthy, growing garden that will be productive for this and many seasons to come.