What are the Best Organic Fertilizers for Vegetables?
How They Are Sourced, How They Help, and What You Should Look For
- Posted: Apr 28, 2022
- Author: Nature Safe
- Crop
In 2022, organic produce is more popular than ever before. Consumers know their labels and increasingly choose organic food, especially when it comes to vegetables. According to the US Department of Agriculture, fresh fruits and vegetables have been the top selling category of organically grown food for the past three decades.
However, as farms explore organic products and processes, yield and crop health matter. Growers need to know how “organic” is more than just a label.
At Nature Safe Fertilizers, we believe that the health of any crop—organic or conventional—starts with soil health. Like all other living organisms, vegetables need proper nutrients in order to thrive.
Fertilizers supply vital nutrition in a variety of different ways, and choosing the right one can mean the difference between abundant crops and vulnerable, unhealthy ones. Read on to learn more about what goes into great organic soil food and discover some of Nature Safe's top vegetable crop formulations.
Organic Fertilizer 101
Organic fertilizer is any plant or soil supplement that is naturally sourced and produced. It is typically high in nitrogen, a key component of plant nutrition.
Organic fertilizers are typically made from:
- Feather meal
- Blood meal
- Bone meal
- Meat & Bone meal
- Manure
They are a vital component of organic farming, a thriving and steadily growing industry in the United States. As the demand for healthy, organic produce increases and consumers become more conscious of the vegetables they eat, more growers are considering the benefits of end-to-end organic agriculture.
This being said, organic fertilizer is not limited to certified organic operations. Even on conventional farms, it can have an incredible impact. High-nutrient, slow-release, soil-feeding products can increase yields and reduce disease in any type of crop.
However, not all organic fertilizers are created equal. Contrary to popular misconceptions, the word “organic” is not synonymous with primitive, raw products. While still constructed from natural sources, many of the most effective organic fertilizers are scientifically advanced products that go through rigorous testing for quality outcomes.
The best organic fertilizers feed plants while simultaneously enriching the soil.
Why Choose Organic Fertilizer for Vegetables?
There are many reasons why organic soil nutrients are a great choice for vegetable crops. The benefits fall into two main categories: plant health and the environment at large.
1. Plants Need Healthy Soil, Not Just Nutrients
Plain and simple: soil health is essential to plant health.
A common misconception about fruit and vegetable fertilizer is that it should feed the plants directly. And in fact, this is what many conventional fertilizers are designed to do. But while they may be packed with the nutrients plants need, they fail to deliver them in a way that will sustain long-term soil health.
By formulating for plants rather than the soil they grow in, non-organic fertilizers target quick yields. While this may seem like a positive goal for a single growing season, it can cause serious problems in the long term.
Instant-release, highly concentrated chemicals can burn the root systems of young plants and deplete the soil’s biodiversity.
High-quality organic fertilizer works in the opposite way. Nitrogen-rich, slow-release products feed the soil and create an ideal growing environment for strong, healthy crops—year after year.
This happens because natural fertilizer supports and feeds a diverse profile of soil biota, including:
In the right quantities, these tiny life forms are constantly at work, creating a rich habitat for healthy vegetables. In fact, they mineralize the nutrients in an organic fertilizer, which in-turn, make the nutrients available to the plant.
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Earthworms
- Mites
- & More
2. The Environmental Benefits Go (Far) Beyond Plant Health
Choosing organic fertilizer supports the environment in a myriad of ways, both locally and on a global scale. It is a regenerative farming practice that improves not only the soil but surrounding land and ecosystems.
Organic fertilizer also repurposes many organic product streams. Naturally-derived plant food often starts as food or animal by-products and manures that deliver excellent value when used as organic fertilizer inputs.
For example, on average, only 65% of beef products are actually used for human consumption. Repurposing this leftover by-products as feed or fertilizer ingredients creates a valuable contribution to both agriculture and the environment.
Ingredients such as feather, blood, meat and bone meals are also repurposed from animal agriculture. The process is another way of recycling or repurposing these ingredients, which are also used for animal feed.
Natural and Effective: Top Vegetable Fertilizer Options
All Nature Safe fortified and organic fertilizer products can be used on any crop, including:
Below are some of our major organic fertilizer varieties, formulated specifically for growing better fruit and vegetable crops. Safety and quality tested, they are an ideal match for any crop available in a wide variety of options.
Organic Dry Fertilizers
Our dry organic fertilizers are available in two basic forms: pelleted and dry flowable.
Pellet fertilizers are naturally derived from meat, bone, blood, feather meal, and sulfate of potash. They are specifically designed for professional nursery, greenhouse, and landscape applications.
Pelleted Fertilizers
Pelleted and/or crumbled fertilizers are naturally derived from feather, blood, meat & bone meals as well as sulfate of potash or sulfate of potash magnesia. They are specifically designed for commercial organic fruit and vegetable growers as well as professional turf, nursery, greenhouse, and landscape applications.
What’s In Them
Our organic pellet fertilizers can contain various targeted combinations of the following nutrients:
- Ammoniacal Nitrogen
- Water Insoluble Nitrogen
- Water Soluble Nitrogen
- Available Phosphate
- Soluble Potash
- Calcium
- Sulfur
Powder Fertilizers
Also known as water soluble, organic dry flowable fertilizers are versatile products that can be derived from a variety of different sources. Nature Safe 's dry flowable powder products are derived from either corn steep liquor or porcine blood meal, depending on the desired use and application.
What’s In Them
Depending on the product, our powder fertilizers for vegetables can include the following nutrients:
- Nitrogen (7-15%)
- Ammoniacal Nitrogen
- Other Water Soluble Nitrogen
- Available Phosphate (0-7%)
- Soluble Potash (1-7%)
- Iron
How They Help
Nature Safe’s dry flowable organic formulations provide an effective tool to spoon feed fertility by tank mixing dry-flowable organic inputs for customer directed spray applications. They feature:
- Highly concentrated soil food
- Controlled release: nutrient release curve to support plant and soil needs
- High concentration of amino acids, the building blocks for protein
- Versatility: can be used on row crops, fruit and vegetables, tree fruits, and nuts
Organic Liquid Fertilizers
Our liquid vegetable fertilizers are made primarily with corn steep liquor.
What’s In Them
Nature Safe liquid fertilizers include various combinations and concentrations of the following nutrients:
- Ammoniacal Nitrogen
- Water Soluble Nitrogen
- Available Phosphate
- Soluble Potash
How They Help
Nature Safe’s liquid products are water soluble and readily mix in water. They also feature:
- Rapid germination due to readily available nutrients
- Low salt index
- Maximizes seed germination and yield potential
- Application flexibility
- Plant based: pleasant odor
- An alternative to fish-based fertilizer
Organic Plant Food, the Foundation of Successful Vegetable Farming
Healthy soil is equally beneficial for all lawns, turf, and ornamental landscaping—but its value stands out when it comes to the plants we consume on a daily basis.
For organic growers, starting with organic fertilizer is an obvious choice. Its benefits, however, reach far beyond organic vegetable farming. Managers and buyers from conventional farms are increasingly choosing it not because it’s organic, but because it works.
How Nature Safe Can Help Your Farm Grow Better
Our mission at Nature Safe Fertilizers is to Make Good Growing Better. This means helping our customers optimize the systems and processes that already work for them.
Whether you are an organic or a conventional farm or nursery if you are seeking to grow higher quality produce, our certified organic fruit and vegetable fertilizers are available in formulas tailored to your needs. We’re here to support you as you feed your soil and experience your strongest, tastiest crops yet. Call us at 800-743-7413.
Thank you for reading our blog! Sign up and we’ll email the next one directly to you.
