Organic Fertilizers

     According to the "Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening," published in December 1972 by the staff of Organic Gardening and Farming Magazine (editor J.I. Rodale), each of your flowers and vegetables need specific nutrients. Below is the list of plants included in the book.

Vegetables

Vegetable

Amt. Needed
Per 100 Sq. Feet

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potash

Notes
Artichokes 3 lbs. 2 4 2  
Asparagus 3.5 lbs. 1 5 5  
Beans 3 lbs. 2 4 5  
Beets 5 lbs. 3 6 2 1/2  
Beets 6 lbs. 2 1/2 5 5  
Cabbage 8 lbs. 2 1/2 5 2 1/2  
Carrots 7 lbs. 2 1/2 6 6  
Cauliflower 7 lbs. 3 4 3  
Celery 7 lbs. 3 4 3 Also 100 lbs. of rotten manure, leaf mold and wood ashes
Corn 3 lbs. 2 1/2 5 5 And 7 1/2 lbs. of wood ashes.
Kale 7 lbs. 3 4 3  
Lettuce 5 lbs. 2 1/2 6 6  
Onions 4 lbs. 2 1/2 5 5 Add 2 lbs. of rotted manure, and a sprinkling of wood ashes.
Parsley 5 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2  
Peas 3 lbs. 2 4 2  
Peppers 4 lbs. 0 6 6  
Potatoes Sandy soils: 4 lbs. 2 1/2 5 5  
Potatoes Heavy soils: 5 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2  
Radishes 6 lbs. 3 7 5 And 120 lbs. of rotted manure.
Spinach 2 1/2 lbs. 3 7 5 And 120 lbs. of rotted manure.
Sweet Potatoes 3 lbs. 2 4 5  
Tomatoes 7 lbs. 4 6 6  
Tomatoes 9 lbs. 2 1/2 5 5  
Turnips 3 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2  

Flowers

Flower

Amt. Needed
Per 100 Sq. Feet

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potash

Notes
Anemone         Mulch with peat, leaf mold or hay.
Annuals 4-6 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2  
Asters When planting: 6 lbs. 2 5 2 Double the quantity for poor soil.
Begonias         Use small amounts of cottonseed, fish or bone meal. Avoid too much nitrogen. Never cultivate. Use mulch.
Bulbs         When planting use 2 bushels of peat per 100 sq. feet.
Camellias         Small amounts of rotted manure, cottonseed meal or rotted manure. Don't use blood or fish meal.
Carnations         When planting use rotted cow manure or peat. When beginning to bloom add 2 lbs. sheep manure and 2 1/2 lbs. wood ashes per sq. yard.
Chrysanthemums 4 lbs. 2 5 2 Use rotted manure, compost or bone meal, or formula at left. Mulch.
Clematis         Use 2 lbs. bone meal and some well-rotted manure.
Daffodils         When planting use 3-8 inches of rotted manure.
Dahlias         When planting use a 2 inch layer of rotted manure, a handful of bone meal. If possible, grow a legume cover crop the previous year. Later, fertilize with 5 lbs. of bone meal and 10 lbs. glauconite marl (or 5 lbs. of wood ashes).
Delphiniums         Not much fertilizer needed. Use a 3 inch layer of rotted manure and add 1 1/2 lbs. bone meal per 100 sq. feet.
Fuchsias         Mulch with leaf mold.
Gardenias         Use rotted manure on very acid soil, and peat or leaf mold on slightly acid soil.
Geraniums         Use a sprinkling of wood ashes. Manure water can be used but avoid peat (too acidic).
Gladiolas 10 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2 Grow a cover crop of rye or vetch, fertilized with 4 lbs. of rock phosphate and 1 lb. of wood ashes. Then at least 4-5 weeks before planting, turn the cover crop under, then add formula on the left. Mulch.
Irises         Little fertilizer needed. If soil is poor, use small amounts of phosphate rock, bone meal or wood ashes. Avoid nitrogen and manures.
Lilies         On highly alkaline soil use peat moss or leaf mold. Treat ground with 6 lbs. of glauconite marl per 100 sq. feet.
Narcissus 8-10 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2 When planting use 3 inchces of well rotted manure and formula on the left. Use liquid cow manure during growing season.
Pansies         Before growing use a cover crop of clover or peas. Also 5 lbs. of phosphate rock, 2 lbs. of oyster shell dust and a sprinkling of blood meal per 100 sq. feet. Mulch.
Peonies 8 lbs. 2 1/2 5 1/2 2 1/2 When planting use 3 inches of rotted manure and a sprinkling of bone meal in the planting hole. Manure should not touch the crowns. In the fall, use well rotted manure and the formula on the left.
Phlox         Use a 3 inch layer of manure several weeks before planting.
Primroses         Fairly rich soil is needed. When planting use a 3:1 mixture of peat and dried cow manure. Mulch in dry climates especially.
Roses 4 lbs. 6 8 3 In early spring or late fall apply 5 bushels of cow manure. Mulch. Bone meal is good on acid soils.
Snapdragons         Use plenty of rotted manure or leaf mold. When starting to bloom, use liquid manure.
Sweet Peas         Use 3-4 inches of rotted manure. Bone meal can be used at the rate of 5 lbs. per 100 sq. feet.
Tulips         When planting mix in 5 lbs. of bone meal and 5 lbs. of dried manure per 100 bulbs used. Keep nitrogen fertilizers low. Use only weak solutions of liquid manure. In the fall, double the amount of fertilizers used at planting.
Violets         Use small amounts of wood ashes.

Notes

      The combination 2-4-2 means that you use 2% nitrogen, 4% phosphorus and 2% potash. To mix an organic NPK formula: to make up a 2-4-2 mixture the proportions are one part bone meal, one part leather dust and three parts granite dust. If you want 5 lbs. of it, weigh out and combine 1 lb. of bone meal, 1 lb. of leather dust and 3 lbs. of granite dust.

      Don't worry about getting the exact composition correct when mixing organic fertilizers. Don't hesitate to substitute cottonseed meal with blood meal. The list of organic fertilizers is by no means exhaustive. Here are some examples.

Percentage Composition of Various Materials
For use in calculating your own formulas.
 

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potash
Activated sludge 5.00 3.00 ...
Alfalfa hay 2.45 .50 2.10
Apple leaves 1.00 .15 .35
Bloodmeal 15.00 1.30 .70
Bonemeal 4.00 21.00 .20
Brewer's grains (wet) .90 .50 .05
Cattle manure (fresh) .29 .17 .35
Castor pomace 5.50 1.50 1.25
Cocoa shell dust 1.04 1.29 2.71
Coffee grounds (dried) 1.99 .36 .67
Corn stalks .75 .40 .90
Cottonseed 3.15 1.25 1.15
Cottonseed meal 7.00 2.50 1.50
Dried blood 12.00-15.00 3.00 ...
Fish scrap (red snapper) 7.76 13.00 3.80
Greensand ... 1.50 5.00
Hen manure (fresh) 1.63 1.54 .85
Hoofmeal and horn dust 12.50 1.75 ...
Incinerator ash .24 5.15 2.33
Oak leaves .80 .35 .15
Peach leaves .90 .15 .60
Red clover .55 .13 .50
Seaweed 1.68 .75 5.00
Sheep manure (fresh) .55 .31 .15
Swine manure (fresh) .60 .41 .13
Tankage 6.00 8.00 ...
Tobacco stems 2.00 ... 7.00
Wood ashes ... 1.50 7.00
Examples

0-6-6

1 part phosphate rock
3 parts greensand
2 parts wood ashes
2-3 1/2-2 1/2 1 part bone meal
3 parts alfalfa hay
2 parts greensand
2-4-2 4 parts coffee grounds
1 part bone meal
1 part wood ashes
2-4-2 (alternate) 1 part bone meal
1 part leather dust
3 parts granite dust
2-5-3 3 parts greensand
2 parts seaweed
1 part dried blood
2 parts phosphate rock
3-7-5 1 part dried blood
1 part phosphate rock
3 parts wood ashes
6-8-3 2 parts fish scrap
2 parts dried blood
1 part cottonseed meal
1 part wood ashes
1 part phosphate rock
1 part granite dust

Nutrient Content of Popular Leaf Varieties

 

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potash

 Calcium Magnesium Ash pH
Balsam fir 1.25 .09 .12 1.12 .16 3.08 5.50
Red maple .52 .09 .40 1.29 .40 10.97 4.70
Sugar maple .67 .11 .75 1.81 .24 11.85 4.30
American beech .67 .10 .65 .99 .22 7.37 5.08
White ash .63 .15 .54 2.37 .27 10.26 6.80
White oak .65 .13 .52 1.36 .24 5.71 4.40
Eastern hemlock 1.05 .07 .27 .68 .14 --- 5.50

Date created: 18 Mar 2008.