Natural Plant Foods... .Why Espoma Plant-tone Is The Perfect Blend

Natural or "organic gardening" is a trend which began gaining popularity in the late 1960's, and is a true way of living for many gardeners today.  We now have recognized Certification Programs for produce.  Every gardening reference I have read through the years addresses natural fertilizers in a positive manner with regard to performance, though the components of such fertilizers were once thought to be cost prohibitive for food production.  Nowadays folks will spend the extra money to insure that their diet is Certified Organic (Natural).

    Today I will describe some of the more common natural fertilizers with approximate pricing.  Following these descriptions, I will describe a blend called Espoma Plant-tone containing many of these components for a balanced plant food at a much more affordable price.  Let me again caution, "organic" is defined as any compound containing carbon, be it natural or synthetic.  Rodale made a big mistake by not naming his magazine "Natural Gardening".  This is a real issue of mine - I stay up at night worrying about this misnaming sometimes.  Seriously - if your goal is natural gardening, you will need to know that there are synthetic organic fertilizers which are usually of high quality, but not considered "organic".  The major advantage to using natural fertilizers is that they contain organic matter and microbes essential to healthy plants.  An example of the importance of microbes would be the transformation of a non nitrate form of nitrogen to a nitrate form which can then be utilized by the plant.  Nitrate is nitrate, regardless of the source.

    Some natural sources of nitrogen are dried blood, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, poultry manure, fish emulsion, and nitrate of soda.  Dried blood is a source of quick acting water soluble nitrogen as well as a source of iron.  Cottonseed meal is an acidifying form of slow release nitrogen which is great for acid loving plants.  While alfalfa meal is loaded with trace elements and contains 17% protein, I've not seen it labeled for horticultural purposes as a single component, but protein contains nitrogen.  Poultry manure is a source of quick release nitrogen as well as iron. Fish emulsion is liquefied fish for a source of water soluble nitrogen.  Nitrate of soda is mined from the earth in Chile, therefore making it natural, but caution should be used as this product is very "hot" in that it is fast acting and has a high salt content.

    Rock phosphate is a mined source of phosphorus, containing 18% P2O5 (phosphoric acid), but only 2% of the P2O5 is available for use by the plant.  Bone meal contains about 10% available phosphoric acid, making it a better source than Rock Phosphate, though some folks simply prefer to have their nutrients from the Earth rather than from animals.  Eventually we all wind up back with the Earth. Synthetic Triple Super Phosphate (46% available phosphoric acid) is synthetic, but far less material is required when using this non organic product.  Regardless of the origin, phosphorus is very low in salt content, unlike nitrogen or potassium.  As a result, phosphoric acid may be applied just about any time of the year primarily for the production of flower buds.

    Sources of potash (potassium) include greensand, sulfate of potash, and wood ashes.  Greensand is mined from the shallows of the ocean and provides trace elements, 1/10th of 1% of soluble potash (K2O), and is probably most useful as a soil amendment because of its fine sand particles.  Sulfate of Potash contains 50% K2O making this product an affordable source of potash and sulfur.  Wood ashes contain potash and tend to raise the pH of your soil.  One should use caution when applying wood ashes to avoid an over elevation of your pH.  A good rule of thumb is 10 to 15 pounds of wood ashes per 1,000 square feet per year.

    Other natural additives are compost, manures, and liquid seaweed.  The compost and manures provide bulk organic matter for improved soil structure and additional microbes.  Liquid seaweed provides essential trace elements. Without use of these materials, clay soil will have terrible soil structure and limited production.

Let's do a cost analysis:
 
 

 Fertilizer analysis   2.4-0.8-0.01  or rounded to a 2-1-0

Espoma Plant-tone contains dehydrated manure, animal tankage, crab meal, cocoa meal, bone meal, dried blood, sunflower meal, kelp, greensand, rock phosphate, and Sulfate of Potash.  Roxbury prides itself on having the lowest Espoma prices around. Unfortunately, we cannot ship this product due to its bulkiness.  We charge $ 12.99 per 50 pound bag, as well as 25 pounds for $ 7.99, 10 pounds for $ 4.99, and 5 pounds for $ 3.49.
 

Cost per 100 pounds at Roxbury    $ 25.98

Fertilizer analysis is 5-3-3

This product is 100% Organic (Natural). The savings comes by allowing Espoma to do the mixing with bulk materials.  If you've been buying all of these individual components, you should consider Espoma Plant-tone as an alternative.