~Written by Mike Darcy (all photos by Rich Baer)

Using the word "organic" in both home gardening and commercial agriculture has become commonplace. Whereas not many years ago, the organic market was quite small and had very little commercial significance, today it is has surged in popularity. Some supermarkets have just as large an organic section of produce as they do non-organic.

What does all this mean for the home gardener? So many choices and so many decisions. Many garden centers offer organic seeds, organic vegetable and herb plant starts, organic insecticides, organic fungicides, organic potting soil, and organic fertilizers. I am going to talk about two of the basics and what and why I use what I do in my own garden.

In several of the monthly newsletters I have written, I mention soil and the importance of it. Having good soil is a key to growing healthy and vigorous plants and it is something that can be controlled especially in a container or small space. For growing vegetables and herbs in a container, my choice is Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil. This product carries the OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) logo which means it has undergone a review to ensure it complies with USDA organic standards. This logo could be listed on any product that has undergone such testing. What this means to me is that I can feel confident in knowing that this product does not have artificial ingredients in it and the roots of my plants will thrive in a medium of organic richness which includes earthworm castings.

In western Oregon, Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) in usually treated as an annual. It needs high nitrogen (Black Gold Blood Meal) in early spring to encourage growth, then a general fertilizer with high phosphorus to encourage bloom (Black Gold Bone Meal)

The use of organic fertilizers can become a little more complex and the following information is what I have learned from many years of gardening, talking with other gardeners, and doing some research. In my own garden, for many reasons, I have used organic fertilizers almost exclusively for the past 10-15 years. I say "almost exclusively" because if someone gives me a sample of a non-organic fertilizer, I will generally use it rather than throw it away.

I think it is good to have a very short lesson on soil science, you can certainly do some research on your own. For any fertilizer to be considered organic/natural, it must be derived from naturally occurring ingredients or has been mined. My understanding is that regardless of the original source of the fertilizer applied to the soil, it must be broken down into its ionic form before it can be absorbed by plants. The ions which the plant is able to absorb are identical whether they originate from an organic or inorganic source. The plant cannot distinguish an organic fertilizer from an inorganic one.

So you might ask; why then should I use an organic fertilizer as compared to an inorganic one? The answer is that it all goes back to the soil and the healthiness of it. Most of the common organic fertilizer products a home gardener would use are also beneficial to the soil and many will actually enhance microbial activity within the soil which then makes the nutrients more readily available to the plant. And while I have not seen any research on this; I would think the use of energy would be much less for producing organic materials as compared to inorganic ones and there would be less pollutants.

Black Gold Blood Meal as the name implies is dried blood generally from a cattle slaughterhouse and contains more nitrogen than any other organic soil amendment. As compared to many organic fertilizers, blood meal is relatively fast acting and is a rich source of nitrogen. In addition to the nitrogen, blood meal usually contains some trace elements including iron. It is excellent for rapid stimulation of leaves and shoots.

Caption: The hardy banana (Musa basjoo) will die to the ground in temperatures below 30 but will send up 'pups' in the spring. By late summer, these pups may reach 12-15 feet. Since it is grown for foliage, it needs lots of nitrogen (Black Gold Blood Meal).

Black Gold Bone Meal is an excellent source of phosphorus which it releases slowly. It has a small amount of nitrogen but is primarily used because of the phosphorus content which is especially good when planting bulbs. Another use is with flowers and vegetables because it provides fertilizer but does not encourage rapid growth like blood meal. Phosphorus tends to help with bloom and fruit development. It also helps neutralize soil acidity and is a good fertilizer for those plants requiring less acidic conditions such as lilacs.

Black Gold Alfalfa Meal is a low analysis general fertilizer which provides a slow release of nutrients over the season. It is an all purpose fertilizer that can be used on most plants and is recommended by many rose growers. There are other 'meal' fertilizers derived from plants such as cottonseed meal, canola meal, flax meal, etc. that tend to be slow release and good general fertilizers.

In my own garden, I use a mix of three; Black Gold Blood Meal, Black Gold Bone Meal and Black Gold Alfalfa Meal . I mix this in all my newly planted containers early in the season and I mix it throughout the container along with the Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil. Since I am doing this early in the season while it is still cool, I add more than I would if it were summer as organic fertilizers tend to need warm soil to begin releasing the fertilizer elements. My ratio is about 2 parts blood meal, 1 part bone meal, and 1 part plant derived meal. For established plants in the ground, I tend to apply this once in the spring and I have found that will generally keep them happy all season.

If you're looking for something ready to use or you don't want to mix your own fertilizer, Black Gold has a large variety or natural and organic fertilizer blends designed for many specific gardening projects. I suggest you go the Black Gold Fertilizer Product Page.

Try not to be intimated by the many choices of fertilizers available. Ask your local garden center for recommendations and check with gardening neighbors. Know your plant and what kind of performance you expect from it and this will then serve as a guide as to what kind of fertilizer you need. For example, if you have hanging baskets of fuchsias, since fuchsias bloom on new growth, you will want to encourage as much new growth as possible throughout the season.

Sometimes we tend to make gardening more complicated than it is and one of the purposes of gardening is to relax and enjoy it.

About Mike Darcy

It might be helpful to know a little bit about me so here is a brief summary. I live and garden in a suburb of Portland, Oregon and have lived here since 1969.

I grew in up Tucson, Arizona where I worked at a small retail nursery during my high school and college years. My ‘formal’ education was from the University of Arizona where I received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Horticulture. I use the word ‘formal’ because while the classes were valuable, I greatly value the experience I have gotten ‘in the field’. It is hard to beat the ‘hands on’ experience of actually gardening, visiting gardens, and sharing information with other gardeners. 

I have been involved with some aspect of gardening throughout my adult life.  I have done television gardening shows in Portland and currently do a Portland garden radio talk show on Saturday mornings from 9am-noon (KXL radio) and this spring will be my 29th anniversary. 

To be connected to the gardening industry is a bonus in life.  I have found gardeners to be among the friendliest and most caring and generous people I know, and consequently many of my friends are those I have met through gardening. 

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