Fertilizer: Organic vs Synthetic. Or… Both?
First things first; what is an organic fertilizer, what is a synthetic fertilizer, and what are the key differences?
An organic fertilizer is one which is derived from organic sources, so they obtain their nutrients from natural sources such as organic waste, microbes, seaweed, and other similar materials. An organic fertilizer works by feeding the soil. Basically, it adds organic material to the soil to make the soil nutrient rich and makes the nutrients within the soil bioavailable to the grass. It can sound surprising, but your soil could easily have more than enough nutrients for your grass, but if the structure isn’t right then the grass and its roots won’t be able to access the nutrients. Due to the plant being fed indirectly, it has a slower mode of action, but will last a longer time.
Richard Branson has a famous quote:
“Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business.”
Well, I’ve altered his quote a little bit to help explain how effective organic fertilizers can be:
“Take care of your soil and it will take care of your grass.”
A little silly, but hopefully you get the point. Basically, ensuring the soil is healthy is an incredibly important part of having a healthy, safe, and green lawn.
Synthetic fertilizers, on the otherhand, are chemically manufactured from inorganic waste materials, minerals, and gasses from the air. Their main mode of action is to directly feed the plant, so the nutrients go straight into the root system while not affecting the soil. This is why synthetics are fast acting, but also don’t last as long. The other main benefit of synthetics is that you have more control over exactly what nutrients you are outting down. For example, if our lawn is potassium deficient, it’s really easy just to mix in more potassium. It’s not quite as easy with organics, you definitely have some control, but nowhere near as much.
So, you should be able to see the pros and cons of both. The program that we have chosen to implement at Intelligent Lawn Solutions is a combination of both organic and synthetic. Depending on the time of the year and needs of that particular lawn, both types of fertilizers have their place and, if used properly and timed correctly, they will be able feed both the soil and the plant resulting in a healthy, safe, and great looking lawn.
To note: it was important to me to ensure that with this program I have built, to ensure that all 3 granular applications are organic fertilizers. Granular fertilizers consist of small pellets that get thrown all over your lawn and beyond. Synthetic fertilizers are generally not safe for (in no particular order) the environment, children, or pets and require you to stay off the lawn for 24 hours. Organic, however, are safe and allow more peace of mind for the home owner.
Our combination program and why we chose each fertilizer:
The organic fertilizer we chose to start the season off with in the spring is a perfect “wake up call” for your yard, which will also set it up for the summer. It is an organic granular fertilizer that is derived from an egg layer compost and will provide a lot of great nutrients and minerals for your soil. This organic will help your soil increase not only its water holding capacity (increase drought tolerance), but also increase its nutrient holding capacity. It also has a small percentage of quick release nitrogen, just enough to kickstart your grass when it needs it. Due to this fertilizer providing so many beneficial organic nutrients, we also apply this mid-summer as well.
Our second stop at your lawn will be a liquid application (and the same (or very similar) application will go down 4 times throughout the summer), and it will be quite the blend. This is when the combination of synthetic and organic begins. Like I said, they all have their place. Our organics in the liquid applications are humic acid and seakelp.
Humic acid - contrary to what you might think when you see the word “acid”, this is 100% organic. It is an acid in the same way orange juice is - it has a pH lower than 7. 6 to be precise. Which is perfect for the Canmore and Bow Valley region as we naturally have slightly alkaline soils. The main reason we love humic acid though - it improves the efficiency in which plants utilize nutrients from the soil. This is hugely important and allows us to reduce the overall fertilizer inputs into your lawn. There is no point in saturating your lawn with nutrients if they aren’t actually available to your grass.
Seakelp - another important organic application that I couldn’t imagine not offering. The primary benefit of this organic is that it increases root growth within your turf. Increased root growth has a huge amount of benefits to your lawn:
Increased drought tolerance (roots are deeper so can access moisture further down)
Improved winter tolerance - your grass stays alive throughout the winter thanks to its roots. They store carbohydrates and this is what feeds the plant while it is dormant. Basically, longer roots = more carbohydrates = better chance of winter survival.
Will have a better rate of nutrient uptake seeing as the roots take in all the nutrients
On top of these organics, this is where we add in a couple of synthetic fertilizers. One is high in nitrogen so we can see some growth and that nice green colour that your lawn should be. The second is has iron and a lot of micronutrients. The combination with the organics, will provide a balanced and healthy lawn.
The final application of the year will be the third granular application which will be a fall fertilizer. A fall fertilizer will consist of higher phosphorus and potassium. The 3 number on a fertilizer bag are nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, and these are known as the macronutrients. Phosphorus helps with rooting for the winter and potassium helps with the hardiness of the plant - helps it survive these harsh Alberta winters.
The long term plan with this program is to gradually reduce the synthetic input into your lawn and increase the organic. This, in my opinion, provides the best of both worlds. We get the quick results that synthetic provide, but over time we transition into a more organic program.
I really do hope you learned something from this and I’m relieved that some of you made it to the end - I tried to balance out keeping it light while still explaining in enough detail what and why our program will be so effective on your lawn and why the balance between organic and synthetic will produce the best results.
However, if this wasn’t detailed enough and you have more questions. Please, give me a call and I will more than happily talk to you for hours about turf, fertilizers, organics, soils, whatever you want related to your lawn. Because I love it.
I’m serious - (403) 688-0346