Chemical Fertilizers

To some small extent, the garden gets its food from air. However, the amount taken in this process is so tiny that common sense will dictate not to even consider this approach at all. Basically speaking, the plants in the garden must get every food and nutrient from its soil. Thus, the soil will need to have some amendments for long-term planting benefits –the fertilizers.

There are two types of fertilizers that can be amended to the garden’s soil, organic fertilizers and inorganic fertilizers. These fertilizers both provide similar essential nutrients that plants require to grow healthily –nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Gardens must get regular amounts of the fertilizers to keep producing, as rain and wind remove lots of nutrients over time.

Chemical fertilizers

Between the two types of fertilizers, chemical fertilizers (inorganic) are perhaps the most controversial. Many consider chemical fertilizers to NOT be the proper approach for gardening as they’re not “environment” friendly for microorganisms’ population in the soil, which have the possibility to exploit plant growth.

What is a chemical fertilizer?
In general and basic terms, chemical fertilizers are compounds that have been chemically refined or processed to amplify its potency. For short, they’re synthetically manufactured plant nutrients from “inorganic materials”. And since they’re artificially made, most chemical fertilizers have acids that might be harmful to the microorganisms of the soil.

Pros And Cons Of Chemical Fertilizers

When chemical fertilizers were introduced in the early to mid-20th century, it greatly became responsible for massive food increase in what individual farmers could produce. The major problem was the result of too much application of the fertilizer. Plants can only utilize so much during its cycle of growth; the leftovers have the tendency to pollute the environment, causing problems.

Advantages
Fertilizers are designed to address the deficiency of soil nutrients, which is a very common problem among owners of home gardens. One distinctive advantage of chemical fertilizers is it contains all the three major nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Additionally, this type of fertilizer can provide plants with immediate nutrients supply when the need arise; unlike organic fertilizers that only have a slow-release capability. Chemical fertilizers also work faster and may be utilized in balance of the garden’s need. They’re also less costly than “commercial” organic fertilizers, as well as may be used in “concentrated amounts”.

Disadvantages

The main disadvantage of a chemical fertilizer is its high-acid content. Acids that are present in chemical fertilizers, such as hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, lead to the high levels of soil acidity that could in turn have a destructive effect on nitrogen-fixing bacteria –these microorganisms play a major role in the supply of nitrogen needed by growing plants.

Another disadvantage is the over-application of the fertilizer. As have been pointed out, plants only need a certain amount of nutrients that they can absorb, when chemical fertilizers are excessively use, the rest of the unused or unabsorbed ones have the tendency to travel into “groundwater” due to irrigation and rain. Thus, they become pollutants of the natural environment, like lakes, streams, and oceans, causing numerous problems.

Responsibly Using Chemical Fertilizers

Fortunately, more and more gardeners, farmers, and manufacturers of fertilizers in recent years, have become well aware of the problems caused by the overuse of this type of fertilizers, and have utilized them responsibly.

Plants definitely don’t recognize the dissimilarity between chemical and organic fertilizers. They will absorb the microscopic nutrients, despite how they’re manufactured or where they’re from. Nonetheless, with the growing environmental concerns these days, using chemical fertilizers can only be either helpful or destructive depending on the manner in which it is used. Responsibly using this class of fertilizer is the key.