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I never used betterhelp, but as someone who is a geek/nerd feeling different is certainly something i deal with daily. Sometimes I'm OK with it and embrace it, other times it can be destructive to relationships and addictive and you have to mentally be aware of how that is....
Oh boy, I hope these comments aren't too brutal lol. You've mentioned this in other videos so last year I took your advice and used both organics and miracle grow. I had the BEST garden I've ever grown in my life. Thanks for all the great advice!
Thank you!!! My garden was much more productive when I used a hybrid system for fertilization. Both for granular and liquid...I just put about a quarter of the recommended amount for each in my water can and fed (after watering) about every week to 2 weeks depending on plant growth, temperature, etc. Manures and compost worked into all the beds ahead of time. Worked incredibly well
I stick with blood and bone meal and alfalfa pellets to set my beds up. Then free stuff like wood ash, weed tea, and compost. It's cheap and effective.
Preach!! The deeper into this rabbit hole I get, the more guilty I feel for having miracle gro crystals that need used. I can find nitrogen, no problem, but potassium is hard to come by.
@jacobclark89 I've been using potash from the firepit, wild cactus for potassium and weeds for nitrogen. If you have any suggestions on how to better utilize the nutrients that are available, I'm open to learn. I will not be purchasing anything.
I agree with all your points, Ashley! I notice the best results when using both organic + synthetic fertilizers. I love to use organics amended into my soil at planting and hit it with a synthetic water soluble fertilizer bi-monthly.
It just makes sense to use both. Synthetic is going to be immediately available but also wash away quickly. Organic is going to boost your baseline fertility and improve soil structure. Especially like in the summer when it's hot. You need to water more often, but also a compost, mulch or whatever else is going to break down and release nutrients more quickly. So at the very least you feed your organic fertilizer so it takes better advantage of that heat. I don't have a scientifically defined rate of balance here, but I assume there is a good balance. I have yet to experience fertilizer burn. But I have experienced trying to only use organic and having stunted plants. A swig of blue and they just spring to life haha. Though I do see what I think is burn from where I put my compost piles. I tend to move them around and in spots they sit a long time... stuff will not grow for like a whole year xD But epic growth on the border.... which actually gives me some ideas now 🧐
In addition to the fertilizer you put in the soil Have you tried fertilizing with a product like Alaska fish fertilizer on the leaves ? Or water soluble fish and kelp ? And adding some high phosphorus early on for good root development .
I understand where you are coming from. I however am set up with my own organic fertilizer options. If I see a plant struggling I have a brew that can correct it. No need for me to support synthetics and big ag.
Her working for the agrochemical industry pretty much tells me exactly where she stands on the issue. Won't be surprised if she starts myth-busting (aka pushing) glyphosate
I don’t worry about it. The garden gets what it needs. Your right about any of it is bad if over done. After I use up fish fertilizer I’m discontinuing it because it calls in all the nocturnal garden ruining and chicken eating animals. We are getting a lot of rain and didn’t want to use more water to fertilize so added granular and blood meal. There was a small break in rain and I did give them a quick shot of liquid N as things were looking a bit lime green. I always start the spring with higher N and switch to higher P n K when blossoms start. I’m happy and ok as I’m not striving for organic certification. I do know my food will not be recalled and it’s not sprayed.
I follow a similar pattern with my garden (although sweet corn needs a bit of extra P to start, but then N to grow tall and produce larger ears. That's based on local extension research) It's fun to see how the blooms come on stronger when going with a higher P after using a higher K to finish off the tomatoes.
@@andersjohansson6118 yes, this year we used fertilizer from the farm and the corn was great. I read this year to add phosphorus to legume crops and now I have Jack and the beanstalk beans 😂 they just keep producing.
I sincerely hope the family member that is struggling finds a way out of the trap of addiction. Whoever it is will be grateful they have you in their corner. Personally, I do not use either synthetic or organic fertilizers. Second year using only cover crops, homegrown vermicompost, chop and drop, leaf mold and hot compost , just me. I think, use whatever you feel comfortable with, what is more important, get out there and garden. You are an awesome resource. Stay Well!!!
@@lexasilvestre A better way to put it would be, I use a microscope. I know the biology that is in the amendments I produce and what is in my garden soil. Still, and always will be learning. That is why I love Ashley, she tells it like it is.
@@brianseybert192yes by definition you are using organic sources of food for the microorganisms that are feeding your plants. Emulating what nature worked out over millions of years makes great sense verses what some here refer to as giving their ecosystem a quick fix with inorganic. Some of natures most balanced ecosystems in nature have never needed a quick fix because they are in balance by the natural processes that you are emulation nature with. Keep up the good work. It is definitely more work but I’m sure you are seeing that it’s worth it verses a quick fix.
No mention of cover crops especially multi varieties which incorporated in the soil adds body. We composed organic material reaching the right temperatures, will be full of microbes that feed the plant. The process should be feed the soil not the plant, manure tea, fish emulsion, 7 day soak of comfrey and much more. Don’t forget get low disturbance soil.
I use miracle gro in the spring to get the plants greened up. We have highly alkaline soil and with the rain syntheyic is a must for prrenials and annuals. I alo use it on the vegetables. Then i top dress with 10-10-10 or even 25-10-5. Then i top dress with sheep or cow manure. Its been about 6 working on the gardens this way, and now the soil is good. Big juicy earth worms , and more wild life like toads, turtles and snakes, birds, butterflies, honey bees. We live backwoods in Ontario. Its a battle to garden against the wild vegetation all around us that constantly encroaches. This year i have been digging and digging to remove quack grass. But i have a beautiful 30×60 ft cottage flower gaden and a lage vegetable garden. The veg garden we roto till every year but the flower garden needs to be dug by hand since the beds are established.
I havent spent a lot of time thinking about organic vs synthetic fertilizers. I just go by what works for me and my budget. So far the organics have done well and dont cost a lot. I make leaf mold and compost, and buy a couple of $11 40lb bags of pelleted chicken manure a year. I dont even count the garden lime as its $6 for a 50lb bag that lasts years. That being said I do have a 7 year old box of miracle grow. Its more than half full. Its an emergency fix. If I have yellowing plants that need a boost, they get some. But its rare because the organics tend to work well in my container garden.
Thank you. I have basically heard the same information from Garden Fundamentals so I don’t think anyone should discount the information your providing us with, I believe in truth in numbers and as far as I’m concerned you both share the same information and ideals. I also believe you both deal with scientific information and while I don’t believe in ALL scientific theories yours makes sense to me. So again thank you Ashley . 💐💚🙃
I am glad to see someone with an ACTUAL science background say this. I grow mostly synthetic with Organic inputs as well. Most of the Organic end that I use are things from KNF like fermented plant Juice, Lactic Acid Bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi etc. But that is only in my indoor grow tent. Which when I am done with each grow, I dump the media I grow in outdoors on my garden which is peat based.
Ashly -- Concerning fertilizer. I have been hearing for years the term "slow released" -- What does that mean? The nutrients are released over a week, a month, three-months a year period of time? Are the 3 main components released equally? No one I know of has addressed this question. Will you? Thank you in advance. Ray Delbury Sussex County NJ USA
The only one that's guaranteed to release at the same rate for everything is osmocote (resin) type ferts that allow controlled permeability much like drug capsules. Everything else is 'weathering', which is dictated by pH & water content & existing solublized ions. Solid urea, the main N component in granular slow release also needs to undergo two steps (hydrolysis to ammonium, bacterial nitrification) before being available to plants.
Ibdu, methlene urea, sulfur or polymer coated urea are all reacted or coated to have different release profile. Prill size also effect release, 80 sgm is tiny and kicks more quickly than larger beads. The phosphorous and pottasium can be soluble and be availiable right away. Phosphorous can also be very slow release.
@@wayneessar7489 I agree with this. Looking at even the MG shake and feed, one can notice the prill size differences in the components. I should revise my answer that it's a good enough method of control.
I prefer to rely on organic fertilizers as a rule. However, if plants are not looking their best I also use an "organic-based" liquid fertilizer for a quick boost. It's mostly fish and seaweed emulsion with synthetics added to boost the NPK. I can't help but view organic vs synthetic fertilizers as I do fresh food vs junk food even if the science doesn't back it up. I hope you don't get too many rant replies to this video. Thanks for your info. Cheers!
I use synthetic N early and late but have enough N when soil is warm from the organics. No herbicide or pesticides. I aim for fast soil cover, maximum photosynthesis and root exudates.
The function on a chemistry level may be similar, but on an ethical level I struggle with the idea of synthetics. I dont want to depend on political climate for the cost of plant food. I want to gain relationships with local livestock producers who have relationships with their feed producers, etc etc. We become an interdependent community seeking each other's good rather than a cash-grab mess of individuals. When my roofing guy sticks around to ensure I dont react to a bee sting and is thrilled to take zucchini home for dinner... Things are right in my world.
So if you used synthetics your roofer would have left you die from a bee sting and gone hungry? That is quite the leap! Two days ago I gave my electrician 10 squash and banana muffins for his children. Synthetics were used and no one was stung.
@@kathleenray1827 what’s your point? I took it he was just saying he likes building up local interdependent relationships verses working with the cash grab big ag industry. Is that such a bad thing?
I usually start off with organics... depending on soil test results, and I would incorporate synthetics after the plants have been established (usually during flowering/fruiting) or whenever there are signs of deficiencies. Organics to build soil profile and synthetics as support - it just makes sense to use both (depending on conditions). Thank you for such a detailed explanation. Love the channel! subbed❤
I have a question about the application of fertilizers (synthetic in my case... the ones that dissolve in water). How frequently should you apply these (raised beds and grow bags), especially when there is a lot of rain in the forecast? If it keeps raining... is the fertilizer being even more diluted?
Agreed. One other concern though. The strength. Organics are usually low (eg. 5-5-5) and synthetics high (eg. 20-20-20). "The poison is in the dose". I'm wondering about the sudden high load on the soil life. I have heard some knowledgeable living soil growers in the "boutique" cannabis space, speak about success using limited synthetics for fast soil correction. I use the synthetic boost sometimes on food crops at half strength, but more often. Has anyone studied this or have any input?
It's going to be the pH swing that kills certain fauna populations. Measure you soil pH and adjust your solution to be within ballpark. If you're using nitrates (likely), remember it'll drift upward as the plants uptakes it, so aim slightly lower like 0.1-0.2. Most of the time though, your water solubles will be 5.8-ish which is likely lower than your stablized biome. The water solubles are designed for soiless growers where our pH is 5.5-6.5 (to avoid pythium) so keep that in mind.
For cheap food crops though, I'd just stay with slow release (either synth granular or organic) and not worry about 'boosting' to be honest. I've done the half-half but haven't seen any worthwhile growth difference. I will use water solubles during the initial cold transplanting because nitrates are better in cold weather and just because there hasn't been enough time for the breakdown/establishment of the biome.
I used shake n feed for my container fig trees. Seems to work pretty good i just have to play with the formula so the feeding last the whole season and not 2-3 months like they advertise. I might be under fertilizing them because fig trees hare heavy feeders. What is the threshold of that idk
I've been calling in synganics and can't beat it for my containers and in ground trees never going back to only being biased between organic and synthetic
What about the salts and heavy metals found in synthetic fertiliser? I know they claim there is not toxic amounts but they accumulate over time in the soil and in the body. Also I think while you could say complex carbs and simple carbs are the same calorically, in practise have very different reactions. Having only complex carbs is much healthier than nothing but simple carbs, and there are also healthier forms of simple carbs.
Thanks for this video. I am with you on many points and on other points the video falls a bit short for my liking. For me there is nothing wrong with using synthetic fertilizer from a technical standpoint. They work well, are cheap and are easy to apply. I just dislike synthetic fertilizers but thats personal preference and that only. I have grown a lot of cannabis and from my personal experience the end product is of better quality when using organics. I don't know if thats because of the higher diversity of nutrients available in my living soil but that argument is the most convincing to me. I need to try mix organic soil with synthetic nutrients but as of yet I had no reason to do so. Top dressing with earth worm castings and/or compost always gave me really good results so why change a something that works ;) Take care and keep up the good work.
Le lien est les organismes du sol qui produisent des métabolites que la plante se nourrit et participe à la fabrication de ses terpènes particulièrement où les engrais de synthèse ne sauraient jamais compétitioner avec la chimie des organismes du sol
Just came in from putting some synthetic bloom fertilizer on my ground cherries! Had two record days in a row of 54, then 56, ground cherries ready in a single day! Needless to say the plants were working over time and looking hungry. This same bloom fertilizer was like MAGIC for my black cherry tomato after an extremely heavy pruning to rescue from early diseases. So many blooms, and plant doesn’t care at all the the disease is back.
My only input would be to be careful about fertilizer purity. I recall reading about heavy metal contamination in miracle grow and other synthetic fertilizers since a great many of them are derived from sewage sludge, and refining parameters are not ultra strict unfortunately. Im cool with synthetics here and there, but only if the purity is there.
I didnt have any difficulty killing a number of my young trees with regular organic fertilizer like manure or just bagged "soil" that was too dry so it became hot (nitrogenwise) when aplied. This year playing with salts i learned that having a dry spot in your soil can build up that salt then when watered a bit more release it all and burn all the plants sitting in the same bottom-watering trough. No difference, i can screw up either just fine thank you
Hey Ashley..i sent you a question on fb..but thought i would ask here instead. I planted garlic in what i thought was a great spot..turns out..the garlic agreed...but..the local cats also enjoyed that bed in the spring. Every time i saw it..i cleaned it...but worried some may have been missed early season. I have watched my garlic grow the last few months..but fear its inedible due to the cat using that bed..i clipped my scapes..but should i toss the garlic..and the scapes? I thought the scapes may be ok..but garlic is questionable as it was underground. Can you give me your thoughts before i throw it all away PLEASE lol
I have used both, but now, I only use synthetic on containers or where my soil is depleted / dead. few times I put synthetic on ground I notice the worms come out dying .
It is really about your soil growing style. If you are going for organic soil, then you focus on feeding and caring for the soil, pH, microbes, worms, … and these provide the nutrients for the soil. If you are going for just growing plants, then the inorganic soil and fertilizers just focus on directly providing the nutrients the plants need. Often with inorganic growing the media used is really not soil and provides little directly to the plants.
I use very low dose chemical, like 1/4 strength, with high dose organics, liquid seaweed, humic acid, some urine, mulches, compost, ect which feeds both the soil and plants. The soil is dark and smells good with lots of worms, Synthetics are OK, but easy to over apply and stand alone starve and damage the soil, as you said😊. Edit; I didn’t read the comments before posting, I guess lots do both!
So i've got some courgetts in clay soul and some of the leaves are going yellow, is this more likely due to compaction underground than nufriant deficiencies? And is there much i can do once the plants are in? Cheers
I always find Ashley videos to be very informative but that being said I don't know how we could have nearly a 15 minute video on synthetic/organic plant nutrients and no mention of synthetic fertilizers salt content. I would love to see a collab between Ashley and Nate from garden like a Viking.
I have started to use synthetic - primarily slow release - since I saw a video of yours recently about how you reuse potting compost. I have been completely organic since starting my veg beds 10 years ago and have spent soooo much on fresh compost each year for tomatoes and potatoes in pots!. It is working wonderfully well this year so thank you! However, I have heard that synthetic harms the worm population. Is that correct? Much love from UK x
hello please help me. My flowers are very short and there is 1 month left until harvest time, but they are very short, please help me, what can I do? I'm using translate
I'm going to try a new fertilizer method this year...just add a little milk and a little schultz into my spray bottle...probably less than half what's recommended
Can you do a video on how much nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to apply to tomatoes? I see a lot of advice on gardening blogs that contradicts what the ag extensions are saying. Most garden blogs recommend lower nitrogen and higher phosphorus and potassium ratios. The nutrient extraction rates for tomatoes seem to suggest I should be feeding mostly nitrogen and potassium with very little phosphorus. I guess this is all to say, I want someone to do the math on what and when I should feed my tomato plants to maximize yields. Currently, I'm feeding them a 3-1-2 ratio of npk, and I'm seeing better results than when I was using a more balanced fertilizer.
The difference boils down to watering and proper application rates. Ag extensions assume you're on the ball for watering and that you've calculated the appropriate amounts. Gardening sites will assume you're not very good at either and build you a buffer by lowering the N growth. Most of the time, people outstrip the Ca / Mg bioavailability. The high P tends to be partly because P isn't soil mobile, and most gardeners broadcast. Ag side dresses which allows the roots to hit it faster and more freqently. The high K is just a tomato thing. Peppers are even higher.
I start seedlings with high N. Once I transplant them I give another high N. Then I switch to high P and K and low N. They like the pink liquid Rose fertilizer 😊. I have alkaline well water so I really have to have that acidity. Everything in my raised beds that produces fruits get it. Peppers, cukes, tomatoes. My greens get high N or triple 10-10-10.
Sorry to watch sixteen hours later but we just got power back (90 degrees +) fun. Question I use some synthetic in the greenhouse and organic in the garden,doesn’t it take more synthetic over time to get the same results? My friend has a horse farm and begged me to let him clean my chicken coop and spread it on his hay field. The part that he didn’t have enough coop cleanings,he used triple fifteen and then triple nineteen on to get the growth he expected?
Here is my only deal I tried to use up some of my liquids and crystals that I have bought over the years i try to follow directions and my plants still act like I've overr fertilized them. I'm more of a low and slow kinda guy
She mentioned it a couple videos ago about it being the limited volume having dryback that pretty much resets all biologicals. Ground soil tends to stay moist at lower levels so they can repopulate the top inch even in harsh conditions. A pot that dries out is pretty much dirt and would need to be innoculated with starter bacterias.
Question. I have a very calcareous clay soil SE Wisconsin also have high bicarbonate in irrigation water. PH usually 6.5- 7Built up to 7% organic matter. Everything grows really well but ends up showing Iron deficiency midsummer and Sometimes magnesium on tomatoes in full fruit. Any long term solutions? Iron edta to soil binds up as well as magnesium it seems. Foliar iron works temporarily. Ammonium sulfate also works by making iron and magnesium soluble I imagine. Any ideas? Do I just have to keep supplementing forever? 1/4 acre garden with good yields but hoping less disease/bug problems if I had constantly healthy plants.
Great video as usual, really valuable information. I just started watching (err.. binging) your channel a few days ago and really appreciate the scientific approach, I have learned a lot, so thank you!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This explains why I had to put some synthetic fertilizer on my peppers even though I had added organic to a new raised bed. ❤❤❤❤
Do you have any scientific opinions on agrothrive? They’re a liquid organic fertilizer that is processed to be immediately bioavailable to plants. Apologies if this is not a Canadian brand!
I agree with her overall assessment, but saying synthetics are ultimately from an organic source doesn’t make sense. How can you possibly say haber process ammonia is ultimately from an organic source when it is produced from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. That’s quite a stretch.
Synthetic fertilizers tend to include dyes or, in the case of slow release, are coated with a polymer. neither are necessary for plant health and may afffect the "healthyness" of produce and/or over a period of time, damage soil health. I'm not willing to take those chances.
Synthetic fertilizers are usually synthesized from natural gas, and in their raw state are very volatile. To stabilize them for shipping and shelf life, they bind them with a chemical in the form of a salt. That salt often involves heavy metals like Cadmium, which is toxic to soil life once the salt breaks down into its constituent ions. It is also taken up by plants and interferes with their metabolic processes in plants, leading to disease and predation susceptibility.
Hate to break it to you, but it's rock phosphorous that has varying levels of Cd. Phosphorite and apatite rocks. The organic fertilizers are the ones using said rock forms directly. Unless you're restricted to using colloidal phosphate from bones then you're likely more exposed to Cd. The derived synthetics like MAP are made by binding phosphoric acid to ammonia which creates a slurry that is then solidified. While the phosphoric acid itself is usually derived from the same rocks mentioned, that process allows for more ability to remove impurities such as Cd than using pulverized rock dust. Of course, price matters as various MAP products can use acids with more impurities, but it'll be less than pure rock dust from the same region.
There is no helping me. But i hope i can help my plants with your help😊 Your thumbnail on this video looks like you are eating that blue fertilizer. Love your videos btw. ☮️♥️🙏🙏🙏
could have said Anything that was once alive , instead of naming them all> LOL I use both kind of /. Nitrogen is pretty toxic so i use it like round up' high concentration with dishsoap
If you go back you'll find she's not advocating all synthetics. I live in a region that due to the fast draining of the soil there isn't any 'salt' build up. Adding compost holds moisture and allows bacteria to thrive...monitoring your plants allows you to help the soil feed it as it's growth progresses. I grow plants using this method. I don't spend my time growing soil life for it's own sake...I grow vegetables.
Synthetics don’t build up and benefit the soil micro biome, but it also doesn’t harm it like most people believe. I use both organic and synthetic for this reason
The discovery of the Ryzophagy cycle shows there is a difference between synthetic and organic fertilizers 🤔 adding the synthetic fertilizers totally shuts the cycle down
@@kathleenray1827how did you quantify whether or not rhizophagy was affected by the fertilizer you use? Are you referring to experience in the sense of what you want to believe or did you actually do a study of the effects your fertilizer has on rhizophagy?
Interesting perspective. I never really thought about certain fertilizers being organics at one time, when the dinosaurs walked the earth. However, I would suggest that this would not be entirely true when talking about things like anhydrous ammonia and such. Some definite food for thought though.
There's more to our decisions regarding the way we grow our food than simply chemical analysis. One consideration that bears highly with me is the question of who my purchase is supporting. No doubt Monsanto/Bauer and Dow can synthesize duplicates of natural nutrients, but I wouldn’t care to become complicit in their other activities. Other gardeners and farmers will have other perspectives. Knowing what both types of fertilizer contain is important. It’s a good place to start.
synthetic nitrogen is the same as nitrogen in the form of a amino acid? Did you tell them when you use synthetic nitrogen you suppress the bacteria that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere? The same could be said about phosphorous. There is more to the story...
Ashley !!! Why are you buying slow release Miraclegro at Canadian Tire ? YOU WORK IN THE AG FERTILZER INDUSTRY ?!!?!?! LOL. People...if there's an agricultural fertilizer place somewhere near you that sells it in 55lb bags, it's like one eighth the cost of buying it off the shelf at a big box store in a pretty package. Same stuff !!!! Just make sure the numbers are what you want, and go that route. Since it'll take the average home gardener a few years to go through that much, and you KNOW you're going to punch holes in those bags over time as you move them around. Put the extra in a 5 gallon bucket and slap a lid on there. Write the numbers right on the top...done.
I love your approach to this!! On a technicality, anthrax is organic 😂. I have a hybrid garden, and synthetic nitrogen fertigation has saved it year after year . Central Texas is either in a drought or pouring down buckets of rain (running out nutrients), so it’s nearly impossible to get results without synthetic nitrogen.
Synthetics feed the plant but are detrimental to the soil health and all the important little critters that play there important role - permaculture you feed the soil and the soil feeds the plant it is participating in the natural cycles of nature it all has a knock on effect . Synthetics is bypassing this for quick pay off. IMO
You said once they are broken down they are the same - but when you buy them they are totally different. The organic nutrients are attached to a carbon molecule and can not be uptaken by plants (except for amino acids) without microbes but synthetic nutrients are inorganic and without the carbon molecule they are ready for the plants to use. I thought this was a science based channel... the carbon goes to the microbes and the organic nutrients are then inorganic (not containing carbon) which is beneficial to the soil. Furthermore, plants release roots exudates (carbohydrates) to attract/feed microbes which supports a healthy symbiotic soil system but, when you use synthetic nutrients the plants do not rely on the microbes, as is the case with hydroponics.
Please do not forget that synthetic fertilizers are mostly overused by private gardeners and destroy natural water resources. Most private gardens are massively overfertilized anyway. That is why you should not recommend synthetic fertilizers zu private gardeners.
Or... you educate the private gardeners so they understand when and how much to apply instead of them losing their crops due to the "organic" compost they purchased that hasn't broken down and is starving their plants to death?
I don't have any natural water resources near me. Even when I lived in a swampy area that flooded during hurricane season, there was no runoff. The only place for it to go was down into the soil.
If i believed my conversations could actually be confidential i would tap that link thanks to the internet being what it is however.... there's zero privacy out there. I'll be much better once my son is finally home from the hospital... 😊 Soon as a wheelchair ramp is built -he can come home...🙏
BetterHelp shared customer data while promising it was private, says FTC / It could have to pay up to $7.8 million to settle the charges that it misled consumers. (Google it to see for yourself)
Great video. I would just like to add that we fertilize soil not plants, the plants absorb what they need from the soil. Too much compost destroys nitrogen levels and to much synthetic builds up salt compounds and does nothing to improve the soil. I like how synthetic gives quick results whereas organic feeds the billions of insects/microbes in the soil. The chemical that is highly unstable in soil is nitrogen.
@@MarginalFarming Apparently your day job also involves going around telling people that synth needs 5 years fallow. I'm onboard with people using different methods, but having to outright lie to make your position sound better is sickening.
@@teac117 One example would be commercial potato and onion crops. They can require 5 years to fallow to reduce carryover of disease.. That is an issue with using high synthetic inputs, fumigation etc. You get high yields but at the expense of rotation times. These cash crops are my day job - 100Acre pivots.. Thanks for the reply..
The way I have trialed and grown horticultural and cover crops with synthetic and biostimulants is night and day. I can grow a cash crop 2 weeks after harvest with biostimulants and high organic inputs. With Synthetics a fallow is required (up to 5 years). Synthetics are a shortcut to Nitrates that plants uptake immediately and leave behind salts. The biostimulant methods rely on biology to manufacture the available forms of nutrients for the plants and continue to reproduce for a lower cost.
Synthetic petroleum salt based nutrients is not the same as organic, not even close. Organic is like the Rolls Royce of gardening and Synthetic is like an oldsmobile. Not even in the same planet. Miricle grow is the worst plant fertilizer on the market. Why you would support Monsanto is beyond me, he's got multiple class action lawsuits with round up. What make you think it's any different with Miricle grow?
Wait, you literally work for a synthetic fertilizer company? I generally appreciate your content and pragmatic approach but your background doesn't lend itself to non biased reasoning, understandably so. As far I could tell in a non potted plant situation you would use synthetic nitrogen to compensate for excess nitrogen being used during decomposition of organic material. Wouldn't a bioavailable organic nitrogen fertilizer, such as fish hydrolysate, accomplish the same effect, albeit a bit slower? I'm not going to support an unsustainable industry whose goal is to sell more and more of a product that the excessive use of will ultimately harm our ecosystem, not when there is another way that can be sustainable and potentially less harmful. I understand this is a somewhat idealistic attitude but if you can consume less synthetic anything then do so, every little bit helps.I try to be less of a hypocrite today than yesterday, not always successfully but progress isn't linear. We must begin adaptation to a non petroleum based way of life sooner or later, this is one small way to start.
It depends on your budget. Great results can be had with a wide variety of inputs. On the prairies the feed of choice is anhydrous ammonia, something never used by homeowners. To purchase and apply the amount of fish hydrolosate need for several square miles of crop land would be very high and folks are complaining about food costs often.
@@wayneessar7489 yeah, I’m referencing smaller scale, the notion of scaling these techniques to feed billions is daunting and made next to impossible considering fighting the monied interests. It is possible though and eventually transition will be required. I would hope there is enough of a vanguard to lead the inevitable evolution of farming techniques into the future with an eye towards sustainability and a more cooperative with nature model. There has never been a better farmer than Mother Nature. Obviously we need intensive production but new lessons need to be learned.
I'm with you on organic , if synthetic is so disruptive to the biology of the soil to drive away the earth worms than how disruptive is it to the microbiology ? It's like bypassing nature and sticking a IV into the plant, just because we can doesn't mean we should, nothing against Ashley she is smart so I think she will eventually figure it out . After all she is half organic already
@@projectoldman1971it has already been scaled up to huge thousands of acre production sites that are becoming more productive and more profitable by not using high priced inorganic like anhydrous ammonia that are doing more harm than good. Unfortunately there are still many producers that are caught up in the that won’t work around here or that’s the way we have always done it here excuses for not wanting to try something different. Corporate big ag wants to keep it that way so they can continue to reap all the profit from the poor farmers caught up in their system. Change comes slowly but there is a rapidly growing grass roots movement happening with regenerative agriculture principles becoming more profitable for the farmers that are willing to open up their eyes and minds. Those who aren’t will eventually go out of business and sell their farms, commit suicide or die sucking down Anhydrous Ammonia fumes. Sad but true.
You should work for Fox News. When you are referring to "animal byproducts" as "Organic fertilizer" people get the wrong idea. Because most normal people who aren't selling petroleum and heavy metal based aka "urea" and "sludge" fertilizers. Think of "organic fertilizer" as mineral, plant, or animal based fertilizer free from petroleum and heavy metals. That's why you are not allowed to label things with the word "organic" unless it's a "certified organic" product. You are either pulling a Dunning-Krueger or are actually evil. Maybe explain yourself better or you just come off as a disingenuous kook. If you want to grow foods for just yourself and poison your own body, that's your right. But to grow for babies and young children and think it's not potentially introducing toxic heavy metals into their bloodstream is pretty ignorant.
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I never used betterhelp, but as someone who is a geek/nerd feeling different is certainly something i deal with daily. Sometimes I'm OK with it and embrace it, other times it can be destructive to relationships and addictive and you have to mentally be aware of how that is....
1st. 40 years gardening,hybridized method always gave me amazing results. Tks Ashley for confirming. 😊
Oh boy, I hope these comments aren't too brutal lol. You've mentioned this in other videos so last year I took your advice and used both organics and miracle grow. I had the BEST garden I've ever grown in my life. Thanks for all the great advice!
Thank you!!!
My garden was much more productive when I used a hybrid system for fertilization. Both for granular and liquid...I just put about a quarter of the recommended amount for each in my water can and fed (after watering) about every week to 2 weeks depending on plant growth, temperature, etc.
Manures and compost worked into all the beds ahead of time.
Worked incredibly well
I stick with blood and bone meal and alfalfa pellets to set my beds up. Then free stuff like wood ash, weed tea, and compost. It's cheap and effective.
Illinois medicinal gardener here, the term synganic is used for those of us who combine organic and synthetic
In terms of synthetic vs organic, I stand by my conviction that the best type is whatever is cheapest and/or available at the time I need it.
Preach!! The deeper into this rabbit hole I get, the more guilty I feel for having miracle gro crystals that need used. I can find nitrogen, no problem, but potassium is hard to come by.
@@Wonderland_Homestead really you can't find any sulphate of potash or langbernite ?
@jacobclark89 I've been using potash from the firepit, wild cactus for potassium and weeds for nitrogen. If you have any suggestions on how to better utilize the nutrients that are available, I'm open to learn. I will not be purchasing anything.
@@Wonderland_Homestead my mistake, when you said potassium is hard to find ,I thought you meant to purchase not using what you have around you .
Do flowers have potassium themselves? And possibly biochar not sure
I agree with all your points, Ashley! I notice the best results when using both organic + synthetic fertilizers. I love to use organics amended into my soil at planting and hit it with a synthetic water soluble fertilizer bi-monthly.
Totally agree with the combo method. I'm a recovering organic gardener and living a much more productive garden now🎉.
It just makes sense to use both. Synthetic is going to be immediately available but also wash away quickly. Organic is going to boost your baseline fertility and improve soil structure. Especially like in the summer when it's hot. You need to water more often, but also a compost, mulch or whatever else is going to break down and release nutrients more quickly. So at the very least you feed your organic fertilizer so it takes better advantage of that heat.
I don't have a scientifically defined rate of balance here, but I assume there is a good balance. I have yet to experience fertilizer burn. But I have experienced trying to only use organic and having stunted plants. A swig of blue and they just spring to life haha.
Though I do see what I think is burn from where I put my compost piles. I tend to move them around and in spots they sit a long time... stuff will not grow for like a whole year xD
But epic growth on the border.... which actually gives me some ideas now 🧐
In addition to the fertilizer you put in the soil Have you tried fertilizing with a product like Alaska fish fertilizer on the leaves ? Or water soluble fish and kelp ? And adding some high phosphorus early on for good root development .
I understand where you are coming from. I however am set up with my own organic fertilizer options. If I see a plant struggling I have a brew that can correct it. No need for me to support synthetics and big ag.
Right on
Her working for the agrochemical industry pretty much tells me exactly where she stands on the issue.
Won't be surprised if she starts myth-busting (aka pushing) glyphosate
I don’t worry about it. The garden gets what it needs. Your right about any of it is bad if over done.
After I use up fish fertilizer I’m discontinuing it because it calls in all the nocturnal garden ruining and chicken eating animals.
We are getting a lot of rain and didn’t want to use more water to fertilize so added granular and blood meal. There was a small break in rain and I did give them a quick shot of liquid N as things were looking a bit lime green. I always start the spring with higher N and switch to higher P n K when blossoms start.
I’m happy and ok as I’m not striving for organic certification. I do know my food will not be recalled and it’s not sprayed.
I follow a similar pattern with my garden (although sweet corn needs a bit of extra P to start, but then N to grow tall and produce larger ears. That's based on local extension research)
It's fun to see how the blooms come on stronger when going with a higher P after using a higher K to finish off the tomatoes.
@@andersjohansson6118 we start corn with plenty of nitrogen.
@@andersjohansson6118 yes, this year we used fertilizer from the farm and the corn was great. I read this year to add phosphorus to legume crops and now I have Jack and the beanstalk beans 😂 they just keep producing.
This makes so much sense. Bless you for explaining it so well. ~ Lisa
I sincerely hope the family member that is struggling finds a way out of the trap of addiction. Whoever it is will be grateful they have you in their corner.
Personally, I do not use either synthetic or organic fertilizers. Second year using only cover crops, homegrown vermicompost, chop and drop, leaf mold and hot compost , just me.
I think, use whatever you feel comfortable with, what is more important, get out there and garden.
You are an awesome resource.
Stay Well!!!
तिने एखाद्यावेळेस खोटं पण बोलले असेल.. काय माहिती
So you're using organics. 😅
@@lexasilvestre A better way to put it would be, I use a microscope.
I know the biology that is in the amendments I produce and what is in my garden soil.
Still, and always will be learning. That is why I love Ashley, she tells it like it is.
@@brianseybert192yes by definition you are using organic sources of food for the microorganisms that are feeding your plants. Emulating what nature worked out over millions of years makes great sense verses what some here refer to as giving their ecosystem a quick fix with inorganic. Some of natures most balanced ecosystems in nature have never needed a quick fix because they are in balance by the natural processes that you are emulation nature with. Keep up the good work. It is definitely more work but I’m sure you are seeing that it’s worth it verses a quick fix.
No mention of cover crops especially multi varieties which incorporated in the soil adds body. We composed organic material reaching the right temperatures, will be full of microbes that feed the plant. The process should be feed the soil not the plant, manure tea, fish emulsion, 7 day soak of comfrey and much more. Don’t forget get low disturbance soil.
I use miracle gro in the spring to get the plants greened up. We have highly alkaline soil and with the rain syntheyic is a must for prrenials and annuals. I alo use it on the vegetables. Then i top dress with 10-10-10 or even 25-10-5. Then i top dress with sheep or cow manure.
Its been about 6 working on the gardens this way, and now the soil is good. Big juicy earth worms , and more wild life like toads, turtles and snakes, birds, butterflies, honey bees. We live backwoods in Ontario. Its a battle to garden against the wild vegetation all around us that constantly encroaches.
This year i have been digging and digging to remove quack grass.
But i have a beautiful 30×60 ft cottage flower gaden and a lage vegetable garden. The veg garden we roto till every year but the flower garden needs to be dug by hand since the beds are established.
I havent spent a lot of time thinking about organic vs synthetic fertilizers. I just go by what works for me and my budget. So far the organics have done well and dont cost a lot. I make leaf mold and compost, and buy a couple of $11 40lb bags of pelleted chicken manure a year. I dont even count the garden lime as its $6 for a 50lb bag that lasts years.
That being said I do have a 7 year old box of miracle grow. Its more than half full. Its an emergency fix. If I have yellowing plants that need a boost, they get some. But its rare because the organics tend to work well in my container garden.
Thank you. I have basically heard the same information from Garden Fundamentals so I don’t think anyone should discount the information your providing us with, I believe in truth in numbers and as far as I’m concerned you both share the same information and ideals. I also believe you both deal with scientific information and while I don’t believe in ALL scientific theories yours makes sense to me. So again thank you Ashley . 💐💚🙃
Synganics have been my best plants for containers without a doubt
I am glad to see someone with an ACTUAL science background say this. I grow mostly synthetic with Organic inputs as well. Most of the Organic end that I use are things from KNF like fermented plant Juice, Lactic Acid Bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi etc. But that is only in my indoor grow tent. Which when I am done with each grow, I dump the media I grow in outdoors on my garden which is peat based.
You the best❤️ thanks for educating us 🌹😊
Ashly -- Concerning fertilizer. I have been hearing for years the term "slow released" -- What does that mean? The nutrients are released over a week, a month, three-months a year period of time? Are the 3 main components released equally? No one I know of has addressed this question. Will you? Thank you in advance. Ray Delbury Sussex County NJ USA
The only one that's guaranteed to release at the same rate for everything is osmocote (resin) type ferts that allow controlled permeability much like drug capsules. Everything else is 'weathering', which is dictated by pH & water content & existing solublized ions. Solid urea, the main N component in granular slow release also needs to undergo two steps (hydrolysis to ammonium, bacterial nitrification) before being available to plants.
Ibdu, methlene urea, sulfur or polymer coated urea are all reacted or coated to have different release profile.
Prill size also effect release, 80 sgm is tiny and kicks more quickly than larger beads.
The phosphorous and pottasium can be soluble and be availiable right away.
Phosphorous can also be very slow release.
@@wayneessar7489 I agree with this. Looking at even the MG shake and feed, one can notice the prill size differences in the components. I should revise my answer that it's a good enough method of control.
Iuse synthetics on lawn and flowers. And compost, bonemeal and bloodmeal in veg garden. This year I’m adding comfrey for fertilizer
I prefer to rely on organic fertilizers as a rule. However, if plants are not looking their best I also use an "organic-based" liquid fertilizer for a quick boost.
It's mostly fish and seaweed emulsion with synthetics added to boost the NPK.
I can't help but view organic vs synthetic fertilizers as I do fresh food vs junk food even if the science doesn't back it up.
I hope you don't get too many rant replies to this video. Thanks for your info. Cheers!
I use synthetic N early and late but have enough N when soil is warm from the organics. No herbicide or pesticides. I aim for fast soil cover, maximum photosynthesis and root exudates.
The function on a chemistry level may be similar, but on an ethical level I struggle with the idea of synthetics. I dont want to depend on political climate for the cost of plant food. I want to gain relationships with local livestock producers who have relationships with their feed producers, etc etc. We become an interdependent community seeking each other's good rather than a cash-grab mess of individuals. When my roofing guy sticks around to ensure I dont react to a bee sting and is thrilled to take zucchini home for dinner... Things are right in my world.
So if you used synthetics your roofer would have left you die from a bee sting and gone hungry?
That is quite the leap! Two days ago I gave my electrician 10 squash and banana muffins for his children.
Synthetics were used and no one was stung.
@@kathleenray1827 what’s your point? I took it he was just saying he likes building up local interdependent relationships verses working with the cash grab big ag industry. Is that such a bad thing?
I also use both, a lot of misunderstanding about organic nutrition. Like anything else, if you abuse or over apply then bad things can happen.
I hope people know that u can buy amino acid based organic fertilizers and ferments and get immediate uptake and still be organic right😊
Thank You!!!
Omg your dog is adorable!!!
You should do a video on why and when to use calcitic lime instead of or in conjunction with dolomitic lime.
I usually start off with organics... depending on soil test results, and I would incorporate synthetics after the plants have been established (usually during flowering/fruiting) or whenever there are signs of deficiencies. Organics to build soil profile and synthetics as support - it just makes sense to use both (depending on conditions).
Thank you for such a detailed explanation. Love the channel! subbed❤
I have a question about the application of fertilizers (synthetic in my case... the ones that dissolve in water).
How frequently should you apply these (raised beds and grow bags), especially when there is a lot of rain in the forecast?
If it keeps raining... is the fertilizer being even more diluted?
Thats when you switch to granulated.
Agreed. One other concern though. The strength. Organics are usually low (eg. 5-5-5) and synthetics high (eg. 20-20-20). "The poison is in the dose". I'm wondering about the sudden high load on the soil life. I have heard some knowledgeable living soil growers in the "boutique" cannabis space, speak about success using limited synthetics for fast soil correction. I use the synthetic boost sometimes on food crops at half strength, but more often. Has anyone studied this or have any input?
It's going to be the pH swing that kills certain fauna populations. Measure you soil pH and adjust your solution to be within ballpark. If you're using nitrates (likely), remember it'll drift upward as the plants uptakes it, so aim slightly lower like 0.1-0.2. Most of the time though, your water solubles will be 5.8-ish which is likely lower than your stablized biome. The water solubles are designed for soiless growers where our pH is 5.5-6.5 (to avoid pythium) so keep that in mind.
For cheap food crops though, I'd just stay with slow release (either synth granular or organic) and not worry about 'boosting' to be honest. I've done the half-half but haven't seen any worthwhile growth difference. I will use water solubles during the initial cold transplanting because nitrates are better in cold weather and just because there hasn't been enough time for the breakdown/establishment of the biome.
@@teac117 Thanks for the input. I do check pH. Agreed that it's a sudden change that wipes biology. Thanks for the reminder.
I used shake n feed for my container fig trees. Seems to work pretty good i just have to play with the formula so the feeding last the whole season and not 2-3 months like they advertise. I might be under fertilizing them because fig trees hare heavy feeders. What is the threshold of that idk
Thanes for sharing Ashley!
I've been calling in synganics and can't beat it for my containers and in ground trees never going back to only being biased between organic and synthetic
What about the salts and heavy metals found in synthetic fertiliser? I know they claim there is not toxic amounts but they accumulate over time in the soil and in the body. Also I think while you could say complex carbs and simple carbs are the same calorically, in practise have very different reactions. Having only complex carbs is much healthier than nothing but simple carbs, and there are also healthier forms of simple carbs.
Thanks for this video. I am with you on many points and on other points the video falls a bit short for my liking. For me there is nothing wrong with using synthetic fertilizer from a technical standpoint. They work well, are cheap and are easy to apply. I just dislike synthetic fertilizers but thats personal preference and that only. I have grown a lot of cannabis and from my personal experience the end product is of better quality when using organics. I don't know if thats because of the higher diversity of nutrients available in my living soil but that argument is the most convincing to me. I need to try mix organic soil with synthetic nutrients but as of yet I had no reason to do so. Top dressing with earth worm castings and/or compost always gave me really good results so why change a something that works ;) Take care and keep up the good work.
Le lien est les organismes du sol qui produisent des métabolites que la plante se nourrit et participe à la fabrication de ses terpènes particulièrement où les engrais de synthèse ne sauraient jamais compétitioner avec la chimie des organismes du sol
@@MrSeney1 Merci
Is there a way to speed up the breakdown of leaves into leaf mold? Would adding nitrogen do the job or would it then not be leaf mold?
Just came in from putting some synthetic bloom fertilizer on my ground cherries! Had two record days in a row of 54, then 56, ground cherries ready in a single day! Needless to say the plants were working over time and looking hungry. This same bloom fertilizer was like MAGIC for my black cherry tomato after an extremely heavy pruning to rescue from early diseases. So many blooms, and plant doesn’t care at all the the disease is back.
My only input would be to be careful about fertilizer purity. I recall reading about heavy metal contamination in miracle grow and other synthetic fertilizers since a great many of them are derived from sewage sludge, and refining parameters are not ultra strict unfortunately.
Im cool with synthetics here and there, but only if the purity is there.
I didnt have any difficulty killing a number of my young trees with regular organic fertilizer like manure or just bagged "soil" that was too dry so it became hot (nitrogenwise) when aplied. This year playing with salts i learned that having a dry spot in your soil can build up that salt then when watered a bit more release it all and burn all the plants sitting in the same bottom-watering trough. No difference, i can screw up either just fine thank you
Hey Ashley..i sent you a question on fb..but thought i would ask here instead. I planted garlic in what i thought was a great spot..turns out..the garlic agreed...but..the local cats also enjoyed that bed in the spring. Every time i saw it..i cleaned it...but worried some may have been missed early season. I have watched my garlic grow the last few months..but fear its inedible due to the cat using that bed..i clipped my scapes..but should i toss the garlic..and the scapes? I thought the scapes may be ok..but garlic is questionable as it was underground. Can you give me your thoughts before i throw it all away PLEASE lol
I have used both, but now, I only use synthetic on containers or where my soil is depleted / dead.
few times I put synthetic on ground I notice the worms come out dying .
It is really about your soil growing style. If you are going for organic soil, then you focus on feeding and caring for the soil, pH, microbes, worms, … and these provide the nutrients for the soil. If you are going for just growing plants, then the inorganic soil and fertilizers just focus on directly providing the nutrients the plants need. Often with inorganic growing the media used is really not soil and provides little directly to the plants.
Don't need to worry about ph in organics my friend. My microbes adjust the ph based on the plants needs automatically
I use very low dose chemical, like 1/4 strength, with high dose organics, liquid seaweed, humic acid, some urine, mulches, compost, ect which feeds both the soil and plants. The soil is dark and smells good with lots of worms, Synthetics are OK, but easy to over apply and stand alone starve and damage the soil, as you said😊.
Edit; I didn’t read the comments before posting, I guess lots do both!
I had to repot a plant due to root rot. Is the potting soil sanitized if you leave it under the sun until it is bone dry? Thanks.
So i've got some courgetts in clay soul and some of the leaves are going yellow, is this more likely due to compaction underground than nufriant deficiencies? And is there much i can do once the plants are in?
Cheers
Sharing is caring x2😊😊
I always find Ashley videos to be very informative but that being said I don't know how we could have nearly a 15 minute video on synthetic/organic plant nutrients and no mention of synthetic fertilizers salt content. I would love to see a collab between Ashley and Nate from garden like a Viking.
I have started to use synthetic - primarily slow release - since I saw a video of yours recently about how you reuse potting compost. I have been completely organic since starting my veg beds 10 years ago and have spent soooo much on fresh compost each year for tomatoes and potatoes in pots!. It is working wonderfully well this year so thank you! However, I have heard that synthetic harms the worm population. Is that correct? Much love from UK x
hello please help me. My flowers are very short and there is 1 month left until harvest time, but they are very short, please help me, what can I do? I'm using translate
Thank You!
I'm going to try a new fertilizer method this year...just add a little milk and a little schultz into my spray bottle...probably less than half what's recommended
Can you do a video on how much nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to apply to tomatoes? I see a lot of advice on gardening blogs that contradicts what the ag extensions are saying. Most garden blogs recommend lower nitrogen and higher phosphorus and potassium ratios. The nutrient extraction rates for tomatoes seem to suggest I should be feeding mostly nitrogen and potassium with very little phosphorus. I guess this is all to say, I want someone to do the math on what and when I should feed my tomato plants to maximize yields. Currently, I'm feeding them a 3-1-2 ratio of npk, and I'm seeing better results than when I was using a more balanced fertilizer.
The difference boils down to watering and proper application rates. Ag extensions assume you're on the ball for watering and that you've calculated the appropriate amounts. Gardening sites will assume you're not very good at either and build you a buffer by lowering the N growth. Most of the time, people outstrip the Ca / Mg bioavailability. The high P tends to be partly because P isn't soil mobile, and most gardeners broadcast. Ag side dresses which allows the roots to hit it faster and more freqently. The high K is just a tomato thing. Peppers are even higher.
I start seedlings with high N. Once I transplant them I give another high N. Then I switch to high P and K and low N. They like the pink liquid Rose fertilizer 😊. I have alkaline well water so I really have to have that acidity.
Everything in my raised beds that produces fruits get it. Peppers, cukes, tomatoes.
My greens get high N or triple 10-10-10.
Sorry to watch sixteen hours later but we just got power back (90 degrees +) fun. Question I use some synthetic in the greenhouse and organic in the garden,doesn’t it take more synthetic over time to get the same results? My friend has a horse farm and begged me to let him clean my chicken coop and spread it on his hay field. The part that he didn’t have enough coop cleanings,he used triple fifteen and then triple nineteen on to get the growth he expected?
Here is my only deal I tried to use up some of my liquids and crystals that I have bought over the years i try to follow directions and my plants still act like I've overr fertilized them. I'm more of a low and slow kinda guy
When you say you do not use organics in containers, do you just mean indoor containers? What about larger outdoor containers?
She mentioned it a couple videos ago about it being the limited volume having dryback that pretty much resets all biologicals. Ground soil tends to stay moist at lower levels so they can repopulate the top inch even in harsh conditions. A pot that dries out is pretty much dirt and would need to be innoculated with starter bacterias.
@@teac117or you do a thick layer of mulch? You can also use a sub irrigated planter like a earthbox to help with this.
Question. I have a very calcareous clay soil SE Wisconsin also have high bicarbonate in irrigation water. PH usually 6.5- 7Built up to 7% organic matter. Everything grows really well but ends up showing Iron deficiency midsummer and Sometimes magnesium on tomatoes in full fruit. Any long term solutions? Iron edta to soil binds up as well as magnesium it seems. Foliar iron works temporarily. Ammonium sulfate also works by making iron and magnesium soluble I imagine. Any ideas? Do I just have to keep supplementing forever? 1/4 acre garden with good yields but hoping less disease/bug problems if I had constantly healthy plants.
EDDHA works over a much wider pH range than EDTA iron. I believe it’s between 4 and 9
Any opinions on using Nitrogen rich synthetic fertiliser to speed up compost production
I was wondering the same thing. You would think it would.
Great video as usual, really valuable information. I just started watching (err.. binging) your channel a few days ago and really appreciate the scientific approach, I have learned a lot, so thank you!
Nothing scientific about this. It’s just sales and you are buying in. Snake oil
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! This explains why I had to put some synthetic fertilizer on my peppers even though I had added organic to a new raised bed. ❤❤❤❤
You didn’t have to, you chose to.. That’s what you need to do when your soil is so far out of balance from the chemicals you choose to use
Well said
बरं झालं बाई तुम्ही हा व्हिडिओ टाकलात. मला मदत झाली
Thank you very interesting
Do you have any scientific opinions on agrothrive? They’re a liquid organic fertilizer that is processed to be immediately bioavailable to plants. Apologies if this is not a Canadian brand!
I agree with her overall assessment, but saying synthetics are ultimately from an organic source doesn’t make sense. How can you possibly say haber process ammonia is ultimately from an organic source when it is produced from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. That’s quite a stretch.
Synthetic fertilizers tend to include dyes or, in the case of slow release, are coated with a polymer. neither are necessary for plant health and may afffect the "healthyness" of produce and/or over a period of time, damage soil health. I'm not willing to take those chances.
Synthetic fertilizers are usually synthesized from natural gas, and in their raw state are very volatile.
To stabilize them for shipping and shelf life, they bind them with a chemical in the form of a salt.
That salt often involves heavy metals like Cadmium, which is toxic to soil life once the salt breaks down into its constituent ions.
It is also taken up by plants and interferes with their metabolic processes in plants, leading to disease and predation susceptibility.
Hate to break it to you, but it's rock phosphorous that has varying levels of Cd. Phosphorite and apatite rocks. The organic fertilizers are the ones using said rock forms directly. Unless you're restricted to using colloidal phosphate from bones then you're likely more exposed to Cd. The derived synthetics like MAP are made by binding phosphoric acid to ammonia which creates a slurry that is then solidified. While the phosphoric acid itself is usually derived from the same rocks mentioned, that process allows for more ability to remove impurities such as Cd than using pulverized rock dust. Of course, price matters as various MAP products can use acids with more impurities, but it'll be less than pure rock dust from the same region.
There is no helping me. But i hope i can help my plants with your help😊
Your thumbnail on this video looks like you are eating that blue fertilizer.
Love your videos btw.
☮️♥️🙏🙏🙏
Great information on fertiliser use🇳🇿❤️🌱
Use urine, diluted 10:1, instead of miracle gro. Virtually the same nutrient profile.
could have said Anything that was once alive , instead of naming them all> LOL
I use both kind of /. Nitrogen is pretty toxic so i use it like round up' high concentration with dishsoap
Soil life! for the love of god, what about the soil life!!! and salt build ups!
If you go back you'll find she's not advocating all synthetics. I live in a region that due to the fast draining of the soil there isn't any 'salt' build up. Adding compost holds moisture and allows bacteria to thrive...monitoring your plants allows you to help the soil feed it as it's growth progresses. I grow plants using this method. I don't spend my time growing soil life for it's own sake...I grow vegetables.
Synthetics don’t build up and benefit the soil micro biome, but it also doesn’t harm it like most people believe. I use both organic and synthetic for this reason
The discovery of the Ryzophagy cycle shows there is a difference between synthetic and organic fertilizers 🤔 adding the synthetic fertilizers totally shuts the cycle down
Yep - Dr James white and team proved this..
Not my experience at. All.
@@kathleenray1827how did you quantify whether or not rhizophagy was affected by the fertilizer you use? Are you referring to experience in the sense of what you want to believe or did you actually do a study of the effects your fertilizer has on rhizophagy?
Interesting perspective. I never really thought about certain fertilizers being organics at one time, when the dinosaurs walked the earth. However, I would suggest that this would not be entirely true when talking about things like anhydrous ammonia and such. Some definite food for thought though.
There's more to our decisions regarding the way we grow our food than simply chemical analysis. One consideration that bears highly with me is the question of who my purchase is supporting. No doubt Monsanto/Bauer and Dow can synthesize duplicates of natural nutrients, but I wouldn’t care to become complicit in their other activities.
Other gardeners and farmers will have other perspectives.
Knowing what both types of fertilizer contain is important.
It’s a good place to start.
"Lets keep it PG" goes straight to blood meal made from Blooooooooood muahahahahaaaa. Kid friendly.
There’s a reason my flowers do so good! Thanks for making me feel ok using whatever works best for me.
synthetic nitrogen is the same as nitrogen in the form of a amino acid? Did you tell them when you use synthetic nitrogen you suppress the bacteria that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere? The same could be said about phosphorous. There is more to the story...
Ashley !!! Why are you buying slow release Miraclegro at Canadian Tire ? YOU WORK IN THE AG FERTILZER INDUSTRY ?!!?!?! LOL. People...if there's an agricultural fertilizer place somewhere near you that sells it in 55lb bags, it's like one eighth the cost of buying it off the shelf at a big box store in a pretty package. Same stuff !!!! Just make sure the numbers are what you want, and go that route. Since it'll take the average home gardener a few years to go through that much, and you KNOW you're going to punch holes in those bags over time as you move them around. Put the extra in a 5 gallon bucket and slap a lid on there. Write the numbers right on the top...done.
I love your approach to this!! On a technicality, anthrax is organic 😂. I have a hybrid garden, and synthetic nitrogen fertigation has saved it year after year . Central Texas is either in a drought or pouring down buckets of rain (running out nutrients), so it’s nearly impossible to get results without synthetic nitrogen.
😢😢😢
Synthetics feed the plant but are detrimental to the soil health and all the important little critters that play there important role - permaculture you feed the soil and the soil feeds the plant it is participating in the natural cycles of nature it all has a knock on effect . Synthetics is bypassing this for quick pay off. IMO
You said once they are broken down they are the same - but when you buy them they are totally different. The organic nutrients are attached to a carbon molecule and can not be uptaken by plants (except for amino acids) without microbes but synthetic nutrients are inorganic and without the carbon molecule they are ready for the plants to use. I thought this was a science based channel... the carbon goes to the microbes and the organic nutrients are then inorganic (not containing carbon) which is beneficial to the soil. Furthermore, plants release roots exudates (carbohydrates) to attract/feed microbes which supports a healthy symbiotic soil system but, when you use synthetic nutrients the plants do not rely on the microbes, as is the case with hydroponics.
Please do not forget that synthetic fertilizers are mostly overused by private gardeners and destroy natural water resources. Most private gardens are massively overfertilized anyway.
That is why you should not recommend synthetic fertilizers zu private gardeners.
Or... you educate the private gardeners so they understand when and how much to apply instead of them losing their crops due to the "organic" compost they purchased that hasn't broken down and is starving their plants to death?
I don't have any natural water resources near me. Even when I lived in a swampy area that flooded during hurricane season, there was no runoff. The only place for it to go was down into the soil.
@@SandcastleDreams you have no clue what happens to the rainwater falling on your property.
@@petersoos498 forget about education. Just read sandcastledream below. People like him/her will never understand.
@@rollomartins6224 Oh yes I do. It is sand. My garden is in a depressed area. There is nowhere for it to go.
If i believed my conversations could actually be confidential i would tap that link thanks to the internet being what it is however.... there's zero privacy out there.
I'll be much better once my son is finally home from the hospital... 😊 Soon as a wheelchair ramp is built -he can come home...🙏
BetterHelp shared customer data while promising it was private, says FTC / It could have to pay up to $7.8 million to settle the charges that it misled consumers. (Google it to see for yourself)
Great video. I would just like to add that we fertilize soil not plants, the plants absorb what they need from the soil. Too much compost destroys nitrogen levels and to much synthetic builds up salt compounds and does nothing to improve the soil. I like how synthetic gives quick results whereas organic feeds the billions of insects/microbes in the soil. The chemical that is highly unstable in soil is nitrogen.
wait! i thought synthetics kill life in the soil?
Yes they make the environment for biology disfunctional.
@joan-lisa-smith Soils are my day job
@@MarginalFarming Apparently your day job also involves going around telling people that synth needs 5 years fallow. I'm onboard with people using different methods, but having to outright lie to make your position sound better is sickening.
@@teac117 One example would be commercial potato and onion crops. They can require 5 years to fallow to reduce carryover of disease.. That is an issue with using high synthetic inputs, fumigation etc. You get high yields but at the expense of rotation times.
These cash crops are my day job - 100Acre pivots.. Thanks for the reply..
The way I have trialed and grown horticultural and cover crops with synthetic and biostimulants is night and day. I can grow a cash crop 2 weeks after harvest with biostimulants and high organic inputs. With Synthetics a fallow is required (up to 5 years). Synthetics are a shortcut to Nitrates that plants uptake immediately and leave behind salts. The biostimulant methods rely on biology to manufacture the available forms of nutrients for the plants and continue to reproduce for a lower cost.
Ever since your channel was hijacked it really has put out great vidoes..!
Are you collaborating with the hijackers?
Synthetic petroleum salt based nutrients is not the same as organic, not even close. Organic is like the Rolls Royce of gardening and Synthetic is like an oldsmobile. Not even in the same planet. Miricle grow is the worst plant fertilizer on the market. Why you would support Monsanto is beyond me, he's got multiple class action lawsuits with round up. What make you think it's any different with Miricle grow?
The battle always makes me put on my chemistry hat. You don't want me to put on my chemistry hat :P
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petroleum fertilizer with organic top dressing...🤷♂️
Ammonium nitrate is good to have on hand, like having Charcoal...
Wait, you literally work for a synthetic fertilizer company? I generally appreciate your content and pragmatic approach but your background doesn't lend itself to non biased reasoning, understandably so. As far I could tell in a non potted plant situation you would use synthetic nitrogen to compensate for excess nitrogen being used during decomposition of organic material. Wouldn't a bioavailable organic nitrogen fertilizer, such as fish hydrolysate, accomplish the same effect, albeit a bit slower? I'm not going to support an unsustainable industry whose goal is to sell more and more of a product that the excessive use of will ultimately harm our ecosystem, not when there is another way that can be sustainable and potentially less harmful. I understand this is a somewhat idealistic attitude but if you can consume less synthetic anything then do so, every little bit helps.I try to be less of a hypocrite today than yesterday, not always successfully but progress isn't linear. We must begin adaptation to a non petroleum based way of life sooner or later, this is one small way to start.
It depends on your budget.
Great results can be had with a wide variety of inputs.
On the prairies the feed of choice is anhydrous ammonia, something never used by homeowners.
To purchase and apply the amount of fish hydrolosate need for several square miles of crop land would be very high and folks are complaining about food costs often.
@@wayneessar7489 yeah, I’m referencing smaller scale, the notion of scaling these techniques to feed billions is daunting and made next to impossible considering fighting the monied interests. It is possible though and eventually transition will be required. I would hope there is enough of a vanguard to lead the inevitable evolution of farming techniques into the future with an eye towards sustainability and a more cooperative with nature model. There has never been a better farmer than Mother Nature. Obviously we need intensive production but new lessons need to be learned.
Very good. I agree with you
I'm with you on organic , if synthetic is so disruptive to the biology of the soil to drive away the earth worms than how disruptive is it to the microbiology ? It's like bypassing nature and sticking a IV into the plant, just because we can doesn't mean we should, nothing against Ashley she is smart so I think she will eventually figure it out . After all she is half organic already
@@projectoldman1971it has already been scaled up to huge thousands of acre production sites that are becoming more productive and more profitable by not using high priced inorganic like anhydrous ammonia that are doing more harm than good. Unfortunately there are still many producers that are caught up in the that won’t work around here or that’s the way we have always done it here excuses for not wanting to try something different. Corporate big ag wants to keep it that way so they can continue to reap all the profit from the poor farmers caught up in their system. Change comes slowly but there is a rapidly growing grass roots movement happening with regenerative agriculture principles becoming more profitable for the farmers that are willing to open up their eyes and minds. Those who aren’t will eventually go out of business and sell their farms, commit suicide or die sucking down Anhydrous Ammonia fumes. Sad but true.
Synthetics are not good for the environment nore sustainable.
You should work for Fox News. When you are referring to "animal byproducts" as "Organic fertilizer" people get the wrong idea. Because most normal people who aren't selling petroleum and heavy metal based aka "urea" and "sludge" fertilizers. Think of "organic fertilizer" as mineral, plant, or animal based fertilizer free from petroleum and heavy metals. That's why you are not allowed to label things with the word "organic" unless it's a "certified organic" product. You are either pulling a Dunning-Krueger or are actually evil. Maybe explain yourself better or you just come off as a disingenuous kook. If you want to grow foods for just yourself and poison your own body, that's your right. But to grow for babies and young children and think it's not potentially introducing toxic heavy metals into their bloodstream is pretty ignorant.
Well, that was brain food, er fertilizer!
Haha! 🤪
Betterhelp sucks, but your video doesn't.
However I'm concerned your tongue is blue because you ate the miracle grow?