[Mudpuppy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')as anybody tried to boil bones and crush them or just throw them in a fire and crush them. The road kill alone around here would keep my farm going.

[RedStateGreen]

That reminds me, I read that you could roast bones in the oven and grind them. Probably after making soup would be the best time!

[green_achers]

Correction on my post above. The worm casting liquid rate was actually about $16,000/#N. Not quite as bad. According to the article, the NPK numbers are extremely small. Not sure what this means, since I've always heard that worm castings are supposed to be very high in nutrients. Maybe it's because liquid fertilizers are mostly water.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RedStateGreen', 'T')hat reminds me, I read that you could roast bones in the oven and grind them. Probably after making soup would be the best time!

[DoubleD]

Compost - well made from a good variety of inputs is one of the most balanced natural and long acting fertilizers you can use. It should be the foundation of garden soil management. After that... here are good organic souces for NPK that may be readily available to you - depending on where your location is.


Nitrogen:

Grass Clippings

Alfalfa - can be hand scythed from the edge of a hay field or any area that it is growing wild - often shows up in ditches next to a hay farm area - or you can sweep the chaff from a hay barn if you have one at your disposal

Fish - can be buried in the garden directly (but will attract critters which can be a problem) or you can whack it up with a good knife and then "blender it ala "bassomatic"" and make your own fish meal puree. Place in a bucket with some chopped kelp, a little molasses if you have it (helps with the decomposing process) - cover tightly and let sit for a few weeks - stirring it once a day if possible. Will turn into a foamy on the top gooey mess. Just dilute with water and you have a fish meal drench. Those of us near the seashore can find "dead critters" on the beach if you just head out as the tide is going out.

Manure - steer, chicken, etc are higher in nitrogen but must be aged before applying to an area with plants - or it will burn them. Good to mix into the garden soil in early spring a few weeks BEFORE you plant the first items so it has time to mellow.

Green manure/cover crops - I plant crimson clover in the fall for areas that are not in food production mode through the winter months. I use bush beans or buckwheat in the summer months if an area is not planted up until later or I will plant them as an understory to heavy nitrogen feeders - such as a stand of corn. I also plant peas in the spring and the fall - and after harvesting the produce - the plant material and roots are either turned under or composted.

Phosphorous:

Kelp - rinsed to remove salt first

Fish meal (see "bass o matic" discussion above in nitrogen discussion)

Potassium:

Wood ash - raises PH though and it leaves salts in the soil - so this should be very very sparingly used - as in no more often than once very 3 years or so for a garden bed area - and only a dusting at that.

Kelp - rinsed to remove salt first



Personally... for phosphorus I prefer to buy large bags of rock phosphate and keep them on hand... periodic applications to the garden - every 3 or 5 years is more than enough... as the rock minerals release over a period of up to 10 years. It is still inexpensive to purchase - stores forever with no special handling - and is the one nutrient that is HARD to substitute with natural products and is the most likely to be the limiting factor in your gardens production capabilities. Nitrogen can be too - but there are many many natural sources for that - not so many for "P".

(edited to add a sentence that was needed and missed the first posted this - sorry)

[DoubleD]

I forgot to add to my previous post - as you can see if you look carefully at my list - that if you make a fish/kelp emulsion and use it diluted into a tea to fertigate your garden plantings ... it is almost the ideal nutrient shot - as it is a good supply (when combined) of "N", "P" and "K". Really diluted it is the perfect first food for young seedlings.

I use it alot in my gardens as a result.

[alokin]

stink brew with comfrey, borage or nettles.

[frankthetank]

Thing that sucks about grass clippings is that so many yards are treated now, the only ones i use are my own.

What a guy should be doing is bow carp fishing. Using a bow to shoot unwanted carp and using the dead fish for fertilizer. Carp are very large fish (i've caught them over 20pounds).

[green_achers]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RedStateGreen', 'T')hat reminds me, I read that you could roast bones in the oven and grind them. Probably after making soup would be the best time!

[green_achers]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DoubleD', 'F')ish - can be buried in the garden directly (but will attract critters which can be a problem) or you can whack it up with a good knife and then "blender it ala "bassomatic"" and make your own fish meal puree. Place in a bucket with some chopped kelp, a little molasses if you have it (helps with the decomposing process) - cover tightly and let sit for a few weeks - stirring it once a day if possible. Will turn into a foamy on the top gooey mess. Just dilute with water and you have a fish meal drench. Those of us near the seashore can find "dead critters" on the beach if you just head out as the tide is going out.

[DoubleD]

Fish emulsion drenches do stink. It takes about two days for the "odor" to remove itself... but it is a miracle shot of nutrients and combined with Kelp is a real homerun brew.

[one_more_day]

Rabbit manure, don't forget rabbit manure! It is a great source of nutrients, and can be applied straight to the garden without fear of burning your plants. It comes in convenient pellets that make for easy application.

Rabbit manure has made all the difference in my garden this year.

[green_achers]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DoubleD', 'F')ish emulsion drenches do stink. It takes about two days for the "odor" to remove itself... but it is a miracle shot of nutrients and combined with Kelp is a real homerun brew.

[DoubleD]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')lace in a bucket with some chopped kelp, a little molasses if you have it (helps with the decomposing process) - cover tightly and let sit for a few weeks....

[pedalling_faster]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('green_achers', 'C')orrection on my post above. The worm casting liquid rate was actually about $16,000/#N. Not quite as bad. According to the article, the NPK numbers are extremely small. Not sure what this means, since I've always heard that worm castings are supposed to be very high in nutrients. Maybe it's because liquid fertilizers are mostly water.

[wisconsin_cur]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('one_more_day', 'R')abbit manure, don't forget rabbit manure! It is a great source of nutrients, and can be applied straight to the garden without fear of burning your plants. It comes in convenient pellets that make for easy application.

Rabbit manure has made all the difference in my garden this year.

[burtonridr]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Article', 'A')s the rains have arrived early in Northern India, the countryside has got a much needed respite from the scorching summer heat.

Paddy farmer Ram Nivas Sehrawat--If I had used a fertiliser the plants would have grown much taller by now
Paddy farmer Ram Nivas Sehrawat--Usually heavy rains at this time spells good news for the rice farmers of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi as its time to start planting in their fields.

But paddy farmer Ram Nivas Sehrawat, who works hard to grow rice crop out of his small plot of five acres just outside Delhi, is a worried man. Mr Sehrawat has sowed his seeds and his paddy nursery is ready to be transplanted to his main fields.

But he has not been able to apply the vital dose of fertilisers at the right time and his paddy nursery is not looking healthy. full article here

[SoylentGreen]

a fertilizer shortage will never be comprehended by congress, they armpit deep in the stuff 24/7/365

[allenwrench]

Natural gas is a raw material in many of our products we depend on.

Almost all the helium we produce comes from natural gas.

Propane, synthetic fertilizers, ammonia?

They are totally dependent on natural gas.

Our population boom was fueled by synthetic fertilizers made from natural; gas. Once the gas dries up so does the fertilizer and a shortage of fertilizer equals a shortage of food.

We will run out of natural gas, just as we deplete our crude supplies in the near future.

[Gerben]

Natural gas is used to make fertiliser in multiple steps. The fist step is to make hydrogen from the natural gas. You don't need natural gas however. Other energysources can also be used to make hydrogen, like coal and biomass. Before we can think of a hydrogen economy, we should make a transition in the way we produce our hydrogen as a chemical feedstock, before thinking of new ways to use hydrogen.