Question
Hi! I am a middle school student and I am doing a science fair project. We have to do an expert interview. It would be great if you could answer these questions...

1. Do you use organic fertilizer and why?
2. Can the type of soil affect the growth rate of grass?
3. Is it even necessary to add fertilizer to the plant?

Thanks for your time! I really appreciate it!

Answer
Hello Katie.  Pleased to meet you.  I have some answers for you:

1.  Organic Fertilizer: Well, this is a bit of an oxymoron.  Know what that is?  This is a great word, oxymoron.  Some other examples of oxymorons are PRETTY UGLY, SHABBY CHIC, TREMENDOUSLY SMALL, WORKING VACATION, LIQUID GAS, NOTHING MUCH, NUMB FEELING...

The reason ORGANIC FERTILIZER makes this list is that 'Fertilizer' traditionally refers to something you do for your plants or your grass.  Right?

You 'fertilize' Roses, or the Lawn, or the Hydrangea, or an Orchid.

But 'organic' fertilizer doesn't do that at all.  Organic fertilizer adds something to the Soil that the plant is growing in.

That 'something' is supposed to be digested by microbes and released to the plant by them.  Microbes digest and decompose organic matter in the Soil -- leaves, dead flowers, pieces of wood from a tree, tree stumps, even dead animals and manure. If there are no microbes in the Soil (which doesn't happen unless you sterilize the Soil, and then it's only sterile for a short time), the 'something' will sit there, and the plant will stay hungry, more or less.

Those 'somethings' that we call organic fertilizer are BONE MEAL (which is rich in Phosphorus), BAT GUANO, BLOODMEAL and FISH EMULSION (rich in Nitrogen), and GREENSAND (rich in Potassium).  But leaves, dead flowers, etc also count as fertilizer.  And manure is a very popular 'something'.

I hope that's not too confusing.

Why do I use Organic Fertilizer?

Lots of reasons.  Where do I begin?  I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

(a) Chemical Fertilizers are, technically, chemical Salts.  All of them.  Chemical Fertilizers build up in the Soil; like all Salts, they are bad for the plant.  (Try watering a plant with Salt water and you'll see a speeded-up version of this problem.) But Chemical Fertilizers are also bad for the microbes that you need to do the digesting of organic matter in the Soil.  Microbes can't STAND to be around Salt, no matter where it comes from.  And we need microbes to digest and decompose those 'somethings' we talked about at the beginning of this question.

(b) Chemical Fertilizers are short-lived and temporary.

Example: If you use a Chemical Nitrogen fertilizer, depending on where you got it from, MOST of it will actually evaporate within a few hours of using it.  You won't notice it because the air we breathe is mostly Nitrogen.  But it will evaporate until almost none of it is left for the plant.

The little that gets used by the plant is VERY strong, and the plant responds by speeding up growth; then it suddenly stops getting fed (because the Nitrogen has evaporated or washed away), and it's stuck without food for the new growth, so it stops.  And it's now vulnerable to attack by insects and Fungus diseases, just like you would be if you were up all night partying, suddenly had to go to sleep, then you got up again to go to school.

Tell me, do you like to eat ONCE A WEEK?

That's what it's like when you 'feed' a plant Nitrogen fertilizer.  But if you use an ORGANIC fertilizer, the microbes work all the time; if you get hungry, you walk into the kitchen, pick up a sandwich right there that the microbes have ready for you whenever you feel like it, eat, and go play.  That's good for you.  It's also good for plants.

(c) The factories that make Chemical Fertilizers are very, VERY unhealthy places to work.  The people who work there get sick all the time.  They have illnesses after they finish working there that can make them sick for years.  The factories cause TERRIBLE pollution for the people who live nearby, as well.  That's not right.

(d) Chemical Fertilizers are one dimensional.  They don't have all the trace minerals that Organic Fertilizers have.  Those trace minerals may just be needed in 'trace' quantities, but they're needed just the same, and you don't get them with Chemicals.

2.  Can Soil type affect Grass?  Do fish swim?  Do dogs bark?  Is the sky blue?  Boy oh boy, does it EVER affect the Grass!

That's a long, complicated answer that you don't have time to hear.  But I'll summarize: You cannot grow great Grass without great Soil.  The pH of the Soil (Acidic, Basic, neutral); what the Soil is made of (is it high in Clay?  is it very Sandy?  is it the same as you'd find in the Woods?  Does it come from the ground under a Tree?); the kinds of microbes that are living in the Soil (or if it even HAS microbes) -- these are all Soil differences, and they have everything to do with how well the Grass will grow.  EVERYTHING.  Which brings us to...

3.  Do you need Fertilizer?  Well, if you have good Soil, and lots of microbes, you actually need ZERO Fertilizer!  But all of us, in the civilized world, have opened up magazines with beautiful advertisements and comforting words about the need for Fertilizer.  Scotts Miracle-Gro is the biggest manufacturer of Fertilizers in the world, and their advertisements are all over the place, on TV, in magazines, in Home Depot and Lowes, the internet, everywhere.

But those are mostly (not all) for their Chemical Fertilizers.  And Scotts is in the business of making money, right?  So they want people to buy their Chemical Fertilizers.  They're not going to advertise that you don't need to fertilize your plants or your Grass.  They'd rather you went out and bought their stuff.  It's a free country.  Nothing wrong with that.  People in a free country have a responsibility to find out what is true, and what is advertising.  But we have been very gullible (another good word, and you are going to need these for the SAT someday).  We believe their ads.  And we buy their stuff.

Hopefully, your generation will be less gullible.  Good luck with your project,

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER