Organic or mineral growing: What difference does it make to your plants?
There are two distinct kinds of fertilizers: organic and mineral. In this topic we’ll tell you all about the differences between them. Are you a first-time grower? Choose for growing on peat. With this information, you can decide which kind of fertilizer (base nutrient and additives) works best for you. But first, let’s take a look at what a fertilizer is and what it does for your plant.
What is a fertilizer?
A fertilizer is a product with a main purpose to deliver nutrients to plants. There are both liquid and solid fertilizers. The nutrients in a fertilizer are commonly classified as NPK. NPK stands for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). These three nutrients all have a specific purpose during the development of a plant. Together, they ensure your plant can grow from a seedling into a healthy mature plant.
Nutrient source determines: organic or mineral
Nutrients can be extracted from multiple sources. The source determines if a nutrient is organic or mineral. An organic source is of vegetable of animal origin. Examples include worm manure, bat guano, fish meal and algae extract. A mineral material comes from the minerals in rocks. Sometimes mineral and organic sources are combined. The result is called an organo-mineral fertilizer.
Effect of organic fertilizers: taste
An organic fertilizer is partially absorbed by the plant’s roots and partially by the soil life. Soil life consists of fungi, yeasts and bacteria. It has self-regulating properties and creates nutrients for your plants. With an organic fertilizer, you help sustain this soil life. As an added benefit, you won’t need to measure the pH or EC values when growing organic. You also get the best possible taste of your end products. Of course all organic fertilizers are suitable for organic farming. At Plagron, the products from the 100% NATURAL grow style are all organic, plus a few additives:
Organic peat soils: Batmix, Plagron Allmix, Royalmix and Promix
Organic base nutrients: Alga Grow and Alga Bloom
Organic additives: Bat Guano, Mega Worm, Supermix, Vita Race, Vita Start and Calcium Kick
Effect of mineral fertilizer: yield
With a mineral fertilizers from 100% TERRA, all nutrients are absorbed directly by your plant’s roots. This means plants will grow quick and have a high yield. You can easily adjust the nutrients your plants receive when growing mineral. This makes them easy to use.
Mineral peat soils: Lightmix, Growmix
Mineral base nutrients: Terra Grow, Terra Bloom
Mineral additives: Green Sensation, Power Roots, Sugar Royal and many more
Organic vs mineral fertilizers - video
Do you prefer watching a video? We made a video for you with a simple explanation without too many technical details. Use this link to watch the video (in English).
Do you need help choosing the right way to get started?
Check out our Substrate Selector for choosing the grow style and substrate.
Are you having difficulties putting together your Grow Schedule? Use our Grow Schedule Calculator.