What are you guys using for outdoor fertilizers?

I total agree with BxGrower81 and his points, not all of them but most. Illegal growing is risky and the less time you spend there the better. Toss on the chems and beat it out of there. I don’t have time and do not want to lug many yards of soil amendments back through the forest many miles to many different locations when an Ice-cream container of ferts does all that for me.

A local farmer is growing true and I mean True organic grains for a large cereal company and are having a hard time fighting a wild mustard seed that is over taking his field, that sucks for him. What I meant by True organic are things like growing Nitrogen in the form of Clover instead of adding manure, and fighting weeds using crop rotation with a cycle of Buckwheat then the Grains, this is true Organics. Using Batshit and similar manures is not TRUE organics.

I have used a Cow manure and compost tea on my garden for many years and had the best crops compared to the ferts I use nowadays, I wish I could go back but because of my current situation I use chemicals now.

As far as my use of chemical ferts and the environment goes, I have a hard time worrying about it because I don’t really see the harm I’m causing. I do care about the environment; I’m an outdoors man and hate what humans as a hole are doing to this planet, but what can I do that would make a difference. I try every day to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle but as I carry food scraps to the composter and at any given time I can look up and see several Airliners overhead dumping pollutions on me I see no extra harm I’m causing with a bag of Ferts growing plants that clean the air we breathe.

So if it's already messed up you don't mind adding to it??
I'm 60 so in 30 more years it won't matter a bit to me either....

The only thing that I put in my holes is my own garden soil and well rotted cow manure. I have a virtually unlimited supply of both. As a matter of fact, my garden soil is really just about 25 years worth of manure and I keep tilling in more at the end of every year. I mix in some pulverized lime to sweeten it up and I'm good to go. Works like a charm. All organic. No expensive chemicals. Plants love it. Just make sure you have a reliable water source nearby.

dirtsurfr said:

So if it's already messed up you don't mind adding to it??
I'm 60 so in 30 more years it won't matter a bit to me either....

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Don't hate the player...hate the game...

dirtsurfr said:

So if it's already messed up you don't mind adding to it??
I'm 60 so in 30 more years it won't matter a bit to me either....

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Nah, that’s not what I meant, couldn’t be further from the truth actually. So your approach for the last 60 years has only been to purchase and consume organic foods, environmentally friendly clothing, and other environmentally friendly materials that are a necessity, and have lived a modest life style by not over indulging, and stayed clear of motorized transportation??......Yah Right.

EZmooover said:

The only thing that I put in my holes is my own garden soil and well rotted cow manure. I have a virtually unlimited supply of both. As a matter of fact, my garden soil is really just about 25 years worth of manure and I keep tilling in more at the end of every year. I mix in some pulverized lime to sweeten it up and I'm good to go. Works like a charm. All organic. No expensive chemicals. Plants love it. Just make sure you have a reliable water source nearby.

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Props to you, I know all about it, like I said above, best garden I ever had. Wish I still had access to fresh cow manure, but now the drive to the nearest farm would cause more negative effects on the environment than the bag of chemical fertilizer, imagine that.

Curiosity2 said:

Props to you, I know all about it, like I said above, best garden I ever had. Wish I still had access to fresh cow manure, but now the drive to the nearest farm would cause more negative effects on the environment than the bag of chemical fertilizer, imagine that.

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Roger that. I hear ya dude. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

It's just that I get a lot of chuckles reading about all of these super duper witches brews that people fall in love with or are impressed that other people have come up with. 20 different kinds of commercial amendments in pretty packaging and yadda yadda. I'll bet 95% of these consumers never even took high school chemistry or really understand the science behind all the data.

Disclaimer: I have an M.S. in chemistry so these discussions don't exactly go over my head, but I'm also a farm boy by heart. In spite of my ed., I prefer the low tech, outdoor, hillbilly methods... K.I.S.S. A little bit of solid common sense and a fundamental knowledge of your challenges can go a long way.