When I first began gardening, I thought Miracle Gro, a fertilizer product offered at most plant nurseries, was what I needed to keep my garden flourishing. It was only several years later that I realized Miracle Gro is a chemical fertilizer that no self-respecting green advocate would ever be caught using.

With organic gardening, I knew that any chemical fertilizer shouldn’t be necessary if you create a healthy organic soil that is in itself rich in nutrients. I also figured that it would be a bad idea to use a product like Miracle Gro not only in my own garden, but because the process needed to create such a product is harmful to the environment, which later makes it way to waterways and creates unnatural and unbalanced algae blooms, for one. I knew I did not want to support such a product.

Being relatively new to the organic scene, I wasn’t sure what I should do to fertilize my plants or if I even needed to. After doing some research, I learned that organic growing is about three things: balance of nutrients, soil structure and biology, with the ultimate goal being nutrient cycling. If you start with a nutrient-rich soil as your foundation, this should be enough to keep your plants healthy.

Even so, you may need to periodically feed your plants. Alternatives exist in the form of organic pellet fertilizer or fish emulsion and liquid kelp. You can make it yourself, find alternatives at your local plant nursery or buy it online.

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