When considering a Organic Fertilizer Recipe,Plants need Copper and Iron and Manganese, Calcium and Magnesium and Phosphorus, and at least seven other essential minerals (animals need at least fourteen more), and they need them in an available and balanced form. Rotting organic matter may release growth stimulants like Nitrogen and Potassium, but the other minerals are what create sweetness and flavor and nutrition in food. Plant material treated with insecticides, miticides or herbicides should be composted for a minimum of 6 months. Planting repellant vegetation close to vulnerable plants is believed to offer protection. Examples of repellant plants include marigolds, onion, garlic and hot peppers.

Plant cover crops to increase organic matter inputs, recycle nutrients, reduce runoff and erosion, suppress weeds (which may limit the need for cultivation), and add nitrogen (if they include legumes). Practices such as intercropping, double-cropping, and using living or plant-residue mulches increase the time the soil is covered and provide many of the same bene-fits as cover crops.

Plant roots can also be considered as soil organisms in view of their symbiotic relationships and interactions with other soil components. These diverse organisms interact with one another and with the various plants and animals in the ecosystem, forming a complex web of biological activity. Plants require different amounts of N at different stages of growth: seedlings and senescing plants definitely require much less N than flowering or fruiting plants. We also have known that different organic manures have different N releasing patterns.

Plants uptake as much potassium as there is available in the soil, and concentrate that potassium in their top growth. So when vegetation is hauled in and composted or when animal manure is imported, large quantities of potassium come along with them. Plants release food into the soil to attract beneficial bacteria and fungi that coat their roots and prevent disease. Soil biology decomposes toxins, manure and organic matter. Plants and animals aid in the development of a soil through the addition of organic matter. Fungi and bacteria decompose this organic matter into a semi-soluble chemical substance known as humus.

Another form of organic Fertilizer Recipe is Manure sourced from healthy, grass eating animals is a readily available soil conditioner. It has a high nitrogen and phosphate content so should be measured sparingly and properly dried before applying to the garden. Manures may be high in salts. About half of the nutrients remaining in manures will be available each year.