So, one of our readers recently wanted to know why we favor what are known as “synthetic” fertilizers over more “organic” processes like using compost, teas and other more “natural” methods. We have a good answer for you, but we’ve been reluctant to put this topic on blast as it’s bound to challenge some people’s deeply held beliefs.
Where we grow at 65 degrees north, the organic process happens at a snail’s pace. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but let’s get straight to the evidence. Peat, or partially decomposed organics, is almost entirely harvested out of high northern latitudes. Reason being, things don’t decompose as quickly up here, leaving behind peat. The entire organic chain is significantly slowed (and is sometimes incomplete) at high northern latitudes. What takes weeks at lower latitudes can take years at high latitudes. Organics do work, but very, very slowly.
The supposed “war” between organic and synthetic agriculture is mostly a product of farmers and marketeers trying to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. The majority of “information” on the topic is actually propaganda. When we get into the science, things become decidedly less clear. You might be astonished to learn this, just as I was, but the end-goal of microbes and plant roots is to convert organic nutrients into inorganic versions of that very nutrient. It’s backwards to logic, but plants actually “eat” inorganic versions of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and micronutrients. Not “organic” versions of that nutrient!
What most growers don’t fully appreciate is the pure chemistry based aspect of how plants function. Plants mastered chemistry long before humans did. We are only catching up. What many organic enthusiasts don’t appreciate is that synthetic fertilizers are the most optimal and efficient way to “feed” a given crop. The “chemical” (or inorganic form of a nutrient) is exactly what the plant wants to consume. There is no such thing as an organic nitrate and an inorganic nitrate, for example. Also surprising, synthetic nutrition is most often derived from the exact same stuff as organics (e.g. rock phosphate), just further refined.
Put simply, you cannot “fake” nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus and please a plant. If one or the the other of these methods didn’t work, it wouldn’t be possible. The truth is, both methods work and we chose to take a “northern” approach to our growing practice to significantly enhance production.
There’s lots of arguments out there. Some might claim “it’s about the salts” and that makes people think we’re talking about sodium chloride, or table salt. These people are entirely misinformed, that’s how we literally discuss NPK, both compost and synthetic fertilizers produce “salts.” (i.e. NPK and other micronutrients.) The most informed people on the “organic side” will discuss the carbon in the organic chain. And yes, there’s truth to this, but this argument makes the assumption that the synthetic grower knows nothing of (or doesn’t care about) the organic process.
Soluble carbon is important, but it doesn’t have to be tied to a given fertilizer or process to be considered “sustainable.” If you’re like us, using synthetic fertilizers, you play the carbon game differently. You can still use compost, which is heavily carbon fed, and feed that back into your soils. You can also do carbon building in many other ways, like choosing a wood chip mulch! In our case, we simplify our plant’s feed and contribute to carbon output elsewhere. Also, let’s not forget that carbon is literally everywhere, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about reducing our carbon footprints.
Careful observers of our practice might also know that we do actually use a full organic process in at least one of our gardens, our raised beds. Almost everything we grow in this garden are relatively “low feeders” (e.g. lettuce, root veggies, etc.) and thus are more compatible with the slow northern organic chains in the north. But, we use synthetics on our heavy feeding, high yield and high value crops. For us, the decision is about how much NPK we need to get into our plants to make a great crop.
There is a ton of propaganda out there. People argue synthetic ferts kill soil microbes, which isn’t true, the science shows it actually increases their numbers. (Because again, nature mastered chemistry long before humans!) A lot of this stuff comes down to belief or emotional arguments, but the actual science out there tells a different story.
People want you to believe the world is a binary “good vs bad” and it doesn’t work like that, at all. We will tell you this, we are on the same “side” as you. Organic means a lot of things. Just saying no to GMO? We’re 100% with you. Building healthy soil systems? We do that, every season. Supporting open pollinated heirloom varieties? We’re definitely there, grow them every year. Being aware of things like PFAS/PFOS/forever chemicals? We’re on exactly the same page and have altered our practices with this knowledge. For the most part, we’re indistinguishable from most organic growers, other than we use synthetic fertilizers.
Synthetic fertilizers simply got dragged into the discussion because “big ag” got it wrong. In our opinion, the issues are more about the overworking of soils to the point of absolute depletion and an incomplete effort to restore a balance. It’s practices like sludge harvesting that blasts PFAS into our food systems and waterways. It’s the use of pesticides and GMO products that destroy open pollinated crops and threaten the livelihood of good people trying to make a living. It’s the unrelenting commercialization of agriculture, at any cost, that is the problem. And that’s not what we’re about.
The discussion “should” be about sustainable and non-sustainable practices. Or big versus small scale. You can have unsustainable organic practices, where the overhead of inputs has a far greater ecological cost than what’s created. You can also have synthetic practices, like ours. where we focus on and insist on a net-positive effect.
So, that’s the deal. Sorry for the long winded post, but we couldn’t defend it properly otherwise. Things aren’t always as they seem in this world and the more we’ve learned, the more we’ve had to step back and really think about things. This is one of those areas we did that with and well, here we are.
