Is store bought fertilizer better than homemade fertilizer?

Answer 1

"Homemade" fertilizer is manure. Keep that in mind for a moment.

Chemical fertilizers may be easier to use, and spread more evenly. They are designed to add nutrients to the soil either fast or slow, and all parts of the fertilizer you purchase will perform exactly the same way as other batches. They are chemically derived, but may or may not have natural components. As a result of the artificial nature of chemical fertilizers, they tend to pollute the environment.

Now, back to manure. You will typically have several choices, but all have one thing in common that chemical fertilizers tend to lack, smell. Manure can have a pretty powerful aroma, and many people feel this is a draw-back. Manure from different animals have different aromas, and different properties (think heat). Where the strongest fertilizer I have seen for residential use is 20-20-20, there are other percentages available. The three numbers relate to the amount of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK) contained by percentage in the bag. So, in a 100 lb. bag of 20-20-20, it will contain 20% each by weight of NPK, always in that order, and 60 lbs. of the 100 will be these nutrients, always. The other 40 lbs. will be inert ingredients. You will never find the NPK label on a cow pie. When it comes to natural manure, you take what you get. This does not mean that you cannot get "hotter" manure. Remember those different aromas from different critters? Well, generally speaking, chicken manure will have higher NPK percentages on average than that of cows or horses, pig manure will be higher in NPK than the other three. Goat and sheep manure can vary depending on their diet, but range a little higher than cow and horse. The best natural fertilizer is that with a little age on it. That's right; let it lie around and breath a little. Two reasons: manure tends to dry out the older it gets (which makes it easier to spread) and the other organic bits decompose (seeds and other organics that don't manage to get digested).

Another thing to consider is that it takes more manure to do the job of most chemical fertilizers. Where 100 lbs. might cover the average vegetable garden, a full trailer of manure may be necessary.

Remember that smell thing? Well, the other thing that comes with it is flies.

If you want to eat healthy, have healthy plants, and keep the environment safer, spread poo. If you want it fast, cheap, and less odoriferous, buy a bag of chemicals. Better or worse isn't really the issue, fertilizer isn't typically a moral question. It boils down to what you want, and what you are willing to endure.