Fertilizer

Why does a leaf pile heat up?*

Bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms are feeding on the dead leaves and producing heat and energy (just like we do when we eat). This process is called decomposition.*

Compost is a key ingredient in what?

Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming.

Compost is when what?

Compost is when we use some of nature's elements, like a tree and its dead leaves, but add other ingredients — like cardboard, egg shells, nut shells — to create rich, fertilized soil.

Each species of plant has evolved to need a certain combination of what?

Each species of plant has evolved to need a certain combination of nutrients

Earthworms loosen the soil for what?

Earthworms loosen the soil for plant roots

Can you think of one danger in using too much chemical fertilizer?~

Excess fertilizer can wash into rivers and streams and pollute waterways. Too much fertilizer can harm crops and upset the balance of nutrients and living organisms in the soil.~

Fertilizer is usually defined as what?

Fertilizer is usually defined as material added to the soil to help plants grow.

Fertilizers are often referred to what?

Fertilizers are often referred to as organic or inorganic

For it to become organic matter, it must be what?

For it to become organic matter, it must be decomposed into humus.

Healthy humus contains what?

Healthy humus contains everything a plant needs to thrive.

Humus contains more than what?

Humus contains more than 25 minerals and nutrients that plants need for proper health and growth.

Humus is not just soil, it is a community of what?

Humus is not just soil, it is a community of living things.

Humus is when what?

Humus is when nature breaks down the elements, like a tree and its dead leaves, into organic material.

If a plant's environment is changed, the plant may not get what?

If a plant's environment is changed, the plant may not get the nutrients it needs

Name a set of circumstances when using a chemical fertilizer might be necessary?-

In the case of a natural disaster—a flood or a drought, for example—that upset the natural balance of nutrients in the soil, it might be necessary to use a chemical fertilizer to restore the balance.-

Inorganic fertilizer is usually made from what?

Inorganic fertilizer is usually made from chemical processes that put some of a plant's favorite nutrients like potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus into the fertilizer product

Nitrogen and oxygen are present in what?

Nitrogen and oxygen are present in abundance, along with various amounts of potassium, magnesium and other minerals.

Organic fertilizers are usually made from what?

Organic fertilizers are usually made from natural things like compost, which is made up of naturally decaying food scraps and other natural wastes.

Organic material is anything that what?

Organic material is anything that was alive and is now in or on the soil.

Organic matter has been decomposed until what?

Organic matter has been decomposed until it is resistant to further decomposition.

Organic matter is what?

Organic matter is a breeding ground for many types of microbes, including bacteria and fungi which break down plant material, and for other microorganisms that help plant roots absorb necessary nutrients.

What is organic matter?^

Organic matter is matter that comes from a once-living organism; it is capable of decay or it is the product of decay, and it is composed of organic compounds.^

Recent research suggests that earthworms what?

Recent research suggests that earthworms eliminate unwanted pathogens from the soil as well.

Soil must also have what?

Soil must also have rich organic matter.

That rate increases if what?

That rate increases if temperature, oxygen, and moisture conditions become favorable for decomposition, which often occurs with excessive overturning of the soil.

The decomposition occurs when what?

The decomposition occurs when nature is making humus as well as when we make compost.

Usually, only about 5 percent of humus what?

Usually, only about 5 percent of humus mineralizes annually.

We know that balanced, healthy soil must have its what?

We know that balanced, healthy soil must have its inorganic ingredients—the minerals and water and air.

When a natural environment no longer supplies nutrients a plant needs, or a plant has been moved to an environment that lacks nutrients, the missing nutrients can be what?

When a natural environment no longer supplies nutrients a plant needs, or a plant has been moved to an environment that lacks nutrients, the missing nutrients can be provided by using fertilizer.

As long as the plant's natural environment stays healthy and balanced, the plant will get all the nutrients it needs for what?

As long as the plant's natural environment stays healthy and balanced, the plant will get all the nutrients it needs for healthy growth.