Sunday 18 September 2022

Compost vs. Fertilizer: The Difference Explained

 


Beginning gardeners sometimes mix up the phrases "compost" and "fertiliser." This is understandable given the overlap between the two. More importantly, this ambiguity might lead to doubts about whether to use compost or fertiliser in a given setting. To explain the difference, we'll take a bird's-eye view of the many forms of fertiliser, which is a difficult issue in and of itself. Compost is a much more complicated issue since it performs a variety of roles. This blog from Kisaan Trade will help you gain a basic grasp of how fertiliser and compost vary, as well as when to use fertiliser and when to use compost.


What is compost?


Compost, at its most basic, is degraded organic matter. However, many different types of organic matter are constantly decaying in various areas. When we use the term "compost," we typically mean organic materials that have decomposed in a compost pile (often contained in a bin or tumbler). Many gardeners keep a pile like this in their backyards to generate their own compost. One distinction between compost and fertiliser is as follows: While it is possible to buy compost, you may also save money by generating it yourself. Fertilizer, on the other hand, is often purchased.


Compost is one of several soil amendments that change the soil's physical or chemical qualities. Other soil additives include lime, manure, leaf mould, ground bark, fertilisers, water retention agents, clay, gypsum, and others.


Bacteria eventually find their way into your pile. They aid in the heating process, which breaks down (decomposes) the organic materials. To the untrained eye, the resulting product seems to be dirt, although it is significantly more valuable than ordinary soil.


The following are the benefits of utilising compost:


• It is beneficial to the entire soil.

• It maintains the natural health of the soil and promotes the formation of beneficial bacteria.

• It provides adequate and nutritious nutrients to the soil.

• Aids in the retention of moisture in the soil.

• It promotes optimum plant growth.

• Aids the soil's disease resistance.

• It aids in the management and limitation of weeds.

• It directly feeds the soil.

• Compost is significantly cheaper and more ecologically friendly than fertiliser since it can be made at home.


The following are the downsides of using compost:


• When using compost, be certain that none of your garden plants contain soil-borne diseases.

• Compost takes longer to have an impact on the soil.

• Composting may be a time-consuming procedure.

• Composting takes more physical work than most fertilisers.

• Compost spreads can be stinky since they are created from rotting organic materials.

• Compost requires extra storage and processing space.

 

What is fertiliser?


Fertilizer provides nutrients to your plants. A fertiliser is classified as either chemical or organic.


A chemical fertiliser is a man-made substance. When you buy one of those giant lawn fertiliser bags at a home improvement store, you're most likely receiving this sort of fertiliser. It's carefully crafted to guarantee that specific nutrients are accessible in specific amounts (this is where NPK ratios come in). That is excellent news. The bad news is that if these items are misused inappropriately, they might be hazardous. Too much chemical fertiliser will burn your plants, and different types of fertiliser are required by different plants. A nitrogen-rich fertiliser, for example, can provide your tomato plants with lots of healthy green foliage, but too much nitrogen and not enough phosphorus may result in fewer tomatoes.


A natural product is organic fertiliser. While they must still be used with caution, they are often safer than chemical fertilisers.


The following are the benefits of applying fertiliser in the garden:


• Accelerates plant growth.

• It enriches the soil with nutrients and promotes plant development.

• Aids in the elimination of certain soil deficiencies.

• It satisfies the unique requirements of a diverse variety of plants.

• It contains macro-and micronutrients.

• Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium are all necessary elements for all soils.


The following are the drawbacks of utilising fertiliser:


• When utilising fertiliser, there is a risk of nutrient overloading the soil.

• Can result in significant contamination of the environment.

• Can contaminate groundwater.

• Certain fertilisers can disrupt the soil's symbiotic interaction with bacteria.

• Fertilizers can disrupt the soil's microbial equilibrium.

• Certain fertilisers are hazardous to both the environment and the human body.

• Fertilizers can be more expensive to use than compost, which is frequently formed from food waste, discarded leaves, and kitchen scraps.


Common traits between fertiliser and compost:


When utilised correctly, compost and fertiliser may function extremely effectively together. Compost's organic matter absorbs nutrients from fertiliser and stores them until plants want them. Compost also contains several nutrients that plants require in minute levels, such as boron. You can apply fertiliser without utilising compost, but why pass up an opportunity to improve soil fertility and moisture retention? Soil that is routinely altered with compost becomes rich, dark, and crumbly, requiring far less fertiliser than soil that has not been treated with compost on a regular basis.


The difference between fertiliser and compost:


The simplest distinction between compost and fertiliser is that compost nourishes the soil, whereas fertiliser feeds the plants. Fertilizer increases the nutritional levels in the soil. However, instead of feeding the soil food web, fertiliser components are designed to meet the demands of fast-growing plants. The amount of compost gardeners are instructed to add to the soil is sometimes fairly generic, and fertiliser application rates depend on plant demands. Organic fertilisers perform just as well as conventional fertilisers for vegetables, but organic fertilisers have been demonstrated to be more effective in balancing the soil food web. Chemical fertiliser can also be used to feed composting, but repeated usage may disrupt the chemistry of your soil and discourage beneficial insects and bacteria.


Kisaan Trade - About Us


Kisaan Trade is a modern tool available to all agricultural farmers and individuals. We provide a wide range of products and services to fulfil a wide range of agricultural needs. Among our products are agricultural equipment and machinery, various types of seeds and fertilisers, irrigation-related equipment and tools, animal feed and dairy products, flowers and plants, crop commodities, and organic foods.


We provide a wide range when it comes to fertilisers and compost. Some of the fertilisers provided by us


1) Composting Culture: Composting culture is a cutting-edge effective combination of bacteria that decomposes agricultural leftovers and converts them into valuable compost manure in a short period of time. One kilogramme of composting culture may produce compost manure equivalent to one tractor trolley of agricultural waste.


2) Apna Khad Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM): Apna Khad PROM is a biofertilizer that may be used instead of diammonium phosphate and single super phosphate. Phosphate-rich organic manure is made by co-composting extremely fine (80% finer than 54 microns) high-grade (32% P2O5 +/-2%) rock phosphate.


3) Azotobactor bacterial manure: Azotobactor bacterial manure is a powdered combination of extremely competent bacteria. Following germination, these bacteria become bi-conjugated and make nitrogen accessible to the plant by converting air nitrogen while residing on the surface of the plant's root.


4) Rhizobium: Nafed rhizobium mostly fulfills plant nitrogen requirements while existing in symbiotic relationships with all pulses and certain oilseed crops. They proceed to the roots after germination to sterilise tiny lumps and transform air nitrogen into nitrate, which they then supply to plants. Use just the Nafed Rhizobium that has been prescribed for each crop.


5) Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria: Phosphorus is the plant's second most important nutrient. It plays an important function in crop production. NAFED PSB is a well-balanced blend of phosphorus-soluble bacteria. NAFED PSB transforms insoluble phosphorus in the soil into a soluble form that plants may easily utilise during seed treatment or land treatment.


We provide two kinds of compost:


1) City Compost

2) Vermicompost


1) City Compost: City Compost is a one-of-a-kind bio-organic soil enricher made from biodegradable organic compounds, mostly of plant origin, through a controlled accelerated microbial composting process. It does not contain any hazardous bacteria or insect eggs, weed seeds, or plant illnesses.


2) Vermicompost: In a vermicomposting system, earthworms and bacteria play critical roles in the breakdown of organic materials. Many environmental factors influence vermicomposting as a biological reaction system, including water content, moisture, pH, organic matter, temperature, carbon to nitrogen ratio, ammonia, and so on.


To obtain any of our products, contact us right away.

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