is it possible to burn your plants with organic fertilizer?

i assume since everything is organic, it couldn't "chemically burn" a plant if fertilizing is overdone, but am i wrong? is it possible to over do an organic fertilizer and hurt your plant?

Not sure on the safety of specifics, but organic doesn't necessarily mean safe - they are still chemical compunds - just made by nature instead of a lab.

An example of this is (sorry about this) - um, pee. Dog urine is too high in nitrogen and burns the yellow spot on lawns. The darker green ring around a dead doggie pee spot is where the grass got a high but safe nitrogen dose and greened up.

Same thing with the warnings of using cow or chicken manure - if they're too "hot" they'll burn stuff up.

I have killed seedlings in the past with too high a concentration of fish emulsion, although technically I wouldn't describe the carnage as a "burn".

Any fertilizer way-overdone can harm or kill plants, but some have a larger margin of error than others.
Is there a specific fertilizer you have in mind? -C

PS : Many organic pesticides can also be very harmful - pyrethrins (I know there is no way I spelled that right) kill fish, can suffocate birds, and in higher doses is detrimental to human health as well.

Right you are! Cchiovitti, good advice!

This message was edited Apr 30, 2005 10:34 AM

i was thinking of using a concentration of alfalfa and fish emulsion for fertilization. the fish emulsion i have is 5-1-1 and recommends a tbsp for every gallon of water. if i put 2+ tbsp of emulsion in a gallon of water would i be making it too rich? or if put 1 tbsp in a gallon but fed the plant every other day would that be making it too rich? all my plants are in containers.

I would check on what the individual needs of the plants are. Alfalfa and fish emulsion both have a higher concentration of nitrogen than other nutrients, so your flowering plants may need something else in addition to those.

An example of this is my Morning Glory experience last year - I gave them too much nitrogen and they grew like monsters - huge, unruly things - but I only got about 4 flowers total all season - I boosted the leaves and stunted the flowers - live and learn.

I would always go with weaker to start with - maybe a teaspoon in a gallon to start - you can always make it stronger if you think they need it.
Also, be careful using fish emulsion if you get raccoons or other critters that would be attracted to it - some people have dogs that will also dig through stuff that's been treated. My dog doesn't bother the plants that are treated, but he does like to steal my bottle and lick around the lid (eew, gross). I use fish emulsion (about half a teaspoon) in the planting holes for trees and shrubs and make a foliar spray (about the same amount in a regular squirt bottle) for my other plants and I'm going to use Alfalfa tea for my lawn. I also spread a lot of corn gluten around for weed control but since it also has a fertilizing effect, I won't be adding anything else to those areas for a few weeks so I don't over-fertilize. -C

If you use a tbsp to a gallon, I believe once a week or every two weeks is enough. If using as a floiar spray, weaken again 1:3, more fro daily use.

Too much of anything is NOT a good thing. 5-1-1 is plenty. Can't see a need for anything over 5-3-3.

All above advice is GREAT!

Tamara