With summer just days away, it seems we are in for a warm, dry season. By now most of you have planted your containers and gardens and are well into care and maintenance mode.

That being said, an important element in nurturing your gardens is feeding or fertilization. Allow me to make a case for considering organic methods before you rush out to purchase a man-made chemical product.

I have read countless articles, garden blogs and books on this particular topic. There are strong feelings on both sides of the fence. Admittedly, the synthetic varieties have an immediate impact on plants and are readily available. Organic solutions can take more work and are sometimes more difficult to find.

The question still boils down to which is more sustainable for our planet. But then I am getting ahead of myself. Let me first give you some basics in fertilizers.

Forgive the brief science lesson, but it is important for an overall understanding of what your plants require. Any good fertilizer will always give you a numeric value on the front of the box or bag (e.g., 10-10-2). This N-P-K ratio stands for the content of three basic nutrients that plants need to survive.

Nitrogen is the first major element, responsible for the vegetative growth of plants above ground. With a good supply, plants grow sturdily and mature rapidly, with rich, dark green foliage.

The second major element in plant nutrition, phosphorus, is essential for healthy growth, strong roots, fruit and flower development and greater resistance to disease.

The third major plant nutrient, potassium oxide, helps plants to resist diseases, defends them from the cold and protects during dry weather by preventing excessive water loss.

Once we understand these three elements and their respective purposes, we can hunt for the correct fertilizer for a particular need.

So, let's head to the local nursery or home improvement store and see the famous brand name inorganic plant foods, usually merchandised right next to other chemical solutions for pests and diseases.

Seems easy enough to use. Why not? Can plants tell the difference between synthetic and organic fertilizers? Absolutely. When purchasing say, a man-made 10-10-2 fertilizer, the container will have 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 2 percent potassium. The other 78 percent will be filler.

That filler can be about anything (sawdust, sand, dirt, etc.). The makers distribute the N-P-K throughout the filler or carrier so you don't burn the heck out of your plants when you apply it.

That should make you think for a moment. You're paying for the filler! Perhaps another method is worth looking into.

Using my credo from previous articles, organic gardening is about growing good soil. If the soil is healthy and rich in nutrients, the plants will thrive naturally.

Organic compost is truly a better way to build good soil. When we use organic fertilizers, we're using very low amounts of buffered nutrients. Everything in the bag is useful to the plant.

Our "filler" is organic material with a variety of trace minerals. That translates to much better stimulation of biological activity in the soil.

One word of caution: When purchasing organic composted cow manure, bat/bird guano or liquid fish fertilizer, the NPK values may be smaller than the values on commercial synthetics.

Don't let that fool you into over-applying. You can still burn a plant by overfertilizing. It's always better to heed the label instructions, no matter the type you choose.

Now, after reading and researching this topic, it is difficult to tell whether one method will produce better results than the other. You will read someone who swears by synthetic fertilizers for their roses, while another says anything more than compost will burn their garden and create an imbalance in the soil.

For me, it really comes down to fact that the organic fertilizers meet recycling goals and also meet my individual ethical goals for a sustainable planet.

In other words, why try to produce something that already exists in nature and has worked for thousands of years?

Just remember, our gardens will need our care throughout the summer months. From weeding, to watering and feeding, we will intervene on some level.

How we choose to intervene in the garden will determine the imprint we leave for future gardeners.

Two good books on this topic:
Weedless Gardening, by Lee Reich
Secrets to Great Soil, by Elizabeth Stell

Kristin Rust can be reached at kristin@newleafconsult.com.