Oops. I got stoned and just started to blabber type. This is just a brief intro but hopefully it helps and is understandable.
Intro to organics -
First off is the process of mineralization. Raw NPK sources are not directly absorbable by plants but must first be broken down into an ionic form before they will bind to soil particles and water allowing it to be taken up by the plant. Most organic amendments must undergo this process but there are a few exception – bat and bird guanos have already been broken down by the bacteria in the animals gut and are immediately water soluble and ready for uptake which is why they are often used in teas. Kelp meals are also partially water soluble. Most all of the meals must be broken down: bone meal, fish meal, alfalfa meal, cotton seed meal… as well as most all manures.
This being said, the real key to organics is to keep your soil healthy with bacteria and with the appropriate amount of plant available carbon so that the levels of nutrients you need are constantly being supplied via the process of mineralization. In order to have your nutrients release at the appropriate times you need to take into account how fast different forms of nutrients break down – for instance large granulated bone meal breaks down much more slowly than powdered bone meal, and although cotton seed meal and alfalfa meal both deliver the same nutes cotton seed generally breaks down much much slower…
So if you had a long outdoor grow you might amend it with the following:
1 part N bat guano
1 part N EWC
1 part N fish meal
1 part N alfalfa meal
1 part P bone meal finely powdered
1 part P bone meal coarsely ground
3 part K coarse kelp meal
The bat guano and EWC will be immediately available and kick start your veg but will be used up fast. The fish meal would take over the N supply once the other two petered out and would feed for slightly longer. The alfalfa meal releases much slower and will dribble N late in flower to make sure of no premature yellowing. 1/3 into the grow the fine bone meal would kick in as it breaks down slower than fish meal, and then would be followed up but the breakdown of the coarse bone meal for the rest of flower to supply your P. Kelp meal feeds K all throughout. If you were going with a short veg you might not include the alfalfa or fish meal as you wouldn't need the extra N... This is just to give you an example of the mindset when putting together a mix – don’t actually follow the above recipe
In addition to the soil amendments you can also add immediately available nutes in the form of teas. Bat guano teas are immediately available but you can also pre mineralize amendments like bone meal by actively brewing them in a highly aerated bacteria laden tea for several days to weeks – this would be similar to how they make bottled organic nutrient lines.
Many organic amendments also have special attributes. EWC have tons of beneficial bacteria, so does aquarium water. Kelp contains several things that increase root growth and increases general growth rates, alfalfa meal also has similar properties. Neem cake can deter some pests... The list is pretty endless.
If you are using outdoor soil things to consider are aeration, drainage, pH, and CEC (cation exchange capacity – this is the amount of electro negativity of the soil particles which allows the positively charges mineralized ions to bind and not be washed out). The best way to positively impact CEC, drainage, and aeration is to add organic matter in the form of compost. Compost also pumps your bacteria by providing plant available carbon which is used in the process of mineralization.
