natural fertilizers versus store-bought

Natural organic fertilizers versus store-bought

I use to be one of those people that bought their fertilizer ( manure) at the store. I believe like everybody else, that store-bought fertilizer didn't have any weeds. Not once did I stop to think, that it did not matter. The wind, birds and other animals do a very good job of spreading seeds. After a year of not using any fertilizer, I noticed that I did not get any better results. I still got weeds in my garden and it did not produce any more or any less than when I fertilized with store-bought fertilizer.
    This last year I finally took my father's advice and used real manure from a farm. As you can see from the photo above, my father produced a bumper crop of over-sized banana squash.What was interesting, is that I got similar results , and just as many weeds. I do not know what they put in store-bought fertilizers but as far as I'm concerned they're worth next to nothing. I will never buy store-bought fertilizer ever again. Cow manure seems to work the best. I tried chicken manure and it seemed to burn anything I put it on, no matter how small an amount I used. I am trying the chicken manure on my compost in hopes of reducing how hot the manure seems to be. Worm castings works really good but is expensive if you have a large garden like mine. Raising your own worms would probably be cheaper. Rabbit manure also works very good and if you put your worm beds under the rabbit pens you get two for the price of one.
    The true test of a healthy soil is simple, pick it up in your hands and smell it. It should feel good and natural and have a nice smell to it. If it smells like chemicals you can bet there are no organisms alive in the soil and it is pretty much dead. The problem with chemical-based fertilizers is that it does not stay in the soil. It ends up in the plants you grow and in the water you drink. It kills the good bacteria and organisms as well as the bad. We need to stop buying into the illusions and lies of chemical companies and corporations that only want to make money at any cost.