Natural alternative to fertilizer offers numerous benefits

Plants can absorb nutrients only when there is a good interaction with the microorganisms in the soil. That is, the soil life digests the minerals and gives them to the plants, which in turn return half of their sugars. "From fertilizer, only half of the nutrients are absorbed by the plant. The rest washes out. That's why I use vermicompost. This natural product does stay in the soil and has an awful lot of advantages, including a huge plant improvement," says Riny Nouwens, co-owner of landscaping company R & R from Berlicum. After being allowed to test vermicompost for several months, he became so enthusiastic about the results that he decided to become a product consultant with the supplier GreenGuard.

GreenGuard, acquired in 2022 by the company GreenMax, offers natural solutions for soil improvement, plant enhancement, tree care, lawn optimization and pest control. "Vermicompost has a high nutritional value and is rich in microorganisms. So this micro life makes massive food available to the plants and trees. This provides huge benefits over fertilizer. Every gardener who has been allowed to test it is convinced and uses only vermicompost. Several municipalities have also included the use of this product in their specifications."

Enthusiastically, Nouwens talks about the results of vermicompost: "On lawns you can clearly see what fertilizer does to the soil. After use, the grass becomes very green and starts growing extremely fast, which also means it has to be mowed a lot. Soon this growth spurt ends and fertilizer has to be applied again. Vermicompost is applied once a year, namely in the spring, and then a nice constant growth occurs. This is because the release of nutrients takes place gradually. Over-fertilization is therefore impossible. In fact, it is the only soil conditioner you can put a plant in without burning the roots."

Vermicompost is more environmentally friendly than using fertilizer for several reasons. The production of fertilizer takes a lot of energy and causes the emission of nitrous oxide, a strong greenhouse gas. It also releases harmful substances such as cadmium, arsenic and radioactive radium. In addition, fertilizer contains numerous carriers, while vermicompost is made entirely from organic material.

In addition to nutrition, vermicompost does even more for plants. It provides long-term airy soil and better drainage, but also stimulates a strong root system. This creates healthier plants that have a higher resistance to disease.

Nouwens not only sees that the planting revives tremendously from vermicompost, he also experiences how many labor hours it saves. "At first, vermicompost is a bit more expensive to buy, but at the bottom line you are definitely more profitable. After all, you only have to apply it once a year and new plantings catch on much better. In addition, the number of mowings decreases and you need four times less than other types of compost. And last but not least, the customers are super satisfied."

Nouwens illustrates this with a great example: "My son, who will soon take over the landscaping company, started working for a new customer last year. This one asked to remove the hydrangeas because they looked so bad. My son asked if he could try vermicompost and then applied it just before the construction vacation. After the holiday, the customer called us and asked if we had planted new hydrangeas. Can you imagine, in that short time the hydrangeas had brightened up so much that they looked like new. Nine months later, the border had even grown back to full size, exactly as it was once intended."