They pump plants up temporarily, but they don’t have any long-term health benefits. And they are salty too. You know too much salt is bad for you, and it’s also bad for the soil. While the grass roots snack on this fast food, much of it is lost to runoff, which pollutes waterways. Take phosphorus, for example. This is a menace to mycorrhizal fungi! Mycorrhizal fungi are fungal networks that enhance root function and are a powerful and far-reaching transport system in the soil. When humans dump too much phosphorus fertilizer into the soil, the plant doesn’t need the mycorrhizal fungi anymore. So the plant says, “Thanks, but I’m good,” and stops working with the fungi. The fungi die off since they aren’t receiving the sugar that they used to get in payment for their services. But the plants lose more than they gain because the fungi do a lot more than just deliver phosphorus. They deliver other important nutrients, build better soil, and help protect against disease. That phosphorus hit does none of that. It’s a bad trade!