Plants are a lot like we are. They need food to grow. And although they get the first bits of it from their seed, once that is depleted, they will need to get that food from another source. A plant will get this extra food from various areas. They get some from the sun, the water, and from the soil around them. However, if you want your plants to grow bigger and stronger, you can also provide them with the extra food/nutrients they need which is what garden fertilizer provides.
Unless you live on a farm, you will most often find this plant food in the form of commercial manures and garden fertilizers. A garden fertilizer that is deemed commercial is one that is not manure or what would be considered organic. And the most recommended type of fertilizer is described as a mixed fertilizer, and can come in dry or liquid form. Either form will work for you garden fertilizer needs, and must be put in the ground in an area that the roots can get to it. And although spraying it directly on the leaves is effective when you are trying to fix micronutrient deficiencies, it is not recommended to do so to help the plant grow.
Because there is a lot needed to know when deciding which type of garden fertilizer to use in your garden, let us go over a bit of information to help you in this process. One of the first things that you may want to understand is what exactly the garden fertilizer is made of that makes the plants grow.
MACRONUTRIENTS
Fertilizers are made up of three main nutrients. These are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and are listed in this order when looking at which fertilizer has what amounts of each. For example, for some gardening projects you may need a garden fertilizer that has more phosphorus than the other two ingredients. If this is the case then you will see it listed on the product as ‘6-8-6’. The numbers represent the percentages of each nutrient in the garden fertilizer.
What’s more, some garden fertilizers are designed to release these nutrients slowly. These are called slow-released fertilizers. What is recommended when using this style of garden fertilizer is add a little extra regular fertilizer with it. The reason for this is that weather conditions can affect the ‘time-released’ features of the special fertilizer. If you go by a 25% or 50% addition of a regular fertilizer then you can ensure that your plants will receive the necessary nutrients right off.
MICRONUTRIENTS
But are there any other types of nutrients in garden fertilizers? This question is often asked and the answer is most definitely yes, especially when you have a soil rich in certain chemicals. For example, some soils may be rich in alkaline due to high contents of lime. And, if your land is watered with alkaline water during irrigation, then your soil will also become alkaline. When these situations occur, you may need to use a garden fertilizer that has some minor elements in it like manganese and boron.
Furthermore, if your garden soil is very sandy, muck filled, or contains a lot of peat, then your soil will be very acidic, and you may need to ad lime to balance the acidity levels. Also in this case you would want to add calcium and magnesium, the amounts of which would depend on the lime content and can be found in the leaflet that comes with it.
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS
In addition to commercial brands you can also purchase organic garden fertilizers. And the most common sold is of the animal and plant manure variety. Manure is one of the most basic and best sources for organic matter used in your soil and naturally has nitrogen and potassium in it. However, the only nutrient that it is low in is phosphorus. What’s more, manures also have micronutrients in it.
The only downside to this choice is that organic fertilizers tend to have a slower saturation rate than that of a commercial brand. Because of this, the important nutrients like nitrogen do not get to the roots as quickly. What you may want to do in this case is add a bit of commercial fertilizer that has nitrogen and phosphate as a supplement.
In the end, the type of fertilizer you choose will depend on you and what you’re growing. If you do not mind a commercial brand then you will be able to grow pretty much anything you want. However, if you prefer to go a more natural route, make sure you look into what your specific plant needs are in order to make the right decisions on nutrient amounts. Happy gardening.