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Planning Your Vegetable Fertilizer
The best way to ensure that your diet has the right kind of nutrients and vitamins is to grow at least some of your own vegetables. The larger your garden, the more you need to prepare.
You may be tempted to add a good deal of vegetable fertilizer to help produce a healthy crop of nutrient-rich vegetables, but if you are not aware of the soil makeup, the first step is a soil analysis. This test will tell you the condition of the soil and determine which nutrients are necessary before you start applying vegetable fertilizer.
Reading the Bag
Each bag of fertilizer has a helpful three number series on it. It looks like this: 29-6-4 with the appropriate numbers. Called the NPK number, it indicates the ratio of three important compounds found in the vegetable fertilizer. The first number is the percentage of nitrogen found in the fertilizer. In the example, the vegetable fertilizer would have 29% of nitrogen which will help the growth of foliage.
If your greens need assistance, you may want to add a good bit of nitrogen. A vegetable fertilizer can release nitrogen quickly or slowly. Slow-release is preferable to avoid burning the plants and to nourish the soil instead of directly feeding the plants.
The second number is the ratio of phosphorus which promotes root growth. The example above would not be a good vegetable fertilizer to use in the spring to establish the garden growth. A ratio higher than 6% would be needed.
The third number is the ratio of potassium also known as potash. It also encourages root growth as well as helping plants resist disease. Your garden will likely need more than the 4% in our example.
Other Options
Vegetable fertilizers come in granular or liquid form. The granular form stays in the soil longer, is applied less often and costs less. The liquid form shows results sooner. The liquid vegetable fertilizer is applied to the crops with a hose attachment while you may use a spreader for the granular type. Water the area after applying. All slow-release fertilizers come in the granular form.
If your plants are healthy and growing well, you may prefer a balanced vegetable fertilizer in which the ratios are nearly the same. If your garden, or a plant you are growing, has special needs, you will want a specialty fertilizer with a ratio that reflects your needs better. You can also adjust the pH levels of your garden with a specialty fertilizer. Limestone will make your soil more alkaline while sulfur will make it more acidic and therefore it is important that you know the pH of your soil before shopping for vegetable fertilizer. |