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Fertilizer and Soil Additive Basics
Your garden is what it eats. What it eats comes from its soil. If its not in the soil, its not in your lawn, rhododendrons, dogwood or cucumbers. When you plan your planting beds, find out the nutritional needs of your plants. Then, you can plan you fertilizer and soil additive needs along with whether your plants prefer sun or shade.
Fertilizer and Soil Additive Types
Fertilizer and soil additive types are organic, inorganic and various hybrid mix of the two. Organic or natural fertilizers provide the basic nutrients and chemicals through ingredients like animal manure, blood and bone meal, fish emulsion, feather meal and green sand.
The organic fertilizer and soil additive slow-release trait can be preferable because, even though it can takes days or weeks to see the benefits, the harsher ingredients will not burn your plants and the soil will receive the nutrients instead of the plants. The plants can then pick and choose its nutrients from the soil in a more natural way.
Inorganic fertilizer and soil additive nutrients are the same as those in the organic type but are contained in blends of mineral salts. This is a quick-release product since the salts dissolve immediately in water and go straight to the plant roots. There is little true nutritional value to the synthetic fertilizer and soil additive, but when a fast-growing plant like grass needs a quick pick-me-up, it cant be beat.
Obviously, the mixture of organic and synthetic materials in a hybrid fertilizer and soil additive provide the best of both worlds.
Fertilizer and Soil Additive Nutrients
All plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and all fertilizer and soil additive blends for gardens contain them. The fertilizer bag has an NPK number showing the percentage of each of the big three. Nitrogen is good for leaf growth and great for lawns.
Look for a large first digit in the NPK number for lawns and green hedges. But such a fertilizer and soil additive mixture can burn flowering plants and trees. Phosphorus is the ingredient for blooms and fruits because it works on the root system rather than the leaves. Potassium, also known as potash also works to establish a strong root system as well as making your plants more resistance to disease.
Calcium, sulfur and magnesium along with lesser quantities of zinc, copper and chlorine help the elements of photosynthesis. Some organic matter like compost has to be in the soil for plants to grow as plants do not live by fertilizer and soil additive alone. |