Get The Facts On Fertilizer

5 December 2015
 Categories: , Blog

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In order for plants to thrive and grow, they need proper water, sunlight, and nutrients. Adding fertilizer to your lawn and garden's soil can give your plants an added boost of many good things they need like nitrogen and other essential minerals. Before you purchase fertilizer and apply it to your garden, it's important to understand the facts about it, and what it can do for your plants.

Ingredients

Not all fertilizers are the same, so it's essential to know what the particular fertilizer you are looking at contains in terms of ingredients. Most fertilizers should have plenty of the three most important nutrients that plants need. These nutrients include phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium. The ratio of these nutrients that the fertilizer contains will vary based on the soil you have and the type of plant you need to feed. Read the labels carefully and determine what kind of soil issues you have so that you can select the correct fertilizer ratio. An example would be one that shows 5-10-20 on the label, meaning it contains five percent nitrogen, ten percent phosphorous, and 20 percent potassium. These will vary, so check ingredients carefully.

What Minerals Do

By checking the mineral content on a bag of fertilizer, you can determine what its purpose is. For all purpose versions of fertilizer, they will typically contain an even ratio throughout the mixture such as a 10-10-10. Anything containing more nitrogen is good for yellow leaved plants that should be green, or anything that is showing a very slow growth rate. Something with more phosphorous is geared towards plants coping with root or stem issues. Fertilizer that is heavier in potassium is often used to stimulate growth and help plants endure the colder winter months. The more you understand what each mineral can do for plants, the easier it will be to select the fertilizer with the correct mineral ratios.

Organic Options

While the bulk of fertilizers sold are synthetic, organic options are now becoming a popular alternative. These types of fertilizers contain living organism like fish emulsion, ground up shells and other natural products. There are less minerals in most organic fertilizers, because the goal is to accomplish a healthier soil environment. Mineral rich, synthetic fertilizers target the plants directly. If you purchase organic fertilizers, they can take longer to show an effect on your plants, but the upside is that there are no added chemicals that can harm the soil. If you choose an organic fertilizer for your garden, keep in mind that most will have a much lower mineral ratio than traditional fertilizers. For more information about fertilizer, contact a business such as T And N Inc