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The numbers can vary on specialty fertilizers that feature a higher percentage of one nutrient to the other two. Super phosphate is a good example, with a 0-40-0 analysis. There is no nitrogen or potassium in this fertilizer, just phosphorus. Such a fertilizer would be good for root establishment or bud development.
Nitrogen is an extremely important element to plants, as it plays a vital role in many plant processes. The typical response that we, as gardeners, see is the greening of foliage and the appearance of new leaves or shoots.
Phosphorus helps promote root growth, helps plants be more tolerable of adverse conditions, and can stimulate bud and seed development.
Potassium helps improve water retention, promotes growth, aids in photosynthesis, and has many other functions.
These three elements are considered the “essential nutrients,” and obviously help perform the most vital tasks of plant life. There are many other nutrients that we consider “micronutrients” that also aid in other plant processes. Many of these can also be found in all-purpose fertilizers.
>>Tip: “Plant food” is a phrase that is somewhat misleading. We can not feed plants; they produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis. We can supplement their nutrition through fertilizers.
Did you know? Soils play a major role in a plant’s ability to obtain nutrients. I hear a lot of people talk about how terrible their clay soil is. It is easy to understand their resentment of clay because of the effort it takes to dig a hole in compacted clay and rock. Though, the truth is that most clay soils have the ability to be wonderfully nutritious for plants. Without going into too much chemistry, clay particles have the potential to hold many more ions than other soil particles, such as sand or loam. Remember the phrase “opposites attract”? This is the same thing. Both the positively charged and negatively charged soil particles (as well as the fertilizer elements) hold to one another in a fashion that eventually makes them available to the plant. Sand and loamy soils do not have the same amount of attraction as clay soils. What does all of this mean? Clay soils can be really nutritious soils and do not require too much supplemental fertilizer, while sandy and loamy soils generally need fertilizer on a regular basis.
Having a soil test every other year is something that I recommend for any gardener. Fertilizing (or liming) on a yearly basis doesn’t help much unless you know what needs to go in your soil for your garden to be efficient. The process of taking a soil sample is rather simple. All you need to do is pull away any mulch, plant material, or grass and take about a cup full of soil and place it in a brown paper bag. Plastic bags retain too much moisture and can change the properties of the soil. Some great information about soil samples and where to turn them in can be foundhere.
This is a free service offered by the North Carolina Division of Agriculture. I recommend avoiding taking samples during the late winter months as many farmers have submitted their samples at this time. You will get quicker results during other times of the year. Several weeks after you have taken your soil sample, you will receive the results in the mail. The results can be somewhat difficult to understand. Feel free to bring them to the garden center and we will help you decipher the results.
One really important piece of information that is included in the report is the soil pH. The pH of your soil can greatly affect the uptake of certain nutrients and micronutrients. A pH in the range of 6.0 to 6.5 is what we consider ideal for many of our plants here in the piedmont of North Carolina. A more alkaline (higher) pH results in plants having difficulty obtaining iron, copper, boron, zinc and other nutrients. A more acidic pH (lower) makes the uptake of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium, and magnesium more difficult. Soil tests will almost always recommend the application of nitrogen regardless of what the garden contains.
It is important to note that nitrogen does not stay in the soil for any great length of time. Most unused nitrogen will be leached out of the soil or mixed with runoff to flow into our rivers and lakes. Please make sure that the proper amount of nitrogen is applied to turf and landscape areas.
Obviously, there is much more to learn about this topic, but this quick overview should get you started on the right track. I can not stress enough the importance of soil testing, knowing your pH, and applying the correct amount of fertilizer. Understanding these three things will help keep our environment clean and our gardens beautiful. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at Fairview (919) 851-6821!
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