There are many choices when
it comes to plant fertilizers. You can buy liquid, granular, water-soluble,
slow-release, organic, non-organic, so how do you know you’re giving your
plants what they need when it comes to nutrition.
What do all of these
fertilizers have in common? Regardless of the type of fertilizer or the size of
the bag, the 3 basic ingredients – Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash will always
be listed prominently on the label. An easy way to remember what the numbers do
is to think “up, down and all around”.
The first number on the label is
Nitrogen. Nitrogen helps the plant with growth above ground (Up).
The second
number, Phosphate promotes roots (Down). In addition,
Phosphate helps your
plant bloom and produces more fruit. The last number – Potash is important because
it benefits the whole plant (All Around).
We’ll use Happy Frog’s Fruit &
Flower granular fertilizer as an example. The numbers on this 4 pound bag of Fruit
& Flower are 5-8-4. The middle
number is larger than the first number, so this fertilizer will help your
plants get bigger roots and more fruit. Finally, liquid and granular
fertilizers are both effective. You can use either one or both throughout the
growing season. Remember, no amount of fertilizer will make up for poor quality
soil. Take the time to amend your soil every year and you’ll get the most out
of your fertilizers.
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