Without proper nutrition you feel tired, weak, and do not work up to your full capacity. Guess what? Your plants are no different and without food they will turn yellow, wither, and although they may survive, they won’t thrive and produce as well as they would if they are well fed.
If you are like most people, you bought and planted your yard and garden over a month or two ago and if you haven’t been feeding them regularly, they are probably starting to look a little sad, so it’s time for fertilizer.
Think of fertilizer as nutrition for your plants. All of the essential elements that they need for good growth are contained in one feeding preparation. Most fertilizers also contain other minor elements such as iron, zinc, magnesium and manganese. How much of each of these you need depends on what you are growing. Tomatoes, for instance, are especially heavy feeders of calcium and magnesium so a good blend specifically for tomatoes will improve your harvest.
Lots of people look at a fertilizer bag or container and their eyes glaze over. What are those numbers for? The good news is that it’s not rocket science. These stand for nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) that are essential to healthy plant growth. In a nutshell, here’s what you need to know.
Nitrogen provides green growth for good healthy, dark green leaves. Nitrogen leaches out of the soil easily and should be applied on a regular basis as leaves start to turn yellow, especially lower leaves.
Phosphorous is essential for fruit and flower development. It doesn’t leach out as easily and doesn’t need to be reapplied as often.
Potassium is essential for root growth and development. How often these leach out and have to be reapplied depends on how often you are watering.
Fertilizers come in many forms and which you should use is largely up to the gardener. Your plants won’t care whether you use an organic, an inorganic, a water soluble or a timed release formula. To them, a nitrogen atom is a nitrogen atom. As long as they are receiving the food they need both through fertilizers and from the organic matter that you have added to the bed or pot before planting, they will be happy.
There has been a lot of attention on organic fertilizers recently and there are several good ones available. Grow Power is one of the best, and fish emulsion is another good choice. Fish emulsion has a fairly strong odor,h which many people find objectionable. The organic fertilizer market has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years, and there are many available, even those that are specific for particular crops. Check at your favorite nursery for the one best suited to your plants.
Inorganic fertilizers are the more commonly recognized preparations that you see advertised nationally and in gardening magazines. You may recognize names like Miracle Grow, Peters, Jack’s Classic and more. Mix these in water, either in a watering can, or through a hose end sprayer and off you go. The food they contain is then immediately available to the plants, but can go away quickly through repeated waterings so be certain to follow the directions on the package for repeat applications. Though plants don’t get hungry as often as people do, many people are surprised to learn that this generally means every 7-14 days.
Another option are the encapsulated fertilizers like Osmocote. These are small pellets that contain fertilizer that is slowly released each time you water and are usually good for several months with one application. However, some people find these pelletized fertilizers don’t provide the bang that the others do, so you may find yourself supplementing with the water solubles anyway, especially on heavy feeders like petunias.
A word of caution about using manures from your livestock. Using manure is fine, but make sure it is well aged - and in some cases such as chicken manure this means a couple of years. If it isn’t, then you will run the risk of burning your plants and doing more harm than good.
Plants like petunias, aspen trees, willows and poplars are especially heavy feeders, so adapt your fertilizing schedule to their needs. Unlike us, your plants won’t get fat from too much fertilizer, but they can burn if they are over fertilized. Outdoor plants generally need more fertilizer than indoor plants because of their frequent waterings, so be mindful of that as well. Always be sure to follow label directions, even on organic preparations. Remember, rattlesnake venom is organic, but it’s also poisonous, so follow label directions carefully, no matter what you choose to use.
Just because they are outdoors and planted in the ground doesn’t mean that your trees and shrubs should be ignored either when it comes to fertilizer. The optimum fertilizing schedule would be an application in April, June and finally in early August. Do not fertilize after approximately August 10th. By then the trees are beginning to prepare for dormancy and by fertilizing you are sending them the message that it’s time to grow. A regular fertilization and watering program at the nursery will put six feet of growth on an aspen tree with leaves as large as our hand in one year.
Many people don’t realize the difference that a few dollars worth of fertilizer can make in the overall health of their plants, so don’t forget to feed if your garden is looking a little weary about now. The fertilizer is what will produce the lush, green growth, the beautiful flowers, or an abundant crop of vegetables or fruit. With the bulk of the vegetable producing season in full swing, now is not the time to have your garden on a diet. Don’t spare the fertilizer and you’ll be amazed at how your garden will grow!
Gail Vanik can be reached at Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery at 565-8274 or by email at “fourseasons@animas.net.”
