Types Of Fertilizers To Improve Your Garden Soil

Over the years a huge mythology has grown up around the magic of fertilizers. The head gardeners of the pre-war estates had their own secret potions. Today you will discover feeds which are claimed to be ideal for everything in your garden.

The truth is a lot less exciting. All nutrient-providing ingredients are required to be reduced to exactly the same simple compounds before the roots are able to absorb them. This means that the nutrients in the liquid fertilizer containing organic salts may be immediately there for the plant roots, on the other hand the plant foods locked up in a coarsely-ground organic mix may have to wait months before release.

There is not a good or bad here, the required speed of release and the ideal balance of nutrients will depend on the soil type, the season and the plant. No single fertilizer is the very best in all situations.

Every agriculture expert agrees that nitrogen, phosphates and potash have to be added to the soil. The fertilizers which provide these nutrients are described as either 'organic' or 'inorganic'. Most powers that be agree that both kinds do important but rather different jobs.

Organic Fertilizers:

These materials are of animal or vegetable origin. Most of these provide nitrogen, and this organic nitrogen must be transformed into a simple inorganic form before it can be absorbed by the roots. This breakdown is performed by soil bacteria. It is important to remember that these organisms are not active in cold, acid or waterlogged soils, so the speed of action is determined by your soil condition.

Inorganic Fertilizers:

Some of the fertilizers are minerals extracted from the earth - Chilean Nitrate is every bit as natural as Bone Meal. Others are manufactured and have absolutely earned the titles of 'synthetic' or 'artificial' fertilizers. Plants are unable to tell the difference between plant foods from synthetic or natural sources - breakdown to the same nutrients occurs before any uptake by the plant.

Inorganics are generally quick-acting, providing plants with a boost when used as a top dressing. They tend to be cheaper than organics and have become considerably more accepted than the old-time favourites. Only one organic fertilizer, Bone Meal, has kept its place amongst the best-selling plant foods.

SOLID FERTILIZERS.

Garden shops exhibit a big selection of solid fertilizers, powders or granules which are sprinkled on your soil by hand or applied through a fertilizer distributor. Powders are dustier to use than granules but are generally quicker acting. Sticks of concentrated fertilizer for insertion in the soil are also available.

LIQUID FERTILIZERS.

Liquid feeding means applying fertilizer diluted with water all around the plants. In the beginning it began with soaking bags of manure in a barrel of water, bottles of concentrated liquid fertilizer then became popular and in recent years soluble powders have taken pride of place. All are applied through a watering can or hose-end diluter.

STRAIGHTS.

A straight fertilizer is based on a particular active ingredient. It nearly always contains just one major plant nutrient, although a handful (e.g Bone Meal) contain a tiny quantity of a second one.

COMPOUNDS.

A compound fertilizer is based on a mixture of active elements. It nearly always contains all three major plant nutrients, although a few contain only nitrogen and phosphates.

FOLIAR FERTILIZERS.

Several foliar feeds are solid, either as leaf-feeding fertilizers or mixed with pesticides as multipurpose products. When sprayed onto leaves the nutrients enter the sap-stream within in a couple of hours, even where root action is restricted by poor soil conditions. A useful technique especially for Roses and sick plants. For optimum effect make sure sufficient leaf growth exists and spray in the evening when rain is not forecast.

STEADY-RELEASE FERTILIZERS.

Many standard compound fertilizers contain both quick and straightforward slow-releasing sources of nutrients, so feeding goes on for some time. A real steady-release fertilizer, however, is a complex chemical which provides a prolonged supply of nutrients as it breaks down in the soil or as the outer coating dissolves. The best known example is Urea-formaldehyde.

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