How to read fertilizer labels for the optimal garden.
This fertilizer contains 20 percent nutrients; the remaining 80 percent is minor nutrients or fillers.
How Ratios Work vs. ## What Do the Ingredients in NPK Do?
The Spruce / Janet Kwan
All of the three ingredients are essential to plant growth.
Here’s a brief look at what each nutrient contributes.
Phosphorus contributes to many fundamental plant processes, such as rooting and seed formation.
Potassium
The final number in the major ingredients listing gives the percentage of potassium in the product.
Potassium contributes to the overall health and vigor of plants.
Meanwhile, a fertilizer labeled “10-0-10” is an “incomplete fertilizer.”
Incomplete Fertilizers
An incomplete fertilizer is not necessarily inferior to a complete fertilizer.
Identifying the right fertilizer for your needs depends on a variety of circumstances.
For this reason, it is important to test your soil before applying fertilizer.
Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizer ingredients are soil nutrients from plant, animal, or mineral sources.
The upside is they usually contain many additional nutrients that feed the plant and the soil.
Not alltypes of plantshave the same nutrient requirements, and ill-wanted effects may result if amendments are applied haphazardly.
For example, nitrogen feeds foliage at the expense of flowers, which can affect flower production.
In most cases, a regular fertilizer schedule will keep your plants vigorous.
That’s why soil analysis is important.
You never want to over-fertilize, if you might avoid it.
However, applying it before or after rainfall or plant watering depends on the form of fertilizer you use.
Fertilizer comes in granules, liquid, powder, or spikes.
A 20-20-20 fertilizer is specifically used to feed flowers and garden vegetables.
Overfertilization can cause temporary damage or cause the plant to die.
These fertilizers are designed to be used on other vegetables as well.
Potassium for Crop Production.University of Minnesota Extension.
Quick guide to fertilizing plants.
University of Minnesota Extension.
Fertilizing the home lawn.
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
How to account for the amount of fertilizer needed for your lawn.
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
The Sources and Solutions: Agriculture.EPA.
Are fertilizers toxic to dogs?Pet Poison Helpline.
