What You Need To Know About Fertilizers
No idea what to use in nourishing your green wonders? Check out this guide.
Whether you're a beginner or a gardening pro, you probably know that plants need certain nutrients to grow healthy. But going against what most people think, it's not that simple—how do you know what to feed your potted pals? Are there different types of fertilizer? Where can you buy the best kind? To help answer your dilemmas, we've put together a basic guide that can help you through the process. Check it out below:
- The most common granular fertilizers in the market are Complete Fertlizer and Urea usually sold in one-kilo packs or in sacks.
- Complete fertilizer, also called 14-14-14, has equal percentages of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. These elements help plants carry out their full life cycle. You can use it on flowering plants or speciments with colorful foliage.
- Urea fertilizer (46-0-0) has high nitrogen content without phosphate and potassium. Nirtrogen helps plants manufacture cells and tissues. Use this on young, fast-growing plants and evergreens.
- Strictly follow mixing instructions (normally one tablespoon per gallon of water). Fill a bucket with water to ¾ of the required volume then slowly dissolve and mix in the fertilizer. Add more water to the required volume.
- Diluted fertilizer is best sprayed on the leaves. Spray in the early hours or late hours of the day. Spraying under the full heat of the sun will result in foliage burns.
- Before spraying, water the leaves to wash off salt deposits from previous sprays. Build-up of salts also results in burns.
- Sprinkling dry fertilizers on the ground is okay. Evenly spread the fertilizer and water after applying.
- Keep the fertilizers in dry, fully sealed and labelled plastic containers.Â
WHERE TO BUY:Â
Niño’s Garden
- White Plains, Quezon City
- Open from Mondays to Sundays, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
Marleina’s Farm
- White Plains, Quezon City
- Open from Mondays to Sundays, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00Â p.m
Cedarhills Garden Center
- #57, Mo. Ignacia Ave, Diliman, Quezon City
This snippet is originally from the story Fertilizers 101 in the July 2004 issue of Real Living magazine. Download your digital copy at the Real Living App. Log on to summitnewsstand.com.ph/real-living for more details.Â
