Hill Gardens of Maine -- Fertilizers - They Don't Have To Be Complicated

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Fertilizers
They Don't Have To Be Complicated!

by Fred Davis, MG, Hill Gardens of Maine (To view other articles, click Archives)

Welcome through Fred's Garden Gate! Questions about fertilizer keep pouring in! "Which one should I use?" "When should fertilizer be applied?" And the most significant of all - the subject of this article - "Someone told me I should use a different formula for this plant, another for that one, and [a dozen others for a dozen other plant types] in my garden. Is that true? Will all my plants die if I don't use all those different plant foods?"

Every year at least one budding [pun intended] gardener brings in or emails a lengthy list of different fertilizer blends, with the question, "How much of each one of these should I use?" The problem arises, of course, when dedicated new gardeners read a dozen gardening books - each of which recommends a different kind of fertilizer. . .or who get "advice" from a dozen different "experts." Well, yes, I'll admit that's a slight exaggeration. . .but only a slight one!

And, yes, it is true that certain types of common garden plants and shrubs require a specialized type of food. Rhododendrons, Azaleas and certain other shrubs found in or near woods need an acidic blend. Roses, too, prefer a fertilizer nutritionally balanced to their special needs. Newly-emerged seedlings prosper when fed with a "transplant" fertilizer early in their young lives. But the vast majority of plants - the likes of which are seen in practically every flower and vegetable garden or small farm - will grow and produce either flower or fruit in abundance with a readily-available, reasonably inexpensive, balanced, plant food.

Fertilizer, as the title of this article states, does not have to be all that complicated. To help you better understand a plant's nutritional and chemical needs, consider the following "short course" in fertilizers.

Commercially available farm and garden fertilizers commonly consist of three primary nutrients:

Nitrogen (N) is always the first number and is always for leaves (foliage). Foliage houseplants and lawn - or turf - neither of which ordinarily produce flowers, need lots of nitrogen. Over-applying nitrogen on plants that are supposed to have flowers has, in reality, a negative effect: mostly leaves and very few flowers.
Phosphorus (P) is always the second number and is always for flowers and, therefore fruit (seeds). Very nearly all garden perennials and virtually all vegetables that produce flowers and seeds (corn, beans, peas, squash, pumpkins and a host of others) need an ample supply of available phosphorus. Phosphorus gives the plant the required chemical signal to bloom. Using a fertilizer formula with a low middle number tells the plant you don't want flowers (seeds or "fruit").
Potash (K) is always for disease resistance, winter survivability, toughness; for all practical purposes - for the average home-gardener, it has only a small effect on the production of leaves or flowers.

In actual fact, a balance of primary nutrients (N, P and K) comes very close to what most plants consider an "ideal" menu. True, there are some exceptions but they are rare. The word "balance" is synonymous with equal quantities. If you were going to eat meat, potatoes and peas for supper, you wouldn't eat two pounds of fatty meat and a teaspoonful each of potatoes and peas, would you? If you were concerned about your health, you'd very likely opt for a more realistic balance. Plants, too, need close attention to nutritional balance.

My answer to many of the "Which fertilizer?" questions usually leans in the direction of reasonable balance. If you're not frightened by the thought of synthetic (some call them "chemical") fertilizers, 10-10-10 will very likely provide nutritional variety and balance for all but a very few plants you grow.

Organic gardeners (those who prefer not to use artificially manufactured chemicals in the production of their food or flowers) often use marine-based liquid preparations like Sea-Plus Liquid Seaweed/Fish Fertilizer 3-2-2 for application to either the root zone or as a foliar food (notice the balanced formula). An often prescribed alternative is a blend of bloodmeal (N), bonemeal (P) and Jersey greensand (a natural mineral potash - K).

See how simple fertilizers can be? Really, there's no need to fall prey to the siren song of those who would complicate your gardening experience. "Keeping it simple" with fertilizers has worked for countless in-the-know gardeners for many generations. . .long before all those bewildering displays of differing formulas became popular just after World War 2. Keeping it simple still works!

One small "wrinkle" in the plant-nutritional-need issue remains to be discussed: the effect of improper soil pH on nutrient up-take by plants grown for their flowers and seeds. You'll find that connection at: Soil pH - Neglect it and ensure almost certain failure.

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