How to Choose the Best Fertiliser for your Garden
Maintaining a healthy garden comes with a long to-do list of weeding, watering, pruning, and other responsibilities. One of the key tasks for success in the garden is fertilising. But how does one choose the best fertiliser? With the right fertiliser, you can allow your plants to grow and develop at their full potential. To get the best results, we’re here to help you find the right fertiliser for your garden.
Many homeowners and gardeners face a wide variety of fertilisers advertised to be “the best”. It’s no surprise that a lot of them start to question, what exactly is the right fertiliser for me? The answer: it depends. The most important factors to consider in choosing a fertiliser are:
- soil type
- time of year
- type of the plants you have
- purpose
Fertiliser 101: What To Know About Fertilisers
Fertilisers are used to help a plant thrive in its environment. This works by providing certain elements that are not always available through the soil. There are three major elements that can be acquired with fertilising your soil: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.
Importantly, to make sure you get the right fertiliser for your garden, you would need to understand what role these elements play in helping your plant grow:
Nitrogen
Helps plants make the chlorophyll and proteins that are necessary to produce new tissues. It gives the grass its rich green colour and aids in strengthening plants for better protection against different pests. Nitrogen is naturally found in animal-based manures, seaweed and lawn clippings, and garden compost. A lack of nitrogen means that plants will have stunted growth and yellow leaves. Too much nitrogen attracts pests like aphids, caterpillars and grasshoppers.
Potassium
Improves the overall vigour of a plant. It aids in making a plant healthier by working along with nitrogen to strengthen roots and foliage. This gives it a higher capability to resist drought, diseases, drop in weather, and daily wear and tear. Too little potassium can result in susceptibility to diseases, root rot and spoiled fruit.
Phosphorus
Helps transfer energy from one part of the plant to another. It works under the surface and stimulates strong root growth. Phosphorus improves the vitality of plants and increases the seed size. It is commonly found in blood and bone fertiliser and chicken manure.
How To Choose The Best Fertiliser
It’s best to start with a soil test. In general, an all-purpose, 5-5-5 fertiliser is an optimal option for plant growth. However, if the soil test reveals nutrient deficiencies, the fertiliser needs to be tailored to the deficiency and the plant that you are growing.
The three numbers on a fertiliser label indicate the proportion of each macronutrient (elements discussed above) that it contains. A good example is the well-known 5-5-5 fertiliser. The first number refers to nitrogen (N), the second is for phosphorus (P), and the last number is for potassium (K). We call this the “NPK ratio”.
The NPK ratio indicates the nutrients present by weight in a single bag. If you have a 10-kilo bag of fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 5-6-4, that type of fertiliser contains 5 pounds of nitrate, 6 pounds of phosphate, 4 pounds of potash, and 83 pounds of filler.
Native plants need a phosphorous sensitive fertiliser, high in nitrogen to provide them with all the necessary nutrients for healthy growth. With a careful blend of nitrogen and potassium, Yates Acticote Natives encourages robust leaf growth and enhanced flowering, while its low phosphorus content protects the delicate balance needed by native plants. Manutec Fertiliser Spikes are designed to be a slow-release fertiliser used for indoor pots, being high nitrogen which promotes green growth.
Most of the nutrients in chemical fertilisers can be naturally found in garden compost. Check out our Composting for Beginners Guide to start your own compost pile today!
Finally, with this in mind, you can now decide for yourself what type of fertiliser to use for your garden. Remember to research the plants and soil you have, as well as to explore the variety of fertilisers available to help your plants develop further.
2 Comments