Fertilizers for the garden: what and why are they needed, how to apply them to the soil
Experienced gardeners know what fertilizer and how to apply when planting. This knowledge allows you to harvest a good harvest.
With the onset of each spring, good and diligent summer residents strive to improve the condition of the soil in their plots in order to harvest a good harvest from them in the fall. At the same time, the matter is complicated by the fact that each culture needs certain fertilizing, and this becomes the reason for gardeners to study the question of what fertilizers are needed for what.
Mineral fertilizers
It is known that mineral fertilizers for a vegetable garden differ from organic fertilizers in a much higher concentration of nutrients. Depending on their composition, they can be divided into simple ones with one substance and complex ones containing several compounds.
Since each substance contains the main trace element that the plant needs, its share in the fertilizer should be expressed as a percentage. In each substance, the proportion of a trace element is different. For example, ammonium sulfate contains 20.5% nitrogen, ammonium nitrate - 35%, and even more (up to 46%) - in urea. The conditional formulas of the active ingredients are as follows: nitrogen - N, phosphorus - P2O5, potassium - K2O.
To calculate the amount of mineral fertilizer required to process a particular crop, you need to know the optimal dosage of the active ingredient for this plant, multiply it by 100 and divide by the% content of the active ingredient in the top dressing.
Nitrogen fertilizers
Nitrogenous fertilizing contains the most important element for plant development - naturally, nitrogen. Their use is an almost unmistakable decision of choosing which fertilizer to apply for various crops. Nitrogen increases the yield of any plant, its correct application significantly increases the quantity and quality of fruits. Nitrogenous and berry crops need to be applied 9-12 g per square meter, and for stone fruits (plums, cherries) and strawberries 4-6 g will be enough. When feeding, it is enough to add 3.4 g / sq. m.
It is good for gardeners to know that too much nitrogen is used to pollute the environment as excess nitrogen is washed out of the ground into rivers and groundwater. If there is too much nitrogen in the fruits used and in the soil, then both people and animals begin to suffer.
Types of nitrogenous fertilizers
- Ammonium nitrate is a fast-acting and universal top dressing containing about 35% nitrogen. These are white, slightly pinkish crystals. Saltpeter is hygroscopic and therefore cakes quickly. Store it in a waterproof container in a dry place. Every gardener, when asked what fertilizer to apply when planting, will first name you ammonium nitrate: in the spring it is fed at the rate of 25-30 g / sq. m. Ammonium nitrate slightly acidifies the soil, which is favorable for chernozems. Top dressing is carried out with an aqueous solution (20 g per bucket of water).
- Ammonium sulfate is a salt in the form of white crystals, containing 20-21% nitrogen. This top dressing is used both in spring and autumn, since it is poorly washed out of the soil, lingering in it. This substance acidifies the soil even more. With the main application, up to 50 g of ammonium sulfate per square meter are used, and with top dressing - half as much.
- Urea is a white crystalline substance, especially rich in nitrogen (46%). It is assimilated gradually, so gardeners apply it in the spring as the main fertilizer, and for heavy soils they also add 20-25 g / sq. m and in the fall. It can serve as an additional top dressing during soil irrigation (10 g / sq. M) or as foliar dressing, when fruit and berry crops are sprayed with a concentrated solution (30-40 g of carbamide per bucket of water).
Potash fertilizers
Plants need potassium in order to better absorb carbon dioxide from the air, in addition, it increases the plants' resistance to frost, drought, pests and diseases. Potash fertilizer solutions can be applied to any soil. Since they migrate poorly, they are carried deep into the ground. Used sulphate and chloride potassium, as well as the so-called "potassium salt".
- Potassium chloride contains 50-60% potassium and the rest is chlorine, harmful in large doses for plants. If the plant is sensitive to chlorine (berry crops, especially strawberries), then fertilizing is applied in advance so that the chlorine goes into the lower soil layer. Potassium chloride is used in the fall, when digging at the rate of 20-25 g / sq. m.
- Potassium sulfate (46% DV) is the best choice of fertilizer for berries and fruit crops. It does not contain harmful impurities of chlorine, sodium or magnesium. It is applied in the fall or spring in a mixture with another fertilizer at a rate of 20-25 g / sq. m, and 5-10 grams are enough for feeding.
- "Potassium salt" is a combination of potassium chloride with sylvinite and contains 30-40% of the active ingredient. With the main application, 10-20 g / sq. m.
Phosphate fertilizers
Phosphorus dressings contain phosphorus - it accelerates the formation of fruits, improves the quality and increases the amount of the crop, makes plants resistant to frost and drought. Phosphate fertilizers must be injected deep into the soil - closer to the root system, since phosphorus is inactive in the soil.
- Superphosphate is a type of phosphorus-containing fertilizer, in which its share is 20%. It usually comes in granular form, although powder is sometimes found. The color ranges from light gray to almost black. Superphosphate is dissolved in water before use, but it becomes less soluble in soil. As the main top dressing, it is applied in the fall at 30-45 g / sq. m. If the year turns out to be fruitful, then additional fertilizing is made along with potash fertilizer at the rate of 15-20 g / sq. m.
- Double superphosphate contains twice as much phosphorus (up to half the mass), and its properties do not differ from ordinary superphosphate, but you need to take it 2 times less.
Organic fertilizers
Natural fertilizers are called organic, i.e., obtained from plants, waste products (manure, dung, compost, etc.). Organic matter is introduced into the soil according to the crop rotation scheme at different intervals: annually, after a year or after several years.
How to fertilize the soil?
How to apply manure?
The main requirement for how to apply manure is only in the heated soil. Fresh manure should be applied in autumn and immediately plowed on light soils by 18 cm, and on the rest - by 13 cm. Rotted manure, humus or compost can be left on the surface. Such fertilizer should be spread in a layer of 5-8 cm.
How do I compost?
Often, gardeners simply cannot wait for the compost to fully mature and bring in raw material that has not decomposed to the end. In this case, it can be used only in the fall. And in spring, compost is laid about a month and a half before sowing or planting. The depth of the bookmark should be approximately 10-15 centimeters. Unripe compost can be covered with a 5 cm layer of mulch to keep it from drying out.
If you apply wet compost just before planting, then it may not be beneficial, but damage the plants. Legumes, root crops, medicinal plants and green crops are especially affected.
For 1 sq. m of the plot, it is necessary to make an average of 5-7 kg of compost. Its dosage may differ depending on the type of soil and plant species. The light soil, which has the weakest physical characteristics, needs the greatest compost fertilization. In this case, not completely rotted compost was meant. And ripe, ripe compost becomes a valuable top dressing, which requires careful use. Therefore, it is applied in the wells just before planting or in the grooves before sowing.
How to apply mineral fertilizers?
Mineral dressing in spring is applied, first of all, in floodplain and low-lying areas (flood meadows), as well as during plowing or digging of land. Before applying fertilizers to the soil, it is important to correctly calculate the amount of top dressing, avoiding overdose, first of all, nitrogenous dressings.
In the regions of the middle zone with high precipitation, so that fertilizers do not wash out, it is better to apply them in the spring at the time of soil cultivation (one third of potash-phosphorus and all nitrogenous fertilizers).
In autumn, more resistant to washing out types of mineral fertilizers are introduced: lime, phosphoric flour, ammonium sulfate, granular superphosphate or ammonium chloride.
Most often (although not always) it is more useful when both mineral and organic fertilizers are applied to the soil at the same time. In this case, the dosage of mineral fertilizers should be reduced by about a third of the usual application rate.
What fertilizers do you use for your garden? Tell us about it in