When you have a vegetable garden with a few crops, the question of when and how best to fertilize always arises. Fertilizer is a compound that helps plant growth to improve their development and quality. Liquid fertilizer is one of the most widely used fertilizers. However, many people do not know how to apply liquid fertilizer to plantsin what proportion it should be done and which one is best for it.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you how to apply liquid fertilizer to plants and everything you need to know to do it correctly.
Contents
Which liquid fertilizer to choose
According to the National Association of Fertilizer Manufacturers (ANFFE), liquid fertilizers should be chosen according to the physical and chemical properties of the soil and its nutritional needs. This means that it must contain the best nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), as well as Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Copper or Sulphur. All fertilizers must guarantee an optimal NPK ratio.
If you’re looking for an all-purpose fertilizer for your ornamental, indoor or patio plants, try an all-purpose liquid fertilizer. Depending on the type of plant, there are also more specific products, such as liquid fertilizers for roses or geraniums.
how to throw fertilizer herbal liquid
In general, there are three types of fertilization: root application, foliar application and fertigation. Root application involves applying a liquid fertilizer to the base of the plant. Depending on the product, it can be used directly or diluted with water. In this method, you need to be careful about the amount used so as not to damage the roots.
Foliar feeding refers to the fertilization of a plant’s leaves. Not only is it a unique formula, but it is also recommended in addition to the previous one to accelerate the absorption of nutrients.
Finally, fertigation refers to the addition of fertilizer to irrigation water. This approach is unique because it optimizes water by using it to provide the nutrients plants need.
How much fertilizer to use
So we come to the million dollar question: how much fertilizer is the right amount? To answer this question, three factors must be taken into account: type of soil, type of crop and its physiological stage. For garden plants, the use of fertilizer should be quite low. Otherwise, you risk suffocating them. In fact, it is more practical to use lower doses more frequently.
It’s okay if you don’t know the right dosage, as many fertilizers include very specific instructions to guide you. Its measuring cap allows you to calculate with great precision the quantity you need before diluting with water.
Types of fertilizers
regular fertilizer
We can be sure that there are two types of fertilizers: straight fertilizers and multinutrient fertilizers. The simplest are those that contain a main nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium). These types of fertilizers are often used in the agricultural field or on a large scale, because it is necessary to know the culture and the type of plant well in order to find the perfect balance of the nutrients used. In simple fertilizer we find:
- Nitrogen: As their name suggests, they are responsible for providing nitrogen to plants. This nutrient is responsible for stimulating the growth of plants, making them greener and more abundant. Some of them are urea, ammonia, and ammonium nitrate, among others. Urea is the fertilizer with the highest nitrogen content (46%) and is also very inexpensive. Ammonium sulfate provides 21% nitrogen, while ammonium calcium nitrate contains just over 27% nitrogen.
- Phosphorus: They are responsible for providing phosphorus to plants. This micronutrient is involved in flowering, fruiting and root development. Phosphate fertilizers can be single superphosphate (16% to 20% phosphorus) and triple superphosphate (46%).
- potassium: This nutrient is responsible for protecting the plant from temperature extremes, as well as increasing the fertility of the substrate and is responsible for transporting nutrients into the plant. An example of these fertilizers is potassium chloride, which contains 60% potassium.
compound fertilizer
These are fertilizers that combine several key nutrients. They are also known as NPK or NP fertilizers, depending on the type of nutrients they contain. This is the type of fertilizer we usually buy for home plant treatments as they provide a balance of nutrients to plants and are very easy to use. Learning how to choose this fertilizer is important because it will allow you to get the right fertilizer for each plant.
To choose a fertilizer, you must read the label. You will find 3 numbers in xxx format. These numbers will represent the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium respectively. That’s to say, In a 10 kg bag of 20-15-30 fertilizer you will have 2 kg of nitrogen, 1.5 kg of phosphorus and 3 kg of potassium. The rest of the ingredients will correspond to the inert elements which act as fertilizer carriers.
Manufacturers often include instructions on the label for which fertilizer to use and which plants take that ratio well; however, you can check the ideal fertilizer ratio for that particular plant species in our plant guide. Generally, You can look for a fertilizer that has twice as much phosphorus as nitrogen and potassium, such as 15-30-15 or 12-24-12.
Knowing this can even help you save money because you can choose the perfect option even if you don’t have the mark. I mean, sometimes manufacturers charge more for products with nice labels, but it’s exactly the same with simpler products. If you can’t get the right ratio for your type of plant, here’s a tip: read the label of your specialty fertilizer and write down the numbers you will use to find your general purpose fertilizer. For example, a particular orchid fertilizer has an NPK ratio of 30-10-10, so you can look for any fertilizer with those ratios for your orchids, even if it doesn’t state it on the label.
I hope with this information you can learn more about how to apply liquid plant fertilizer and its characteristics.