Never use this type of fertilizer – can harm your garden and soil

Key points

  • Although the “balanced”, “10-10-10 fertilizer can harm the plants overloaded with the ground with unnecessary nutrients, especially phosphorus.
  • It does not meet the specific nutritional needs of various plants, which makes it one-size – all solution that often lacks the label.
  • Instead, test your soil or use natural options like compost to adjust more nutritious support and more efficiently.

It rarely pays off to be forgetful. If we forget to do gardening, which possible reason we can expect well Results? But there may be one exception from this rule.

If you had a 10-10-10 fertilizer bag that sits in the shed, and we barely remember feeding your plants with any of that fertilizer, your garden can quietly thank you for it. It turns out that fertilizer is 10 to 10-10, far from always helping your plants sometimes hurt them sometimes. Discover why in this article and find out what alternatives are.

Meet the expert

Terry Valenzuela Is the content manager on Sunday with a degree from the Saint Mary University in Minnesota.

What does 10-10-10 mean?

When you buy a bag of fertilizers, you will see three numbers on the label, separate dashes. These numbers make up “analysis” fertilizers.

Numbers indicate the ratio (per percentage) of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK), in this order, in fertilizer. “10-10-10” is only one example; Because nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are present in equal amounts in this case, it is known as “balanced” fertilizer.

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What is the problem with 10-10-10?

There are two main problems with 10-10-10, when used indiscriminate, from year to year:

It is unlikely that your garden is needed exactly the same amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. So you could deprive some of your plants of a certain nutrients that they need, and other plants give more nutrients that they don’t need.

The only way to determine exactly what type of fertilizer you need to have a soil test.

“Simply put, using the ideal ratio for each crop improves harvest and avoids waste,” says Terry Valenzuela, Sunday. “Giving each garden bed balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 can leave some plants short on the nutrients they need the most, while filling the soiling ingredients cannot use other plants.”

Instead of taking care of the plants, most of the phosphorus you put on the garden probably will just sit there in the ground. This unused phosphor is built over time and harm your plants by reducing their ability to occupy the necessary micronutrients such as iron and zinc.

How to do the soil test

Learn the address of the expansion office in your county; You will send soil samples here. Experts will test your soil and send you a message. The results will be accompanied by any recommendations needed to address the shortcomings of nutrients in your soil.

So what fertilizer should be used?

Set the soil test if you want a precise answer to this question. If you don’t crave a sufficiently precise answer to torment with the soil test, don’t settle for that looks to be a “easy answer” and apply 10-10-10.

Basically, there is no equal need for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. For example, research has shown that trees and shrubs have a greater need for nitrogen than for other two nutrients; Consequently, fertilizers with analysis 4-1-1, 3-1-1 or 3-1-2 are likely to meet their needs.

So, if you intend to use commercial fertilizer, one of these high fertilizers is a better choice of 10-10-10.

Another factor: pH soil

PH soil can also (and should) be tested. Sometimes, when the plant is struggling, it is not so because the necessary nutrients in the soil is missing as it is due to pH imbalances. Have the wrong pH for the plant can prevent proper nutrient entry. Fortunately, it is easy to raise the pH or lower ground.

Natural alternatives

If you are not committed to using commercial fertilizer, you can save money by remaining natural. This can be done in two ways:

  • Keep a bunch of compost: Making compost is simple as buying (or building) the bucket and mixing “green” (like kitchen pieces) and “brown” (like straw) in it. After decomposition, you do compost into your garden ground. You can never go wrong with compost: it will never hurt your plants.
  • Do organic matter directly into the soil: Some gardeners cut medium man and work organic material directly into the ground year to year, where the nutrients are broken and delivered.

These methods work in a large majority of cases. Again, however, if you are looking for accuracy in resolving the nutritional plant needs, there is no substitute for the soil test.

Some gardeners who otherwise remain natural occasionally use chemical fertilizer to correct nutrition in the soil.

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