Fertilizer Guide

Fertilizer can be made through a chemical process or naturally, which is applied to the soil to promote growth in plants. In light to the simple fact that natural products are healthy than processed products, natural fertilizer is always the best choice for many gardeners. Just like human beings, plants too need nutrition and proper care for healthy growth hence it's important to ensure that the plants get the nutrition in the right proportions during the growing process. A good fertilizer ought to supply the three main plant nutrients in a range of proportions.

The other reason why natural fertilizer is preferred is due to the fact that chemical fertilizer can make the surface runoff in case it is over applied. It goes without saying that surface runoff poses a threat to wildlife in addition to causing a lot of problems in the growing process. This is not to say that natural fertilizer is less likely to be over applied, but at least the release rates of natural fertilizer is less than that of their chemical counterparts.

You will get commercial fertilizer at the gardening department in most retail outlets or in most home improvement stores. Early spring is the ideal time for planting, justifying the reason why fertilizer is in abundance in the stores at that time. During the winter months, a lot of fertilizer products are disposed off by most stores just before spring since planting is seasonal. Note that if you plant at the wrong time, say too early, late hoarfrost is likely to get rid of the crops, resulting in fertilizer and plant wastage.

The geographical location and different climatic conditions will provide for various planting seasons. It is not surprising to find some areas thriving with gardening throughout the year while other areas are limited to mainly the summer and spring months. Very stormy and cold weather will affect the crops, thus the reason why it is vital to identify the optimal plant growing season for your location.

Different storage requirements must be met, depending on the kind of fertilizer you choose. Commercial fertilizer products will require one to read carefully about the constituents and the storage instructions printed on the fertilizer packaging. For one to be able to grow healthy crops and to cause less pollution to the environment, it is advisable to study carefully the requirements and nutrient content. Further, read any warning and/or caution labels sparingly before using any fertilizer. As a rule of thumb, all fertilizer products should be kept out of reach of children.