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Beware Of These 3 Common Mistakes When Fertilizing Your Garden
By JENNY LYNCH
In order to have strong, healthy plants and receive high-quality fruits and vegetables, you need to look at your fertilization practices. However, it’s important to know that fertilizer can only help balance nutrient deficiencies, so if your plant’s problems come from standing water or lack of sunlight, no amount of fertilizer can help it.
Application Windows
Fertilizing your plants at the wrong time can harm your plants, so with vegetables, you need to do the first application in springtime and the next in their most intense period of growth in the middle of summer. However, different types of soil and plants will also affect this general schedule.
Using The Wrong Kind
Most fertilizers combine nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) to make an all-purpose NPK formula, but to know what kind of fertilizer you need, test your soil’s pH level and nutrient content. Watch out for scorch marks on leaves and weak plants that signal an imbalance of nutrients.
Using Too Much
Too much fertilizer can lead to extreme growth spurts that can't be supported by its roots and can impede fruit and vegetable growth. The health of your soil will also be compromised by high salt concentrations that limit the plant’s accessibility to nutrients.