******************************************************************
FERTILIZER
OR
BY GEORGE EDGAR
I respond, “Fertilizer
may not help your plant bloom or produce fruit!!!”
In fact, too much fertilizer
may be the reason the flower is not blooming, or the vegetable or fruit
tree is not setting fruit, or the carrots and beets and radishes are all
tops.
If you believe
the TV ads you might think that water soluble fertilizers such as
Miracle-Gro are the answer to all your garden problems including a plant
not blooming. But remember that fertilizer is not the answer for a sick
plant, and is not the treatment of choice when a plant is under stress.
In fact, fertilizer may make it worse. Application of fertilizer to a
plant that has insect injury or looks sick, or is suffering from not
enough water or too much water, will only put additional stress on the
plant as it tries to use the food you add.
What the plant
needs is the proper medicine. If you have a plant that is struggling,
make sure you get an informed diagnosis from a plant specialist before
applying a fungicide, an insecticide, or fertilizer. Or maybe it is
under stress because of too much water or not enough water. After the
proper diagnosis and treatment, and the plant is healthy, you can begin
a fertilization schedule that is recommended by a plant specialist such
as your local county extension educator or a plant specialist at a full
service garden center.
By Federal law,
every container of fertilizer must have 3 numbers on the package. The
first number tells you how much nitrogen (N) is in the package and
expressed as a percentage. The second number is phosphate or phosphorous
(P) and the third number is potash (K). Nitrogen makes your foliage
grow, phosphate is good for blooming and root growth, and potash is good
for hardiness. Too much nitrogen in relation to phosphate on your roses,
tomatoes, houseplants, or other blooming plants, trees or vegetables
will encourage top growth and foliage rather than flowers and then
fruit. With radishes, carrots and other root crops like beets and
turnips it will produce a lot of top growth at the expense of the
desirable part of the plant.
Lawn fertilizer
is high in nitrogen in order to make the grass blades (foliage) grow. Do
not use this in your flower bed or vegetable garden, or around flowering
trees or fruit trees. A good granular rose, flower, shrub, tree, and
vegetable fertilizer is balanced. That is, the middle number is at least
the same or higher than the first number. Most balanced fertilizers are
Do not over
fertilize your lawn or plants. On my lawn I usually fertilize only
three times per year, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the first week
in October. Heavy fertilization of your lawn in the early spring invites
disease and insect problems later in the year because it causes stress
on the grass as it struggles to recover from being asleep all winter.
And too much fertilizer on new seedlings can weaken the plant as it
struggles to use the nutrients. Too much nitrogen on newly planted seeds
and transplants can make the stems spindly and weak. Also, this stress
invites disease problems, and a weak plant invites insects. Copyright 2014
******************************************************************
QUOTE OF THE WEEK BY
“Always
read the label
Always follow
label directions.”
This quote can
not be attributed to any one person as I hear it quite often from many
experts. Protect your plants, the environment, and yourself.
1.
Always
read the label on any product before using in the garden, on the lawn,
on trees and shrubs, on your houseplants, etc. Make sure you are using
the product only on the recommended plants. If you are not sure, ask a
plant expert or go on line and see what is recommended for that plant.
2.
Always
follow the label directions.
·
If the
label says mix 2 ounces in a gallon of water, do not put in 3 or 4
ounces.
·
If the
label says apply 5 pounds per 1000 square feet, do not put on 8 or 10
pounds per 1000 square feet.
·
More is
not always better and probably will be worse than nothing, and can harm
your plant.
Always read the
label |