Fertilizer Archives - gardenmyths.com

Water Hardness and Alkalinity – Why They Both Matter

Is your tap water suitable for plants? Unless you know something about both hardness and alkalinity, you can’t tell if your tap water should be used.

Is RO water, distilled water, or rainwater suitable for plants? You probably think it is, but they also have problems that relate to hardness and alkalinity.

Let’s have a closer look at water and these two properties.

girls watering houseplants in front of a window

Key Takeaways

Hardness and alkalinity are not the same thing.
Tap water may not be suitable for plants.
Pure water may also not be suitable

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Which Form of Nitrogen is Best for Plants

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plants because it is almost always in short supply. The amount of nitrogen available controls plant growth.

Synthetic fertilizer usually supplies nitrogen as urea or nitrate. Organic fertilizer supplies it as proteins and amino acids, and they claim these forms are better for plants. Which forms of nitrogen can plants use, and which is the best form for gardeners to use for growing plants?

diagram showing the movement of nitrogen from one form to another. — Nitrogen cycle, source: Depositphotos

Key Takeaways

Nitrate and ammonium are the main forms of nitrogen used by plants.
Plants can use urea and amino acids directly.
Plants also seem to be able to digest proteins and then absorb them through roots, probably as amino acids.
Organic gardening techniques don’t seem to significantly alter the amino acids in soil.

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Fertilizer in Potting Soil – Good or Bad?

In the good old days, commercial potting soil (media) contained no added fertilizer. Today, more and more products contain some fertilizer, either in synthetic or organic form. Gardeners have been led to believe they can fertilize less and skip fertilizing seedlings. Some believe they can stop fertilizing houseplants entirely. But no one seems to discuss the elephant in the room!

How much fertilizer has been added? Should you stop fertilizing? When does the added fertilizer run out? How quickly are the nutrients available to plants? This blog will answer these and other questions about this mysterious fertilizer.

girl repotting some houseplants — Do you need to fertilize potting media source: Depositphotos

Key Takeaways

Potting soil manufacturers don’t provide adequate information about their products.
The fertilizer in these products is too low to grow plants.
Repotted plants, including seedlings, should be fertilized right away.

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Fertilizer PPM Calculator

Gardeners normally talk about “teaspoons” of fertilizer when they make up fertilizer solutions, which leads to all kinds of confusion and misuse of fertilizer. Some of you are using too little, while others use way too much. On the other hand, horticultural professionals don’t make these mistakes because they talk about PPM values instead.

It’s time gardeners change their habits. Start using Parts Per Million (PPM) units instead of teaspoons in your discussions. This will improve online information and reduce your fertilizer mistakes. I discussed the reasons for doing this, along with several examples, in Calculating the PPM of Nitrogen in Your Fertilizer.

To help you use ppm values, I have created this simple-to-use Fertilizer PPM Calculator, which shows you how much fertilizer to use to make up a required ppm solution. It works for both metric and imperial units, and can be used for both solid and liquid fertilizers.

plant in soil while fertilizer is added to the soil — Fertilizer PPM Calculator, source: Depositphotos

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Does Rainwater Make Plants Greener?

Many gardeners have noticed that grass is greener and plants look healthier after a good rain. They conclude that rainwater is better for gardens than tap water. Is that really true? Is rainwater better than tap water? Does rainwater make our gardens greener? Let’s open that umbrella and find out. Key Takeaways Are Plants Greener … Read More

Does Rain Add Nitrogen to The Garden?

Gardeners claim that nitrogen levels in the soil increase after rain. Water floating down through the air picks up nitrogen and deposits it on and near plants. Lighting adds even more nitrogen to the process. They base their conclusion on the perceived greening of the garden after a rain. In agriculture, it is well understood … Read More

Should Gardeners Use Greensand Fertilizer?

Greensand is an organic fertilizer that has been around for many years but it has never become popular except in certified organic farms. Are gardeners missing out on an important soil amendment and source of potassium? Key Takeaways What is Greensand? Greensand fertilizer is a natural soil amendment derived from ancient marine deposits, primarily composed … Read More

Too Much Compost Can Poison Your Garden?

Can you use too much compost? If you believe what you read, compost is the best thing for your garden. If that’s true, how can you have too much? The truth is that too much compost, especially manure and commercial compost, is harmful to your soil and plants.

Too Much Compost - Is It Poisoning Your Garden — Too Much Compost – Is It Poisoning Your Garden, source: Oregon State University

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Calculating the PPM of Nitrogen in Your Fertilizer

How much fertilizer do you use? In North America, it is common to reply with something like “1/8 tsp of a 20-6-12 fertilizer. The problem with this answer is that it is difficult to compare the amount to someone using, for example, 1/4 tsp of 7-3-5 fertilizer.

Are either of these close to the recommended amount of 100 ppm nitrogen?

It is important to compare apples with apples and the best way to do this is to report and discuss fertilizer in ppm units. It is easy to do, it will make gardening communication much more useful and it will give you better insight into your fertilizer use.

several houseplants with a lady watering them — How strong is this fertilizer? source: Depositphotos

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Do Your Plants Need More Silicon?

One of the hottest new additives for plants is silicon, which is also incorrectly called silica. It is claimed to reduce pests, improve growth and fend off diseases such as powdery mildew. Although there is some truth to the claims, there is also a lot of misinformation in the gardening community.

wilting house plant with yellow leaves — Stressed plant looking for help, source: Depositphotos

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Best Fertilizer for Indoor Plants and Containers

There are so many types of fertilizer that it’s hard to know which one to use. Which NPK ratio is best? Is one brand better than another? Organic vs synthetic. Soluble vs slow release. This all seems so complicated, but in this post, I will simplify the whole process of selecting the best fertilizer.

Key Takeaways

The best NPK ratio for most plants is 3-1-2, some like 3-1-3.
There is no such thing as plant-specific fertilizer.
Mix fertilizer so nitrogen is at about the 100 ppm level.
Fertilize with every watering, and use just water once a month to flush the pot.

Girls watering a plant — Best Fertilizer for Indoor Plants and Containers

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Using Conductivity (EC) and pH Measurements to Control Hydroponic Solutions

Hydroponics can be a great way to grow plants but it is important to make sure the nutrient solution contains enough food for the whole growth cycle. If either pH or EC (electrical conductivity) is out of whack, plants grow poorly or stop growing all together. It is therefore important to measure and control the nutrient solution. This post will look at what the numbers mean and what you should do about them to keep plants growing well.

Key Takeaways

Keeping the pH and EC in the preferred range is important for plant growth.
Use EC and not TDS for measurements and online discussions.
Nutrient lockout does not really exist, but is important to understand.

an EC meter superimposed on tomatoes growing hydroponically in deep water culture. — EC should be measured for both the deep water culture and Kratky methods

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