Types of Commercial Fertilizers
Commercial fertilizers are chemically manufactured or are the purified salts from underground deposits. They are fairly concentrated, highly soluble and fast acting. Prior to 1950 there was little use of commercial fertilizers but the shift since then to commercial fertilizers has become the norm. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Straight or Complete
-
A straight fertilizer supplies one specific element, such as nitrogen, and nothing else. A complete fertilizer supplies a combination of nutrients, usually nitrogen, phosphorous and potash in various percentages. Some are high in nitrogen to promote the growth of leaves and stems while others are high in phosphorous, to promote flower or fruit production.
Synthetic Organics
-
Chemical combinations of organic and inorganic substances are known as synthetic organics. They should not be confused with organic fertilizers. Synthetic organics are stronger than organic fertilizers and much closer in character to their chemical counterparts regarding their effects on plant roots and the soil. Their advantage is that they break down slowly, making one application enough for an entire season.
-
Liquid or Granular
-
Commercial fertilizers come in liquid or granular form. One advantage of liquid fertilizers is that they can be diluted to a precise strength. They are usually applied through irrigation systems or as a foliar spray. Climate can affect storage. At cold temperatures they will precipitate out of solution. The label should state the temperature range for storage.
Granular fertilizers are easy to transport, store and apply. There is no need for special equipment. In humid climates, formulas that contain ammonium nitrate tend to "melt" and should be avoided in favor of urea or ammonium sulphate. Products containing urea need to immediately be worked into the soil to avoid losing nitrogen into the atmosphere.
Read the Label
-
The label will tell you what the active ingredients are and how much to apply. Fertilizer labels also carry a series of three hyphenated numbers that are collectively known as the NPK number. This number tells you the percentages of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) in any given fertilizer. The numbers are standardized, always appearing in the same order. An NPK number that reads 0-10-0 means that the fertilizer is a straight phosphorous fertilizer that contains 10 percent available phosphorous. A number that reads 10-20-5 represents a complete fertilizer that contains 10 percent nitrogen, 20 percent phosphorous and 5 percent potassium.
The NPK number only tells you what is immediately available, not the total nutrient content of the product. They are not a measure of how good a product is.
Considerations
-
Chemical fertilizers give an immediate boost but the long-term use of chemical fertilizers has been shown to have a detrimental effect on soil structure and overall soil health. With long-term use, chemical salts build up, acidity changes and the population of soil microorganisms is reduced.
The over-application of chemical fertilizers can damage plant roots and slow down plant development. When applying chemical fertilizers, less is more. Organic material such as manure, compost or leaf mold will help to counteract these negative effects.
-
