The Recommended Fertilizer for Garden Vegetables
No matter how dry, wet or sandy the soil is in your vegetable garden, with just a little preparation, care and the correct fertilizer, you can grow fresh and flavorful vegetables all summer long. Boost the essential nutrients in your vegetable garden with seasonal applications of organic matter, and then focus specific applications of nitrogen and phosphorus on your vegetables throughout their growing season. Does this Spark an idea?
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Essential Elements
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Horticulturists have identified 20 essential elements that contribute to the optimal growth of plants, and 17 of these nutrients come from the soil. Without these essential elements, vegetables become nutrient deficient and do not grow to their full form. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the three macronutrients that are required in large amounts; adequate amounts of the other nutrients are usually already in the soil in sufficient quantities. Test the soil in your vegetable garden to determine the quantities of these macronutrients present, as well as the acidity of the soil, before applying any fertilizer. The most common requirements for fertilizers in a vegetable garden are nitrogen and phosphorus.
When to Fertilize
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An annual application of compost or organic matter introduces these three macronutrients into the soil. In addition, the fibers from the organic matter will help to strengthen the soil's structure and the additional nutrients will support the soil's organisms. At the start of the season, a light application of fertilizer worked into the soil prepares the soil directly for vegetable growth by balancing the nutrients. Side applications of fertilizer, specific to the type of vegetable grown, throughout the growing season support the vegetables in each of their growth stages.
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Nitrogen
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Nitrogen is the major component of chlorophyll in vegetables. If the soil in the vegetable bed is well-prepared, gardeners need not add nitrogen until the vegetables start fruiting or growing quickly. For tomatoes, the first application of nitrogen should be one to two weeks before the first tomato ripens, then two weeks after picking the first tomato, and finally one month later. Apply nitrogen to sweet corn when the plants are 8 to 10 inches tall, and then one week after the tassels appear. Sweet potatoes, carrots, beets and turnips do not need an application of nitrogen. An excess of nitrogen in the soil results in vegetables having vines and stems and no body, and root crops with many leaves and small roots. Too little nitrogen causes stunted growth, yellowing in the leaves and reduced size of vegetables.
Phosphorus
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Apply phosphorus to your vegetables only if there is a deficiency of it in the soil. Phosphorus contributes to root development, increased stem strength and a uniform and earlier crop of vegetables. An excess of phosphorus can kill fungi needed by the vegetables and reduce the plant's ability to absorb micronutrients, including iron. A deficiency of phosphorus results in stunted nodes on the vegetable stems and slow growth and maturity, terminating in a poor vegetable crop.
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References
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