Beautiful Lawn Today:

Nutrient Management In Garden
Lawre L. Hoyle
Ap only the nutrients
plants use.

In your garden

Twenty nutrients h b ntified t are rered by plants.
Of te, nitrogen, ppus, and potassium are rered in
relaely large amts. Nitrogen is associa with lush vegetae
wth, adequate ppus is rered for flowering and fruiting,
and potassium is necessary for durability and dise ista.
Calcium, sulfur, and magnesium are also rered in caraely
large quantities. se six nutrients are erred to as macro-nutrients.
other nutrients, erred to as micro-nutrients, are rered in
y sm amts. se include s elements as cop, zinc,
iron, and boron. While both macro and micro-nutrients are rered
for good plant wth, o-apcation be as detrimental as a
defency. O-apcation of plant nutrients not only impair plant wth, but caminate grdwater by leaching thgh the soil or pollute surface wat by washing away.

Soil teng

Teng your soil for nutrients and pH is irtant to prov your
plants with the pro bala of nutrients while avoiding o-
apcation. If you are estishing a new garden , a soil test is
strongly recommended. cost of soil teng is minor in carison
to the cost of plant materials and labor. Corring a problem bre
planting is m simpler and chea n afterwards. O your gardenis estished, cinue to take iodic soil ples. While y people tinely lime their gardens , this ult in raising the pH too high. Howe, si y ferti tend to lower the pH, the pH drop below desire levels after seal years, depending on fertiation and other soil factors. Home tests for pH, nitrogen, ppus, and potassium are ave from garden cent. While te give you a genl a of the nutrients in your soil, they are not as relie as tests fed
by the Cooae Extension Service at your local land grant Unisity and other commercial teng services w prov m det and you request special tests for micro-nutrients if you susp a problem. In addition to the analysis of nutrients in your soil, they often prov recommendations for the apcation of nutrients or on adjung the pH. test for soil pH is y simple- pH is a mure of how acidic or alkaline your soil is.

A pH of 7 is consred neutral. Below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Si pH gtly influes plant nutrients, adjung the pH w often corr a nutrient problem. At a high pH, seal of the micro-nutrients become less ave for plant uptake. Iron defency is a common problem even at a neutral pH on s plants as rhododendrons and blueberries. At y low pH, other micro-nutrients be too ave, ulting in a plant toxty. Ppus and potassium are tesregularly by commercial teng labs. While th are soil tests fornitrogen, te be less relie. Nitrogen is prnt in the soil in seal fs and the fs change rapidly. , a precise analysis of nitrogen is m difficult to obtain.

Most unisity soil test labs do not tinely test for nitrogen.
Home teng kits often cain a test for nitrogen which give you a genl a of the pr of nitrogen, but again, due to the varioustransfations of nitrogen, the ding not be relie.

O matter is often part of a soil test. Soil o matter is highly desire. O matter has a large influe on soil structure. Good soil structure improves ation and water movement and retention. This encourages incred microbial acity and root wth, both of which influe the avability of nutrients for plant wth.Soil o matter also affs the avability of plant nutrients andhow pecs ct in the soil. Soils high in o matter tend to h a gter sup of plant nutrients cared to y soils low in o matter.

O matter tends to bind up some soil pecs, reducing their
effeceness. Tests for micro-nutrients are usuy not fed unless th is ron to susp a problem. Certain plants h gter rerements for specific micro-nutrients and show defencysymptoms. Iron defency is common on blueberries, unless the soil is te acidic. On te plants, the yger les w usuy show signs of the defency first. ar betw the veins wbe yellowish while the veins remain gr. Other plants wing in tame soil w show no signs of a defency. In this case, altering the pH w often corr the problem.

Taking Soil Sample For Teng

1. If you end to send your ple to the land grant unisity in yourstate, cact the local Cooae Extension Service for infationand ple bags. If you end to send your ple to a private tenglab, cact them for specific dets about submitting a ple.

2. Follow the dirions caully for submitting the ple.
following are genl gulines for taking a soil ple.

a. Sample when the soil is moist but not wet.

b. For each acre of land to be tes, 10 to 15 sub-ples are
recommended. Ar t appear diffnt or t h bee used diffntly should be pled separately. For example, a separateple should be submit for an a t has b in a garden and one t has b lawn.

c. Obtain a clean p or similar cainer.

d. Clear away the surface litter or grass.

e. With a spade or soil auger, dig a sm amt of soil to a depth of 6 inc.

f. Place the soil in the clean p.

g. Repeat steps d thgh f until the rered number of ples h b collec.

h. Mix the ples together toughly.

i. From the mixture, take the ple t w be sent for analysis.

j. Send immediately. Do not dry bre sending.

3. If you are using a home soil teng kit, follow the above steps fortaking your ple. Follow the dirions in the test kit caully.

4. Ferti and soil amendments O you h the ults of the soil test, you add nutrients or soil amendments s as lime, as needed. If you need to raise the pH, use lime. Lime is most effece when it is mixed o the soil, the it is
best to ap bre planting. For large ar, rototing is most effece. For sm ar or ard plants, working the lime o the soil with a spade or culator is pere. When working ard plants, be caul not to dig too dee or so ghly t you damage plant roots.

Depending on the f of lime and the soil conditions, the change in pH be gradual. It take seal mhs bre a signifit change is no. Soils high in o matter and clay tend to take larger amts of lime to change the pH n do sandy soils. If you need to lower the pH signifitly, you use aluminum sulfate. Other commerciy ave ferti w also help lower the pH. In cases, follow the soil test or ufacturer's recommended rates of apcation.

Again, mixing well o the soil is recommended. re are numes
choices for providing nitrogen, ppus, and potassium. If your soil is of adequate fertility, aping cost be the best method of aping additional nutrients.

While cost is relaely low in nutrients cared to commercial
ferti, it is especiy benefal in improving the condition of the soil. By keeping the soil loose, cost ows plant roots to w well thghout the soil, owing them to extract nutrients from a large a. A loose soil enriched with cost is also an excellent habitat for earthws and other benefal soil microonisms t are essential for reling nutrients for plant use. nutrients from cost are also reled slowly so th is no corn for "burning" the plant with an o-apcation.

Mre is also an excellent source of plant nutrients and o matter.Mre should be cos bre aping. Fh ure be too strong and injure plants. Be caul when cong ure. If left in the open, exed to rain, nutrients leach out of the ure and the runoff caminate waterways. Make sure the ure is std in a location away from wells and any waterways, and t any runoff is confined or slowly reled o a vegeta a. Improly aped ure also be a source of pollution. For best ults, work cos ure o the soil. If preparing a bed bre planting, cost and ure be worked o the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inc. If adding to exing plants, work caully ard plants.

Gr u are another source of o matter and plant nutrients. Gr u are crops t are wn and then ted o the soil. As they bk down, nitrogen and other plant nutrients become ave. Gr u also prov additional benefits of reducing soil erosion. Gr u s as rye and oats are often plan in the f after the crops h b harves. In the spring, te are ted under bre planting.

With o sources of nitrogen, whether cost or ure, the nitrogen must be changed to an ino f bre the plants use it. , it is irtant to h well-drained, a soils t prov the favore habitat for the soil microonisms ponsible for te consions.

re are numes sources of commercial ferti t
sup nitrogen, ppus, and potassium. first number on the fertier analysis is the centage of nitrogen, the second number is ppus, and the third number is the potassium cent. A fertier like 10-20-10 or a 12 - 24 - 11 has twice as m of each of the nutrients as a 5-10-5.

How m of each nutrient you need depends on your soil test ults and the plants you are fertiing. As was mentioned bre, nitrogen mulates vegetae wth while ppus mulates flowering. Too m nitrogen inhibit flowering and fruit production.

For y vegetes, a fertier higher in ppus n nitrogen is perred s as a 5-10-5.

Fertier apcation s as a commercial ferti are ny aped as a dry grlar material, or mixed with water and watd o the garden. If using grlar materials, avoid sping on swalks and driveways. se materials are water soluble and cause pollution problems if rinsed o st sew.

Grlar ferti are a type of salt, and if aped too heavily on plants, they burn the plants. If using a lid fertier, ap dirly to or ard the base of the plant. For the most effent use and to decre the potential for pollution, fertier should be aped when the plants h the gtest need for the nutrients.

Plants t are not acely wing do not h a high rerement for nutrients. , apcations of nutrients to dort plants, or plants wing slowly due to cool tematu, are m likely to be was. Genery, nitrogen ferti should not be aped to most plants in the f in regions of the ctry t exie cold w.

Si nitrogen encourages vegetae wth, if it is aped in the f it reduce the plant's ability to harden for wer. In some gardens, fertier use be reduced by aping it ard the individual plants rather n broadcang across the entire garden. In the case of ppus, m of the fertier ppus becomes unave to the plants o spd on the soil. For better plant uptake, Ppus should be mixed o the soil bre planting the garden. Do not ap dirly to the plant or in cact with the roots after planting.