The Important Do's And Don'ts of Nutrient Management In The Garden :

"Over The Gen W with Oaky" Today looks o the benefits of only applying the exact nutrients your plants use, or even need. We'll also look o the do's and don'ts of nutrient managet for your gen. You don't have to be a scientist to be a good gener but it does help to know about the basics of nutrients and their purpose for susted good health and growth of your plants. Perf soil maenance depends on creating the optimum nutrient levels, thgh corr managet every year.

Nutrient Managet In your gen

Twenty essential nutrients have been ntified t are rired by plants. Of these, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are rired in relaely large amounts. Nitrogen is associated with lush vegetae growth, adate phosphorus is rired for flowering and fruiting, and potassium is necessary for durability and dise resistance. Calcium, sulfur, and magnesium are also rired in caraely large quantities. These six nutrients are referred to as manutrients. The other nutrients, referred to as minutrients, are rired in very sm amounts. These include such elets as cop, zinc, i, and bo. While both ma and minutrients are rired for good plant growth, over-application be as detrital as a deiy. Over-application of plant nutrients not only impair plant growth, but taminate gndwater by leaching thgh the soil or pollute surface wat by washing away.

The Irtance Of Soil testing

Testing your soil for nutrients and pH is irtant to prov your
plants with the pro balance of nutrients while avoiding over-
application. If you are estishing a new gen , a soil test is
stgly recomded. The cost of soil testing is minor in arison
to the cost of plant materials and labor. Corring a problem bre planting is much sier and chea than afterws. Once your gen is estished, tinue to take iodic soil saes. While many people tinely lime their gens , this result in raising the pH too high. However, since many fertiliz d to lower the pH, the pH drop below desire levels after sevl years, depending on fertilization and other soil factors. Home test kits for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are availe from most repute gen cent. While these give you a genl a of the nutrients in your soil, they are not as relie as tests fed by the Cooae Exsion Service at land grant univities. Univity and other commercial testing services w prov m detail and you rest special tests for nutrients if you susp a problem. In addition to the analysis of nutrients in your soil, they of prov recomdations for the application of nutrients or on adjusting the pH. The test for soil pH is very sie- pH is a mure of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. A pH of 7 is sred neutral. Below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Since pH greatly influes plant nutrients, adjusting the pH w of corr a nutrient problem. At a high pH, sevl of the minutrients become less availe for plant uptake. I deiy is a common problem even at a neutral pH on such plants as rhododends and blueberries. At very low pH, other minutrients be too availe, resulting in a plant toxicity. Phosphorus and potassium are tested regularly by commercial testing labs. While there are soil tests for nitrogen, these be less relie. Nitrogen is present in the soil in sevl fs and the fs change rapidly. Therre, a precise analysis of nitrogen is m difult to obt. Most univity soil test labs do not tinely test for nitrogen. Home testing kits of t a test for nitrogen which give you a genl a of the prese of nitrogen, but ag, due to the various transfations of nitrogen, the reading not be relie. Onic mar is of part of a soil test. Soil onic mar is highly desire. Onic mar has a large influe on soil structure. Good soil structure improves ation and water movet and retion. This ourages incred mibial acity and root growth, both of which influe the availability of nutrients for plant growth. Soil onic mar also affs the availability of plant nutrients and how pestics react in the soil. Soils high in onic mar d to have a greater supply of plant nutrients cared to many soils low in onic mar. Onic mar ds to bind up some soil pestics, reducing their effiveness. Tests for minutrients are usuy not fed unless there is ron to susp a problem. Cert plants have greater rirets for speci minutrients and show deiy symptoms. I deiy is common on blueberries, unless the soil is quite acidic. On these plants, the younger leaves w usuy show signs of the deiy
first. The ar between the veins w be yellowish while the veins rem green. Other plants growing in the same soil w show no signs of a deiy. In this case, altering the pH w of corr the problem.

How To Take a soil test

1/. If you end to send your sae to the land grant univity in your state, tact the local Cooae Exsion Service for infation and sae bags. If you end to send your sae to a private testing lab, tact them for speci details about submitting a sae.

2/. Follow the dirions carefully for submitting the sae. The
following are genl gulines for taking a soil sae.

a/. Sae when the soil is moist but not wet.

b/. For each acre of land to be tested, 10 to 15 sub-saes are
recomded. Ar t appear different or t have been used
differently should be saed separately. For exae, a separate
sae should be submid for an area t has been in a gen
and one t has been lawn.

c/. Obt a clean pail or similar ter.

d/. Clear away the surface lir or grass.

e/. With a spade or soil auger, dig a sm amount of soil to a depth of 6 inches.

f/. Place the soil in the clean pail.

g/. Repeat steps d thgh f until the rired number of saes
have been colled.

h/. Mix the saes together thoghly.

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

j/. Send immediately. Do not dry bre sending.

3/. If you are using a home soil testing kit, follow the above steps for taking your sae. Follow the dirions in the test kit carefully.

Fertiliz and soil adts
Once you have the results of the soil test, you add nutrients or soil adts such as lime, as needed. If you need to raise the pH, use lime. Lime is most effive when it is mixed o the soil, therre it is best to apply bre planting. For large ar, rototing is most effive. For sm ar or and plants, working the lime o the soil with a spade or culator is prefere. When working and plants, be careful not to dig too deeply or so ghly t you damage plant roots. Depending on the f of lime and the soil ditions, the change in pH be gradual. It take sevl months bre a signifit change is noted. Soils high in onic mar and clay d to take larger amounts of lime to change the pH than do sandy soils. If you need to lower the pH signifitly, , you use aluminum sulfate. Other commerciy availe fertiliz w also help lower the pH. In cases, follow the soil test or manufacturer's recomded rates of application. Ag, mixing well o the soil is recomded. There are numes choices for providing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. If your soil is of adate fertility, applying cost be the best method of applying additional nutrients.

While cost is relaely low in nutrients cared to commercial
fertiliz, it is especiy beneial in improving the dition of the soil. By keeping the soil loose, cost ows plant roots to grow well thghout the soil, owing them to extract nutrients from a larger area. A loose soil enriched with cost is also an excellent habitat for earthws and other beneial soil mionisms t are essential for reling nutrients for plant use. The nutrients from cost are also reled slowly so there is no cern for "burning" the plant with an over-application.

Manure is also an excellent source of plant nutrients and onic mar. Manure should be costed bre applying. Fresh manure be too stg and injure plants. Be careful when costing manure. If left in the open, exposed to r, nutrients leach out of the manure and the runoff taminate waterways. Make sure the manure is std in a location away from wells and any waterways, and t any runoff is fined or slowly reled o a vegetated area. Improly applied manure also be a source of pollution. For best results, work costed manure o the soil. If preparing a bed bre planting, cost and manure be worked o the soil to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. If adding to existing plants, work carefully and plants. Green manures are another source of onic mar and plant nutrients. Green manures are ps t are grown and then ted o the soil. As they break down, nitrogen and other plant nutrients become availe. Green manures also prov additional benefits of reducing soil
erosion. Green manures such as rye and oats are of planted in the
f after the ps have been harvested. In the spring, these are ted under bre planting. With onic sources of nitrogen, whether cost or manure, the nitrogen must be changed to an inonic f bre the plants use it. Therre, it is irtant to have well-dred, ated soils t prov the favore habitat for the soil mionisms responsible for these vions. There are numes sources of commercial fertiliz t supply nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The first number on the fertilizer analysis is the centage of nitrogen, the sed number is phosphorus, and the third number is the potassium t. A fertilizer like 10-20-10 has twice as much of each of the nutrients as a 5-10-5. How much of each nutrient you need depends on your soil test results and the plants you are fertilizing. As was tioned bre, nitrogen stimulates vegetae growth while phosphorus stimulate flowering. Too much nitrogen inhibit flowering and fruit production. For many vegetes, a fertilizer higher in phosphorus than nitrogen is preferred such as a 5-10-5.

Fertilizer application

Commercial fertiliz are ny applied as a dry granular material, or mixed with water and watered onto the gen. If using granular materials, avoid sping on swalks and driveways. These materials are water soluble and cause pollution problems if rinsed o st sew. Granular fertiliz are a type of salt, and if applied too heavily on plants, they burn the plants. If using a liquid fertilizer, apply dirly to or and the base of the plant. For the most efient use and to decre the potial for pollution, fertilizer should be applied when the plants have the greatest need for the nutrients. Plants t are not acely growing do not have a high riret for nutrients. Therre,
applications of nutrients to dant plants, or plants growing slowly due to cool tematures, are m likely to be wasted. Genery, nitrogen fertiliz should not be applied to most plants in the f in regions of the country t exie cold w. Since nitrogen ourages vegetae growth, if it is applied in the f it reduce the plant's ability to hen for wer. In some gens, fertilizer use be reduced by applying it and the individual plants rather than broadcasting ass the entire gen. In the case of phosphorus, much of the fertilizer phosphorus becomes unavaile to the plants once spread on the soil. For ber plant uptake, apply the fertilizer in a band near the plant. Do not apply dirly to the plant or in tact with the roots.

Until we meet ag "Over The Gen W" it's back to my potting shed for me. An Amateur Gen work is never done, no mar w time of year it is.