How to Apply Granular Fertilizers
“Fertilizing techniques”, are the most important part you must know!! Apply granular fertilizer by broadcasting it either by hand or with a spreader. Using a hoe, spade fork, or rake work it into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil. Besides, you can also add little amounts to planting holes (be sure to mix it in with backfill soil) or to rows as you sow seeds. Also, the best way is to add water after you have applied fertilizer to help it leach down toward the plants’ root zones.
During the growing season, add supplemental fertilizer to the top inch of soil in crop rows, perennial beds, and around the drip line of trees or shrubs.
How to Apply Liquid Fertilizers
Fast-acting liquid fertilizers are typically applied biweekly during the growing season. They are best used for container plantings and annuals. With flowering and fruiting plants, foliar sprays are most useful during critical periods, such as after transplanting or during fruit set, or periods of drought or extreme temperatures. For leaf crops, some suppliers recommend biweekly spraying.
Foliar Spraying
Not only plant roots but also through leaf pores can absorb liquid fertilizers. When nutrients are lacking or unavailable in the soil or plant roots are stressed you can use foliar feeding to supply them. It is very effective in giving fast-growing plants like vegetables an additional boost during the growing season. Some foliar fertilizers, such as liquid seaweed (kelp), are rich in micronutrients and growth hormones. These foliar sprays improve nutrient uptake by plants. Seaweed extract and compost tea are two common examples of organic foliar fertilizers.
To apply, simply mix the foliar spray in the tank of a backpack sprayer or hand mister set to emit a fine spray, and spray all your plants at the same time. (Never use a sprayer that has been used to apply herbicides.)
- Spray until the liquid drips off the leaves.
- Furthermore, pays attention to spray on leaf undersides, where leaf pores are more likely to be open.
- You can also add liquid fertilizers around the root zone.
- However, it is best to have an irrigation system that can carry liquid fertilizers to your plants.
- Especially kelp is a better product for this use, as fish emulsion can clog the irrigation emitters.
Tip: The best times to spray are early morning and early evening when the liquids will be absorbed most quickly and won’t burn foliage. Select a day when no rain is forecast and temperatures aren’t maximum.
COMPOST TEA
On the other hand, some gardeners prefer to use compost tea for fertilizing. Compost tea is a liquid produced by extracting
Beneficial microorganisms (microbes)—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and micro-arthropods from compost using a brewing process. A good condition compost tea contains all the organisms that were present in the compost before brewing.
How to Make Compost Tea
Generally, compost tea can be made with aeration or without it, and by adding supplemental nutrient sources like molasses to feed microbes or without them. For best results, aeration and supplements are recommended, and the right compost is critical.
Materials
• 19 l water (5-gallon bucket, filled let it sit for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate)
• One fish tank aerator
• One compost tea brewing bag (it should be large enough to hold 5 to 6 pounds of dry ingredients)
• 1 aquarium thermometer
Ingredients
• One large handful of compost
• One handful of garden soil
• Two Brew the tea for abo handfuls of straw
• One cup fish hydrolysate (pulverized fish, available at most garden centers)
• One cup of seaweed extract (available at most garden centers)
Instructions
First, put the first three ingredients into the tea bag, tie the bag tightly, and submerge it in the bucket of water. Next, add the fish hydrolysate and seaweed extract liquids directly to the water. Then lace the aerator in the bucket and turn it on. Remember to brew the tea for about 36 hours, monitoring temperature—the optimal temperature is between 68° and 72°F. You should dilute it to a 3 parts tea to 1 part water ratio before spraying. Fill a backpack sprayer. Afterward, spray early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid burning leaves in the midday sun.
Tip: There is no need to have a backpack sprayer, if not you can apply the tea to the soil using a gallon jug, and a spray bottle to mist the foliage.
Let’s know about “Sowing Seeds” in the next article.
Don’t miss the previous article.