How To Fertilize Your Garden/Farm Keeping The Soil Type In Mind ?

Posted by theorganiclife on March 2nd, 2016

If you want to get good results from your gardening efforts, it is very important to understand various soil types and their requirements. Fertilizer recommendations are based on the type of plants and the soil type. So, here is an informative article, brought to you by TheOrganic.Life-the best online store to buy bio-fertilizers, bio composters, organic seeds and other organic gardening products online.

Know the soil type

Most soils are either sandy or clayey. Clayey soil does not drain well; on the other hand sandy soil drains well, hence dries out fast. It happens because Sand particles are much larger than particles of clay or silt, leaving more space for water and nutrients to run through.

The ideal garden soil is loamy. It is a combination soil, normally equal parts of clay, silt, and sand, which gives the benefits of each type of soil.

Tips for Fertilizing Sandy Soil                                              

As the sand particles are large in size, they are unable to hold on to nutrients very well; hence plant nutrients mixed with water tend to leach out of sandy soil fast. For this reason, it is important to use a timed-release organic bio fertilizer (that release nutrients slowly) that won't wash through the soil before plants can make use of it. Also, sandy soils need to be fertilized more than rich, loamy soils. If your garden has sandy soil, it is also important to use mulch to slow down evaporation of water from the soil's surface.

Tips for Fertilizing Clay Soil

Clay soil has many tiny spaces that hold on to water and nutrients. As the water and nutrients move slowly through clayey soil, it is important to mix fertilizer evenly into the soil.

If you have clayey soil in your garden, consider making raised beds. It will improve soil’s texture and drainage.

Consider Soil pH

Soil pH affects the availability of the nutrients to the plants. If the pH level is too high or too low, nutrients can get "locked up"; as a result the nutrients are unable to reach the plants.

Soil pH can be checked by buying a soil test kit or pH meter.

• If needed, pH of the soil can be adjusted by applying lime to acidic soil or by applying sulphur or gypsum to alkaline soil.

• Ideal pH for growing plants is-6.0 and 6.8, but some plants like-cabbage, buffalograss etc do better if the soil pH is a little higher or slightly lower, like in case of centipede grass. However, different plants require different pH conditions for growth.

If your plants do not grow despite fertilization, it is very important to get the pH of your soil checked.

These were some basic tips to fertilize your plants according to the soil type. The most important factor to keep in mind is to use the best quality fertilizer for your plants; even better if you use bio compost organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers enrich your soil and improve it quality, giving you a healthy and happy garden.

To buy the best quality organic fertilizers and other organic gardening products, visit TheOrganic.Life at-http://www.theorganic.life/