Choosing the right fertilizer can be downright confusing! I’m here to demystify the process and teach you how to read the bag in this fertilizer guide for beginners so you can choose the best option for your garden needs.
Let’s dive straight into the best guide to fertilizer for beginners!
Fertilizer Guide for Beginners
What Does NPK Mean on a Fertilizer Bag?
There are numbers on all fertilizer bags, like 3-4-5, which tell you the ratios of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium (N-P-K values) in each bag. These are important indicators, as all plants need an ideal amount of each nutrient. Vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs, and flowers all have different requirements dependent on the season and the stage in their growth.
What do these nutrients in the fertilizer bag do?
Nitrogen: Essential for leaf and stem growth—the backbone of the plant. Nitrogen aids in photosynthesis and is necessary for green, leafy growth, especially for plants with lots of leaves, and veggies like lettuce and cabbage.
Signs of nitrogen deficiencies include yellowing and pale green leaves. Plants become spindly and stunted.
Phosphorus: Stimulates healthy root growth and assists flower and fruit development. It stores energy and builds healthy cell walls.
Deficiencies in phosphorus include bronze, purple or reddish color in the lower foliage. Leaves can develop brown spots.
Potassium: Gives plants strength and resistance to pests and disease and helps to retain water.
Signs of deficiency include wilt of older leaves, crinkle in the leaves, curling, yellow at leaf margins.
Other Nutrients in Your Fertilizer
Calcium: Stabilizes and holds cell walls together. Essential for root health. I like to use bonemeal for calcium.
If your plants suffer from blossom-end rot, it’s likely a calcium deficiency. New shoots wither on the tips, which can turn brown, flowers will drop, and fruits will be smaller than usual.
Magnesium: Key component for chlorophyl production. Epsom salt works great here.
A magnesium deficiency shows up when older leaves become brittle and yellow. Leaves wither and drop.
Other essential soil amendments for soil include:
Mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungus
Plants and fungi have a symbiotic relationship: the plant makes sugars or carbohydrates and feeds them to the fungus. The fungus delivers water and mineral nutrients to the plant. Mycorrhizae is great for gardens because it helps strengthen plants by encouraging root establishment, enhancing nutrient and water uptake, protecting plants from stress due to drought, and making them stronger and more resistant to disease. If you are a regular reader of my blogs, you know that this is one of my go-to essentials and I hope you too will have a bag on hand to give your garden optimal growth encouragement!
Fish Emulsion
Liquid fish emulsion is great for incorporating nutrients into the soil. It’s quickly absorbed and can add a boost of nitrogen, vitamins, and minerals. Other benefits include increased soil fertility, strong roots, and lush foliage. Fish emulsion is great for everything in your garden—veggies, flowers, shrubs, trees, and lawn. Again, this is one of my favorite fertilizers and I am a dedicated advocate!
Worm Castings
Worm castings are another favorite soil amendment. This by-product of composting with worms helps break down organic matter, aerate the soil, and promote healthy drainage. The casting’s beneficial microbes boost your garden’s nutritional needs to make large and strong plants. Worm castings need to be mixed in with an organic soil like compost or planting mix. It’s best to mix in the castings at the time of planting to give your plants the best start possible. I always have this on hand and mix handfuls into my established plants for that extra added nutritional boost.
Understanding Fertilizer: Granular vs liquid and foliar
There are fertilizers that are granular (powder) or liquid. I use both.
Granular fertilizers can be mixed in with the soil at planting time to slowly release nutrients into the root system. With granular, you can choose the ratios of N-P-K, specific to your garden areas like fruit trees, which will have a different ratio from flowers. You can really get specific.
I use a liquid fish emulsion fertilizer after the plant is established. Liquids are fast acting, and you can feed either the roots or the leaves or both. In foliar application, plants will absorb moisture through their leaves, increasing the growth and production of your plant. You can also think of liquid fertilizer as an emergency application when your plants need a pep talk and immediate relief! You can apply it often but please, only in the early morning or evening. Applying fertilizer in the day with warm sun can burn your plants.
For foliar fertilizers I like to use a backpack sprayer. Just make sure to read your labels so you apply in the correct manner!
As you can see, I depend upon organic compost, mycorrhizae, fish emulsion, and worm castings for most of my fertilizing needs. Sometimes the many options out there can be confusing. Really, it’s trial and error but building and maintaining your soil with the food it needs will go a long way toward lusher, greener, and more abundant plants.
Here are some of my best tips for producing great soil!
I hope this fertilizer guide for beginners has helped you better understand the information on the back of your fertilizer bag! If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!
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