Home Removal Services Blog

Gardening is a science that is always changing. Our current fertilizers available today come in a variety of properties and flavors. Plants require a specific type of fertilizer, depending on their own physical and chemical make up, in order to grow correctly.

Before even thinking about adding fertilizer to the soil, be sure that your plant is getting food the natural way- through direct sunlight and plenty of water. You can use all the fertilizer you would like, and still not come out with a good result if you err on the water and sunlight distribution. Each plant has its own schedule and limits that you must learn in order to master gardening them.

The next step is to decide if you are going to go with a fertilizer that is considered organic or one that may contain chemicals. Organic fertilizer is seen as more expensive on average, but gardeners swear by its results. Organic fertilizer will guarantee healthy produce if you take measures against pests and any other threats to the plant.

You don’t have to apply fertilizer on a daily basis. In some cases you won’t even have to apply fertilizer for weeks on end. The long lasting fertilizer that is obtained in stores comes in granular form. Every time you water the plant, a bit of the fertilizer sinks into the soil, refreshing your plant. Liquid types act more quickly, but they also need to be applied more often. Overall it’s best to stay with what you feel comfortable with in fertilizer types and your schedule.

You wont have to be a chemistry major to understand fertilizer types, but it is good to know the three nutrients that are the most well known. Potassium and phosphorous are important for warding off disease and encouraging roots to grow in strength. Nitrogen is key to making the plant a livelier color and growing up with vigor. Not all plants will require each of these nutrients, and feeding too much of one nutrient to a specific plant can spell disaster if you aren’t careful.

Plants may enjoy fertilizer, but that doesn’t mean that humans always do. A fertilizer that has a pesticide in it will be toxic to humans more often than not. Even when working with organic materials, you should observe proper safety precautions. Always where gloves, and if you do come into contact with the fertilizer, you should proceed to wash your hands thoroughly before touching anything else. Otherwise you could accidentally harm yourself or others.

Closing Comments

Science has grown the gardening industry to a point where we are much more efficient at growing food and plants than what we were only several hundred years ago. Keep updated on where things are going in the gardening industry to keep your plants healthy, lively, and running strong.

My spouse is always telling me to Bloom where you are planted. This is good advice for me and as an amateur gardener; I wish I could pass this tip along to my plants. Alas, plant life will refuse to flourish if not placed in an area that is conducive to its temperament – regardless of subsequent cajoling and urging by the gardener. Acceptance of this basic ground rule is an indicator for promotion of the greenhorn gardener to the status of adequate. It has taken me many seasons to get here and even still, I seek to prune the rule. Recently though, I have discovered the world of container gardening and the marvel of adult diapers. Yup, adult diapers.

Not too long ago, my spouse spent a Sunday afternoon installing window boxes on the front of our house. I quickly filled these well-drained boxes with perfect soil and a beautiful assortment of blossoming flowers. It took me about 3 days to realize that I was engaged in conflict with the relentless afternoon sun. No mortal could posible keep up with the watering that these wndow boxes demanded. They were high and dry and even though the flowers were clearly designated for direct sunlight, I was never going to have more than dry thatch outside my windows unless I came up with a way to manage the humidity of the soil in these boxes.

[I:http://homeremovalservices.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/KateKew3.jpg]Cathartically, I took the window boxes down, emptied them out and started over. The thick open wire flower boxes came with a coco matting that I re-installed. I lined this matting with adult diapers, their business-sides facing up (the sides that do all the absorbing). Then I filled in with soil and plants, hung them back up under my windows and watered them.

Adult diapers are a modern miracle. They aren’t just overstuffed with shreds of paper towels; they are strategically filled with crystals of a special polymer called SAP which can absorb up to thirty times its own weight in fluid. I can report that these little crystals did their job perfectly. Rainwater was absorbed by the diapers and then gradually released back into the soil, keeping the soil at consistent, ideal moisture levels. Oh yeah, I should also mention, this polymer is non-toxic.

Of course, the genius of this effort should not be over- played. It certainly wouldnt raise an eyebrow at the garden club. Using diapers in the service of a garden will come as a natural for most gardeners: we’re all about manure, aren’t we?

Enjoy!