Fertilizing is easier than you think

Effort might make you feel good, but feeding plants can be very simple

Every garden needs periodic fertilization. “Designer” fertilizers are available for some kinds of plants, and so are fertilizers that you’re directed to apply at specified times throughout the season. So roses get their rose food, tomatoes get their tomato food, and so on, on schedule.

All this effort might make you feel good, but isn’t really necessary for your plants. Feeding plants can be very simple.

For example, forget about all the machinations of getting fertilizer deep into the soil to feed the roots, as is sometimes recommended. Plants’ feeder roots are mostly in the top few inches of soil, so just sprinkle fertilizer on the surface or, at most, scratch it into the surface. Rain, time and earthworms will put the nutrients where they belong.

If rainfall is insufficient for a good soaking then turn on the sprinkler for a while. General kinds of fertilizers Fertilizer recommendations often call for fertilizing two or more times each growing season. In fact, most “chemical” (or “synthetic”) fertilizers must be applied in small doses throughout the season. These chemicals dissolve quickly in the soil, so can wash away or burn plant roots if a season’s worth is applied all at once.

You can get by with a single application of chemical fertilizer if you use a type specially formulated to release its nutrients into the soil at a slow rate. Such fertilizers usually are called “slow release” or “controlled release” fertilizers.

Most “organic” fertilizers, which are derived from natural minerals, plants, or animals, are either slowly soluble in water or release their nutrients as they are “gobbled up” by soil microorganisms. In either case, nutrients are bled slowly into the ground, the practical effect of which is that you only need to apply the fertilizer once per season. Bagged or homemade compost is a special slow-release fertilizer. It’s relatively low in nutrients (so low that it can’t be legally called a “fertilizer”). But besides offering plants food, it also improves the soil for aeration and moisture retention, and supports a wide variety of pest-fighting and otherwise beneficial microorganisms. A layer of an inch or two laid down annually will provide a feast for your plants. More ways to apply fertilizers Another easy way to fertilize is by injecting fertilizer right into the water line while you are watering.

Fertilizer injectors attach near the hose spigot, and bleed fertilizer at the correct rate into the hose line either from solid tablets or from a concentrated fertilizer solution you mix up. A fertilizer injector could be combined with a drip irrigation system. Moderation is needed As much as fertilizer is needed in a garden, too much can be as damaging as not enough, rendering plants susceptible to pests and burnt roots, even killing plants. Follow application directions.