What is the difference between plant food and fertilizer

Plants need all 13 nutrients to grow well and provide balanced human nutrition. Synthetic or chemical fertilizer is created from liquid ammonia. It is inexpensive to produce and has revolutionized American agriculture. Between and , total farm product output increased by more than 50 percent and farm labor hours decreased by 60 percent. Mechanization, genetic improvement and increased use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers created this change.

Environmental science now identifies atmospheric nitrogen overload from synthetic fertilizer as a primary cause of global pollution, according to a report by the World Resources Institute. The nutrients in liquid fertilizers are available for plants to use immediately after application, and the fertilizer remains available in soil for only a short period of one or two weeks.

Dry or granular fertilizer blends remain active in soil for six to eight weeks, after which period they should be reapplied. Quick-release fertilizers begin working within a few days, but their effects only last a short period of time before they must be reapplied. Plants begin taking in nutrients from quick-release fertilizer within 15 to 24 hours.

Liquid fertilizer should be diluted in water as directed on the packaging, and then that water should be given to plants as usual for their hydration. Once the liquid fertilizer is diluted, it should be distributed to plants at the same dosage as untreated water is normally given.

Slow-release fertilizers should be applied to the garden every six to eight weeks, unless the instructions given on their packaging indicate otherwise.

Fertilize tomato plants once just after planting them in the garden. Give tomatoes a second dose of fertilizer once they begin to set fruit. After tomato plants begin to develop fruit, nourish them with a light fertilizer every one or two weeks until the plant is killed by frost. Liquid or water-soluble fertilizers are normally applied every one or two weeks, and are always given mixed in with the water a plant normally receives.

A slow-release fertilizer should be given at the beginning of the season just as plants start to grow. One dose is sufficient in northern areas, but in southern regions, a second dose may be needed when plants are growing at their fastest later in the season. Granular fertilizers should be used as a soil amendment mixed into the top four to six inches of soil just before planting.

Granular and liquid fertilizers have different benefits, so which is better will depend on what is important to each individual gardener and the specifics of their situation. Liquid fertilizers are better able to reach plants, as the nutrients in granular fertilizers stay located in the granule whereas liquid fertilizers deliver nutrients to plants through the movement of water underground. Liquid fertilizers have a uniform makeup that is the same throughout the mixture, while the nutritional makeup of granular fertilizers varies among granules.

Liquid can be easier to apply than granular, though there may be some initial cost when transitioning to a liquid fertilizer if new equipment is needed. Granular fertilizer does not need to be applied as often as liquid and is cheaper when purchased in bulk. Houseplants should be given water-soluble fertilizer once a week, while outdoor container plants should be fed with water-soluble fertilizer twice a week.

Garden plants should get water-soluble fertilizer once every two or three weeks. Landscaping plants should receive water-soluble fertilizer once a month. Natural fertilizers include manure, worm castings, peat, seaweed, and compost. These natural fertilizers can be used as a soil amendment, applied alone as a fertilizer, or can be included in homemade fertilizer mixtures.

The three numbers on fertilizer packages that are separated by hyphens provide the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium the fertilizer contains in that order. Fertilizers that are high in phosphorus aid in flower production.

To increase blooming, look for fertilizers with a high second number, because the second number indicates the percentage of phosphorus the fertilizer contains. Gardeners should give orchids a balanced fertilizer such as a blend that does not contain any urea weekly.

Plants should ideally be fertilized at the same time as you provide them with water, and when you water more than once per day, you should provide fertilizer in the morning.

To make plants grow faster, look for a high-nitrogen fertilizer. Fertilizers with a high first number will be high in nitrogen, because the first number indicates the percentage of nitrogen the fertilizer contains.

Fine Gardening covers Fertilizing Basics. Hi I am starting to grow roses. I only have a 2, 3 months old and 6 months rose plant. They were bare root roses when planted. I fertilized two of the older ones with granular 2 in one Advance Fertilizer, I want to switch to liquid fertilizer after two weeks is over. Will it harm the plants. Thank you. Very helpful article. I would love to see some information about the safety of different fertilizers for food plants, including herbs.

Are there health concerns about ingesting plants after using certain fertilizers? For our planet to survive we need change and that includes as to how we garden and grow our food. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Our gardening obsessed editors and writers choose every product we review.

We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you. It is necessary to know what plants you have and their requirements. Each type of plant has specific guidelines. Some plants, including hydrangeas and roses, can benefit from more feeding than shrubs in the garden.

So make sure you choose fertilizers explicitly labeled for them. And for plants including blueberries, gardenias, rhododendrons, and citrus, prefer acid low pH soil. It all depends on your personal preferences. However, it is essential to choose the right fertilizer to keep your plants healthy and stronger. Organic fertilizers come from living things, including animal manure, fish emulsions, leaf molds, and non-living things, such as rock phosphate or greensand.

And they supply essential nutrients to flowers and improve soil tilth. When looking for organic fertilizers, always check if they have OMRI on the label. And if you are a vegetarian or vegan, try to avoid fish, blood, and bone meal products. Chemical fertilizers, also called commercial or synthetic fertilizers, go through a manufacturing process , even though they come from naturally occurring mineral deposits. And they are derived from a chemical manufacturing process.

If you want to stimulate blooming, choose fertilizers with a higher percentage of phosphorus compared to the proportion of nitrogen and potassium. And a balanced fertilizer such as is an excellent choice for vegetables and other high-nutrient plants.

Most importantly, do not use lawn fertilizers on your gardens because they contain too much nitrogen, and also many have chemicals for lawn weed control that can damage or kill your vegetables. Organic fertilizer and Chemical fertilizer offer excellent benefits, and both have disadvantages.

Below is a snapshot of the pros and cons of organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer compared side by side. And, for a successful fertilizer application, it is necessary to understand what plants you have and their requirements because each type of plant has specific guidelines. Organic fertilizer ingredients are created from plant, animal, or mineral sources. Examples are blood and bone meal, alfalfa meal, kelp, soft rock phosphate, and green sand.

Organic fertilizers, including manure, compost, or bone meal, are derived directly from plant or animal sources. Fertilizer manufacturers produce artificial fertilizers by combining inorganic chemicals to create compounds, such as ammonium nitrate or magnesium sulfate.

They generally contain a few nutrients readily available to plants , such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, and sometimes micronutrients, either singly or combined. The big three macronutrients are potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, but there are plenty of others. You certainly fertilize more than every three or four months. How will you know something has gone amiss?

Have they turned yellow? That could be one indicator of overfertilizing. Oh, and your indoor plant could die, too. Even if your indoor plant does survive, overfertilizing can cause an accumulation of salt. If you flush the houseplant through with sink water several times like three or more , you can get rid of all the salt buildup. Your plant should be good from there.

Related Questions. That said, you can use it as a form of plant food since it contains the nutrients your houseplant needs. Depending on what your compost consists of, it could have more than a dozen of the nutrients that will support a healthy houseplant. You can make compost yourself using materials you already have lying around at home.

For instance, try dried leaves, newspaper rip or shred it first, please , kitchen waste, yard trimmings, or grass clippings for your compost. The key is letting decay take place over one to three months. You probably learned about pH in science class, but you might not remember much these days.