Difference between revisions of "Fertilizing"

When you fertilize your yard, what really happens is that enzymes and microbes break down the fertilizers into various usable nitrogen forms. Different fertilizers break down differently, depending on the form applied. For example, if you apply urea to your lawn or bamboos, they can take up urea directly if they are active. What is not used by the plant will be broken down by enzymes into ammonia (NH3 and NH4) in about 2 weeks time. Ammonia can also be taken up by plants directly. Some of the ammonia is volatile and will evaporate from the soil into the air. It is also not bound by soil solids and thus is subject to leaching from soils in water. Ammonia in the soil broken down by bacteria (nitrosomonas) to form nitrite (NO2). Nitrites are not available to plants. Nitrites are then broken down by another bacteria (nitrobacter) to form nitrate (NO3). Nitrates can be readily used by plants. The breakdown process is dependant on temperature for the microbes in the soil to be active. Generally bacterial breakdown of nitrogen compounds by bacteria will not occur below 55 degrees F. For this reason you need to apply certain types of fertilizer when it is warm enough for the microbes to break them down. This multi-stage microbe process is a reason that many growers use urea products, because nitrogen will be come available to the plants in several stages over time. I am a big fan of urea based fertilizers, even though I know that there is a lot of anti-urea based sentiment out there in the gardening literature. It all gets broken down into the same inorganic compounds one way or another.

* Ammonium sulphate (21-0-0)

* Miricle Grow acid loving plant formula (30-10-10)