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Hi I'm Tricia, an organic gardener. I grow organically for a healthy and safe food
supply
for a clean and sustainable environment
for an enjoyable and rewarding experience
most gardeners compare NPK numbers diligently to make sure that their
plants get the right nutrients but that's only half the story
plants need at least sixteen different elements for proper growth
the first three elements your plants need are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
plants get these three from the air and water
the next six are called the macro nutrients
the primary macro nutrients are nitrogen for vegetative growth
phosphorus for root and flower development and potassium for vigor
for more information on these macro nutrients checkout our how to fertilize
organically video
and there are lesser talked about macro nutrients that are important
sulfur, magnesium and calcium
calcium is an important element to build strong cell walls
magnesium is a necessary mineral for chlorophyll production and sulfur is
needed by plants for protein building
the remaining seven are called micronutrients or trace minerals because
they're needed in smaller amounts
the seven trace minerals are boron,
chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc
before you start amending for micro nutrients it's important that you get a
soil test
the uptake of micronutrients is affected by pH and the presence of other elements
for example you might have plenty of calcium in your soil
but if you have too much magnesium
the calcium you have may not be available to your plants
let's talk about what the secondary macro nutrients in the trace minerals
do
and organic sources available
if you're soil is lacking in calcium
some great amendments include limestone,
gypsum, oyster shell and calcium25
one of the problems that a lack of calcium can cause is blossom end rot
in tomatoes
pay attention to the effects that these amendments will have on your pH for
example
oyster shell lime will raise the pH and the gypsum will lower your pH so make
sure that you know what the pH of your soil is before choosing a calcium
source
for a magnesium boost use Kmag, dolomite and Azomite
magnesium is often found with calcium like in dolomite
or with potassium like in Kmag
the older leaves of plants that need magnesium will turn yellow from edges of
the leaf in
careful because there are other deficiencies and viruses that look
similar
straight sulfur can be added
using the EB Stone or the Tiger Organic products or it can piggy back with other
nutrients like it does with this iron sulfate or gypsum
when sulfur is low the young leaves of the plant will turn yellow
sometimes the leaves will be small and stunted looking as well
micronutrients are only needed in small amounts
but not having them can really cause problems for your plants
but too much micronutrients is also a problem
think of micro nutrients as vitamins for your plants
so my favorite plant multivitamins
are kelp meal, Gaia green glacial rock dust and azomite and these three are all
slow release
for a fast response I like the organic liquid kelp
Take care of your babies give them all the nutrition they need and grow organic for life!