When to fertilize your garden for best results
Everyone loves a beautiful garden. There is nothing lovelier than a healthy garden in spring. And there is no greater satisfaction than the type that comes from knowing that you have made something beautiful. A painter has great pride in a fantastic piece of painting. A sculptor loves his greatest work and a gardener loves his or her garden when it is healthy and in full bloom. However, all of us know, a garden is a great deal of work. It can take hours and hours to build a wonderful garden. It also take some real know how to get a garden healthy. Certain environments require special care and all of them have a particular set of constraints or problems. Certain types of soil need special care and more water than others. Some plants tend to attract certain insects. You need to understand things about how to plant and how to water and especially how to fertilize. I mention fertilizing because it is probably one of the wost important things you can possibly do for a garden. Farmers always fertilize because they know that a healthy garden requires it. Plants use minerals in the soil just as we use the minerals that we eat. Without them they cannot build themselves into healthy plants, and often without proper fertilization they cannot survive at all. There are various problems that result from not having appropriate fertilization, so you need to know how to fertilize, and also very importantly, when to fertilize your garden for best results.
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You should probably fertilize at least once a year. If you do it every couple of years then in the off years you run the risk of a much less healthy garden. All of this depends, however, on the environment and soil that you have. You should definitely consult a local expert to find out what you should be doing for fertilizer. In areas that have very sandy soil or where it rains a great deal you should probably fertilize the ground twice a year.
It has been said that the best time to fertilize gardens in the northern United States is in the fall, after there has been a very hard freeze. This would probably be in October. You need to make sure that you do so before the soil actualy freezes later in the year.
Another good time, although certainly not as good would be in early spring, probably around February and April. If you miss this time you can still fertilize right up until the beginning of July. Any fertilization after this time will be problematic as it could confuse the plants and make it difficult for them to adjust to the winter weather. Naturally this is all for the northern United States.
If you live in another part of the country you should consult a local expert and have them take a look at your soil. Soil can actually vary a great deal from lot to lot. Some areas are sandy and require different types of fertilizer or more fertilization. There are all sorts of different conditions that you might face depending on your land.
Good fertilization will drastically change the quality of your garden, and fertilizing at the right time gets your garden off to the right start. You need to fertilize appropriately. If you do then you will certainly have wonderful gardens every year for as long as you live. Check with your local expert and enjoy gardens for the rest of your life. Good luck with your garden and its fertilization!
