Plants need nutrients

Like us, plants need nutrients in varying amounts for healthy growth. You can find 17 essential nutrients that most plants need, including carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which plants receive air and water. The rest of the 14 are from soil but may need to be supplemented with fertilizers or organic materials like compost.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are needed in larger amounts than other nutrients; they may be considered primary macronutrients.

Secondary macronutrients include sulfur, calcium, and magnesium.

Micronutrients like iron and copper should be made in smaller amounts.

Nutrient availability in soils

Nutrient availability in soils is really a purpose of several factors including soil texture (loam, loamy sand, silt loam), organic matter content and pH.

Texture

Clay particles and organic matter in soils are chemically reactive and may hold and slowly release nutrient ions which you can use by plants.

Soils that are finer-textured (more clay) and in organic matter (5-10%) have greater nutrient-holding ability than sandy soils with minimum clay or organic matter. Sandy soils in Minnesota may also be quite likely going to nutrient losses through leaching, as water carries nutrients including nitrogen, potassium or sulfur under the root zone where plants can’t access them.

pH

Soil pH will be the amount of alkalinity or acidity of soils. When pH is not high enough or too much, chemical reactions can transform the nutrient availability and biological activity in soils. Most fruit and veggies grow best when soil pH is slightly acidic to neutral, or between 5.5 and seven.0.

There are many exceptions; blueberries, for example, require a low pH (4.2-5.2). Soil pH may be modified using materials like lime (ground limestone) to increase pH or elemental sulfur to reduce pH.

Nutrient availability

Generally speaking, most Minnesota soils have enough calcium, magnesium, sulfur and micronutrients to aid healthy plant growth. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium will be the nutrients that appears to be deficient and may be supplemented with fertilizers for max plant growth.

The best method for assessing nutrient availability within your garden is usually to do a soil test. An elementary soil test through the University of Minnesota’s Soil Testing Laboratory can give a soil texture estimate, organic matter content (utilized to estimate nitrogen availability), phosphorus, potassium, pH and lime requirement.

Your analysis will also include a basic interpretation of results and provide tips for fertilizing.

Choosing fertilizers

There are numerous choices for fertilizers and often your choices might appear overwhelming. It is important to recollect is that plants occupy nutrients as ions, and the source of those ions is not a element in plant nutrition.

For instance, plants get nitrogen via NO3- (nitrate) or NH4+ (ammonium), and those ions can come from either organic or synthetic sources and in various formulations (liquid, granular, pellets or compost).

The fertilizer you decide on should be based primarily on soil test results and plant needs, in both regards to nutrients and speed of delivery.

Variables to consider include soil and environmental health along with your budget.

Common nutrient issues in vegetables

Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies or excesses in fruit and veggies is challenging. Many nutrient issues look alike, often more than one nutrient is involved, and the reasons behind them could be highly variable.

For example of issues you may see in the garden.

Plants lacking nitrogen will show yellowing on older, lower leaves; excessive nitrogen may cause excessive leafy growth and delayed fruiting.

Plants lacking phosphorus may show stunted growth or possibly a reddish-purple tint in leaf tissue.

A potassium deficiency may cause browning of leaf tissue along the leaf edges, applying lower, older leaves.

A calcium deficiency usually leads to “tip burn” on younger leaves or blossom end rot in tomatoes or zucchini. However, calcium deficiencies will often be not really a consequence of low calcium from the soil, but you are caused by uneven watering, excessive soil moisture, or problems for roots.

Deficiency of sulfur on sandy soils could cause stunted, spindly growth and yellowing leaves; potatoes, onions, corn and plants from the cabbage family usually are most sensitive.

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