How to choose the best fertilizer for your garden

Choosing the right fertilizer is crucial to keeping your soil in good condition for planting. There are generally two types of fertilizers you can choose to use for your garden. How do you know which fertilizer to use? That depends on what type of nutrients you need to add to the soil so it's ready to support plant life.

Compost is added to the soil to create the perfect balance of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Even though these elements are already present in the soil, there may not be enough of one or too much of another for your garden to thrive.

What is fertilizer used for?

The first thing you need to understand about fertilizers is that they provide much-needed elements for your plants, elements that aren't always available through the soil. Your plants need food, water, and protection to survive, and many of these vital elements are found naturally in the environment.

However, there are three main elements that can be obtained primarily by feeding your plants fertilizer: nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Using these elements will help our plants grow and thrive effectively.

Before purchasing a garden fertilizer, you should understand what each of these elements does and why it's important for your plants.

Nitrogen is the most important of the three elements. It gives grass its rich green color and makes for hardy plants with dense, thick leaves. Strong plants have natural protection against insects and other pests.

Potassium works together with nitrogen to strengthen roots. It will improve the plant's ability to withstand drought, weathering, disease, and cold weather.

Phosphorus works below the surface and stimulates strong root growth.

Which fertilizer should I buy?

All fertilizers you can buy at a garden center or nursery will contain these three main elements. However, not all come in the same quantities. The amount of each element varies between bags and brands of fertilizer. This is why fertilizer brands list their main elements.

On the back of each bag or package of fertilizer, you can find detailed information about the quantities of each element in the mix. Each mix has different functions and meets different needs.

Before purchasing a fertilizer, determine what it needs most. Does it have root problems? Is your garden constantly plagued by fungus and disease? Or are your plants' leaves lacking color?

By determining all these variables, you'll be able to decide what type of fertilizer to buy based on the needs of your garden or plants. Use the functions of each element we've outlined above as a guide, and choose the ideal fertilizer based on your needs.