Fertilizer

Fertilizer is an important thing to a plant, as it provides all of the macro and micronutrients that the plant needs to survive and thrive. This collection of articles provides insight and understanding of some of the many different things used as organic fertilizers, from fish fertilizers to bone meal and everything in between.

NPK fertilizer. Close-up of a garden trowel filled with NPK fertilizer next to a watermelon plant. Fertilizers are granular and have blue ball-shaped granules.

Fertilizer

What Is NPK? Understanding Garden Fertilizers

All plants require nutrients to grow, but it can be difficult to understand how to apply fertilizers and the necessary nutrients. Learning about the NPK ratio is a great place to start your journey into the fertilizer world. In this article, vegetable farmer Briana Yablonski will explain what NPK means and how you can use it to select the best fertilizer for your garden.

Close-up of a gardener's hand holding a blue spade with white granular fertilizer near a flowering Asclepias syriaca plant in a sunny garden. It features tall, upright stems with broad, lance-shaped leaves that are arranged in opposite pairs along the stem. Common milkweed produces clusters of small, fragrant pink to purplish flowers atop the stems.

Fertilizer

Do I Need to Fertilize Native Plants?

Whether you’re starting a new garden or enjoying a well-established landscape, you know that plants require some regular maintenance. If you’re a fan of native plants, you may have wondered if you need to fertilize them on a regular basis like some of your other garden plants. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen will help guide you through some tips for caring for your native plants.

Spring fertilizing. Close-up of a gardener's hand in a black glove applying fertilizer to young lettuce in the spring garden. He applies fertilizer with a blue garden trowel. The salad has a rosette of oval, oblong, wide green leaves.

Fertilizer

11 Tips for Fertilizing Your Garden this Spring

As your garden awakens from a cold, dormant winter, now is the time to nourish your plants for a flourishing season ahead. Former organic farmer and garden expert Logan Hailey explains 11 essential tips for optimizing spring fertilization.

The gardener is going to fertilize arborvitae in the garden. Close-up of a hand holding a small plastic measuring spoon full of fertilizer. These fertilizers are finely granulated and white in color. Arborvitae is a genus of evergreen conifers known for their distinctive appearance, characterized by dense, scale-like foliage arranged in flattened sprays.

Fertilizer

When and How to Fertilize Arborvitae

Whether you’re growing an arborvitae hedge or decorating your porch with these vibrant evergreens, healthy green plants are your goal. And that means supplying your plants with the proper nutrients. Join Briana Yablonski as she covers when and how to fertilize arborvitae.

A colorful garden overflowing with flowers and plants. Tall green shrubs line the left side of the garden, while shorter plants with pink, purple, and white flowers fill the foreground. There are also several small trees in the background, which provide shade and help to create a sense of depth.

Fertilizer

How and Why to Fertilize Your Flower Garden

Flowering plants cannot flower without the right nutrients, making fertilizing an essential part of flower garden care. Gardening expert Madison Moulton explains the importance of fertilizers and how to fertilize your flower garden.

too much fertilizer. Close-up of a gardener's hand with granular fertilizer over a growing cabbage plant in the garden. A young cabbage plant consists of a compact rosette of large, broad, and lobed leaves that emerge from a central stem close to the ground. The leaves are blue-green in color with a waxy texture and slightly jagged edges. Granular fertilizers come in the form of many small, round, orange granules.

Fertilizer

Can You Use Too Much Fertilizer?

We all know there can be too much of a good thing. Using too much fertilizer can pose huge problems for plants, soil, and local ecology. Former organic farmer Logan Hailey digs into everything you need to know about over-fertilization.

Two rust and black fruit bats hang from the branches of a tree in the garden.

Fertilizer

Is Bat Guano Safe to Use in the Garden?

Bat guano is an amazing organic fertilizer, but it may pose risks to humans, plants, and bat colonies. Former organic farmer Logan Hailey digs into the science and nuances of safely using bat guano in your garden.

A pair of orange-gloved hands pours a white bottle of liquid fertilizer into the green lid. The gardener is surrounded by a collection of white flowerpots, a yellow watering can, and a mound of brown soil on the white table.

Fertilizer

Houseplant Fertilizers: A Beginner’s Guide

Fertilizing houseplants may seem complicated, but once you understand the basics, you’ll have no trouble giving your houseplants the perfect care at the right time. Houseplant expert Madison Moulton explains everything you need to know about fertilizing houseplants, from different types to application methods.

Gardener using homemade Fertilizer on Garden Plants

Fertilizer

How and When to Fertilize Your Vegetable Garden

Not sure how or when to start fertilizing your vegetable garden this season? Depending on what hardiness zones you grow in, this answer can vary. In this article, gardening expert Melissa Strauss shares her strategy for fertilizing vegetable gardens, including when and how to do it based on your hardiness zones and the type of vegetables you are growing.