House and garden plant nutrient levels are essential to growing healthy, happy plants. This is doubly true if you’re growing plants for your own use, either for food or as herbal remedies. Here’s what your plants need, and why they need it.
Why House and Garden Plant Nutrient Levels Are Crucial
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has found that herbal remedies and therapies are the most commonly used type of alternative medicine. In fact, spending on alternative therapies doubled in America between 1990 and 1997, and herbal medicines were the fastest growing segment of alternative care. The demand for these remedies has led to an explosion of interest in grow lights, house and garden plant nutrients, and wholesale hydroponic growing supplies in general.
Most crucial of all to growing healthy and nourishing plants is having the right house and garden plant nutrient levels. If the plants aren’t getting what they need they not only cannot flourish, but they also cannot give nutrition to those who eat them! With the right house and garden plant nutrient levels, though, plants not only grow, but they resist disease, look beautiful, taste great, and provide healthy nutrients that we need to thrive ourselves.
What Do My Plants Need?
There are some important nutrients that every plant needs. The most crucial are:
Phosphorus
This crucial nutrient strengthens roots, makes it easier for plants to produce seeds, and improves blooming, tissue, and flavor.
Magnesium
Proper magnesium levels make it easier for your plants to uptake phosphorus, and also boosts chlorophyll production. Pale plants are often a sign of magnesium deficiency.
Calcium
This mineral fortifies all the plant’s tissues and neutralizes acidity both for the plant and for the soil around it.
Potassium
Potassium is essential for the production of seeds and roots and also supports plants that live in extremes of their temperature range. However, too much potassium can keep the plant from absorbing other minerals.
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is for plants what protein is for animals. It is essential for all the growth processes in plants.
How Do I Make Sure House and Garden Plant Nutrient Levels Are Right?
Great fertilizer mixes come pre-measured so you can be confident you’re getting the right amount for everything. The fertilizer you choose will be based on two things. First, what are the Ph balance and chemical composition of your soil? Check this before you start and fertilize to round your numbers out. Second, what growth stage are your plants at? Some plant food is designed for plants in their seed stages, in their flowering or fruiting stages, or for rooting or recently transplanted items.
To learn more about your plants’ nutrient needs, you’ll need to do some research into what’s available in your area, what your soil is like, and if there are special needs associated with the particular plants you want to grow. If you get your house and garden plant nutrient levels right, though, you’ll have great plants that will nourish and beautify.
Continue your research here.