Tips on Fertilising
Sometimes it would seem that the gardener’s life is complicated by a cacophony of advice. As regards fertilisers there are a few simple dont’s which are well worth bearing in mind.
- Don’t apply any fertiliser until you have read the directions carefully.
- Don’t try to apply one or two year’s supply of fertiliser at the one time. It is far better to provide little and often; trying to get fast growth by a heavy application is a recipe for plant failure.
- Don’t fertilise into dry soils. To avoid damage to feeding roots, make sure that the soil is moist by soaking before and after the application.
- Don’t apply fertiliser to a lawn and then neglect to water it in very thoroughly, especially in hot weather. It is inevitable that leaf burn will occur with careless applications of fertiliser on lawns.
- Don’t fertilise ferns with anything except organic based fertilisers such as fish emulsion and blood and bone or a slow or controlledrelease fertiliser such as Nutricote.
- Don’t fertilise Australian native plants with fertiliser containing a lot of phosphorus. Whilst many Australian natives accept reasonable quantities of phosphorus, there are many that resent high phosphorus levels.
- Don’t continually fertilise lawns with sulphate of ammonia, as it encourages excessive top growth but reduces root development and eventually makes for a weaker lawn. It can also alter the soil pH level towards acid conditions (which grasses don’t like). It is okay to apply the occasional feed with sulphate of ammonia providing there are follow up applications of a complete lawn food.
