Do You Need Plant Food?

Gardeners want to great plants. When the lawn or garden you are working in gives really great, strong, healthy plants, it is a very rewarding experience. The problem with any sort of gardening is that things do not always turn out as you plan them. Even if you work hard and keep the plants free from weeds, receiving plenty of water and light, sometimes the results will not be as good as you plan. The big question when this happens is if you need plant food.

Plant food is really just another term used for fertilizer. Clearly fertilizers can be helpful for growing plants, otherwise why would gardeners go back year after year to buy fertilizer for their plants. It really is not a question of if it works in general, but if it will work for you. This really depends on the condition of your soil and what kind of plants you are growing.

If you are considering buying fertilizer, the first thing that you should do is test the condition of the soil you are using to grow plants. You can usually purchase a testing kit at your local gardening center, or if you would rather have someone else do it, most cities will offer services that will test your soil for a fee. These tests will tell you what elements are in your soil.

When you have the results of your tests, you will be able to see if your soil has the right nutrients for the type of plant you are growing. Be careful when you look at the results, because different plants require different nutrients to grow. It could be that your soil actually has too much of a certain nutrient or too low of a pH level for your particular plant. If this is the case, there are certainly ways to cancel it out, but fertilizer is usually not necessary. If, however, it turns out your soil is low on nitrogen, or something else that your plants need, fertilizer is a good way to go.

Make sure you look up exactly what nutrients your plants need before you go buy a fertilizer. Although there are general fertilizers that can work well, you can also buy specific fertilizers if you know what the exact problem is.