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Spring is the ideal time for feeding garden plants as this is the primary season for plant growth and development. No more is this the case than in Mediterranean and similarly dry climates, where the hot, arid summer causes many plants to enter into a mini-dormancy, where growth is minimal or ceases altogether. (as with Ice Plants for example)
Not so long ago, home gardeners were put-off by the apparent technical complexity of calculating exact amounts of readily soluble chemical fertilizer. Excess dosages of chemical fertilizer can indeed damage a plant, which is one good reason for not using them at all, particularly as there is a far better way of providing nutrient to the garden plants.
With the possible exception of feeding lawns, adding well-rotted organic compost provides most of the nutritional needs of the plants, albeit at a slower rate than chemical fertilizer. The real benefit of compost though, is less as a source of nutrient, but rather for the positive processes that it induces long term. These can be summarized as follows:
*The consistent adding of compost enhances the quality of the soil by improving the air/moisture balance in the root zone, by providing raw material for essential soil organisms such as earthworms, and for lowering the pH (in alkaline soils). Furthermore, it allows for balanced nutrition by making trace elements which are just as essential for plant growth as nitrogen and phosphorous, to become available to the plants' roots.
*Compost or humus, indirectly strengthens the plant's resistance to disease by creating an ecological balance in the soil between a multitude of organisms, ranging from bacteria, fungi and small animals. The greater the variety of life in a habitat, the better the chance of keeping in check the population levels of pathogenic organisms.
*While chemical fertilizer supplies the mineral requirements of the plants, both directly and cheaply, all the benefits to the soil, (the habitat in which the plants grow) are not only lost, but also put into reverse. So that while high percentages of humus improve the air/moisture balance by developing a healthy, crumbly, soil structure, persistent use of chemical fertilizer is liable over time to cause the soil structure to degenerate.
*The leaching of nitrates and phosphorous from readily soluble fertilizers, applied by farmers and gardeners, is a serious form of pollution in rivers and lakes. It must be admitted though, that commercially produced composts and earthworm casting products, are not blameless either in this field.
Feeding Lawns
*Most perennial lawns in dry climates are deep-rooting varieties like Bermuda or Zoisia grass, that tend to produce a heavy thatch of organic tissue that does not break down easily. This thatch inhibits both the infiltration of water into the soil, and the exchange of gasses between the root zone and the atmosphere. The spreading of compost actually exacerbates the thatch problem, and so chemical fertilizer, especially the slow-release kind, is preferable overall.
*Slow release fertilizer may be more expensive than readily soluble fertilizer such as Ammonium Sulphate, but it is much easier to calibrate and apply the correct dosages, small amounts of nutrient are steadily applied over a period of 3-6 months, and the leaching of pollutants, while not absent, is reduced.
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