How to Identify When Soil Needs Nutrients

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Drench them in sunshine, sluice them with fresh water. Sound like the recipe for a nice summer family outing at the lake? Yes, but it is also the basic format for success in growing almost any plant you can imagine. Just like that day at the lake, you will need to bring along a picnic to keep everyone energized and thriving.

The three major nutrient requirements of plants are nitrogen, essential for photosynthesis and overall growth of the plant; phosphorus, to promote strong root growth and the healthy development of flowers and fruits; and potassium, necessary for overall cell (and thus, plant) strength for sturdy growth and pest and disease resistance. These nutrients usually are available in most healthy soils and can be bolstered by the addition of organic material. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K in chemical parlance) all occur in perfect proportions in healthy plants; thus, when plants are recycled as compost that is incorporated into the soil or as mulch applied to the surface of the garden N-P-K will be released and available for future growing seasons. Unless your soil has been organically managed for several years, one or more of these nutrients may be lacking.

How do you know if your soil has the essential ingredients for healthy plants? The plants themselves will tell you. Many deficiencies will be most evident in the leaves. If leaves are yellower than normal or smaller than they should be, suspect a nitrogen deficiency. Overall plant growth may also be stunted. To jumpstart the nitrogen level in the soil, add an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen. Add more mulch and compost as you can, to improve overall soil health. Leaves that are scorched-looking along the edges or are purplish or blue-green, or those that fall off early, indicate a possible lack of phosphorus. Reduced production of flowers and fruit will also be an indicator of this problem. Bone meal is a cheap and readily available solution and can be scratched into the surface and included in the bottom of planting holes as a remedy. A different type of leaf scorch that includes brownish spots on the underside of the lower leaves of the plant will signal a lack of potassium. Again, look at the label of the fertilizer bag and find one with a high number in the third.

There are a few secondary nutrients that are generally available in soil, but may be lacking in some locations. Specific plants may also have a higher requirement for one or more of them. Calcium is essential for good root growth. Plants lacking calcium will lose their leaves as they darken from the base toward the tip and die. Calcium deficiency in tomatoes will also announce itself with rot on the blossom end of the developing fruit. Any source of lime, such as dolomite, will correct the trouble.

A molecule of magnesium is at the core of the chlorophyll complex, essential, of course, to photosynthesis. With a deficit of magnesium, plants are hindered severely in that prime, so leaves may have dead spots between the veins and the center of the leaf will be yellow or reddish, definitely not the bright green of healthy chlorophyll. An application of elemental limestone can help alleviate this problem and, believe it or not, those old-fashioned Epsom salts are mostly magnesium and a scattering of this standby can help.

Sulfur is also essential in making the protoplasm of plant cells. Any serious lack of these minerals will result in disease and usually death of the plant. If the veins of the leaves are lighter than the surrounding tissue, sulfur probably is lacking. Add elemental sulfur as the fix.

Iron deficiency is quite common in some soils and is evidenced by the leaves turning yellow between the veins, which stay more or less green. The problem may appear in cooler weather since uptake of iron from the soil is somewhat dependent on bacterial activity that slows down with lower temperatures. Long-term solutions rely on healthy bacterial activity in the soil through additions of compost and other organic matter as well as applications of blood meal (hemoglobin, the important element in blood that transports oxygen, employs a central molecule of iron). Short-term results can be had with chelated iron foliar sprays, as needed.

Many of these treatments will take some time to correct the problem, so keep an eye on the plants and have a little patience.

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