Fertilizer – magic for your containers

This is the second in a series of articles about Container Gardening, which really is what we love the most, and what we do best.

People need food and water to survive and we gardeners know that our plants are no different.

Whether the plants are in containers on the deck, hanging baskets along our fence, or planted in our gardens, their needs remain the same: they need to be able to access the right nutrients from the soil.

For healthy and steady growth, plants need three essential elements: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N-P-K). Fertilizers come in a variety of mixes indicating the percentage of each of these three elements (along with other trace elements). For example, a 20-20-20 label would indicate the fertilizer contains an equal mix of each of the three elements.

Fertilizers come in two basic formats; water soluble and granular and both are activated by water. Both of the types have pros and cons with the most significant being the length of time between applications. Water soluble ones act faster and are dispersed more quickly as they are already activated when applied; granular ones are slower to start as they are not yet activated but will not need to be applied as often.

The containers you purchase from Brantim Country Garden Centre come to you with a head start as we use premium soil and fertilizer to produce a quality product that is ready for you to enjoy from day 1. To keep them looking as they did when you brought them home, you do need to create a plan for continuing the fertilizing and watering that began with us.

Our container experts recommend using a water-soluble fertilizer for the containers you purchase from our Garden Centre. Our season here is quite short and we want to be able to get the most from our containers for as long as we can. The fast action feature of this type of fertilizer is well-suited to our region and, if used consistently and properly will help to ensure a full season of enjoyment.

Be sure to ask our trained staff for assistance in recommending a plan for your containers when you pick them up.