Soil Nutrients, Fertilizers and the Impact of Soil pH

2.2 Soil Nutrients and Fertilizers

The back of a fertilizer packet may seem a bit confusing. By the end of this chapter you’ll be able to interpret these details and know how to use such a product.

Humans require a balanced diet that provides all the minerals that their body needs to be healthy. Plants are the same, they absorb minerals from the soil and integrate them into their tissues to form strong, healthy, nutrient dense plants. Your edible plants cannot assimilate certain minerals into their tissues if they are deficient in the soil. Ensuring adequate soil nutrient availability is one of the keys to growing nutrient dense foods. For example, if your soil is deficient in zinc and you primarily consume home-grown foods that are grown in the zinc deficient soil, then in time, you may also develop a zinc deficiency. You are what you eat and plants are no different.

Let’s take a look at some of the minerals that are particularly important for plant growth.