Friday, March 17, 2006
Phosphorus - The Good and the Bad
According to gardening books, phosphorus is an essential nutrient. It is necessary for proper fruiting, flowering, seed formation, and root branching. It helps build strong stems and resistance to disease.
No wonder it is a basic fertilizer component. But excessive phosphorus is a signficant water quality issue In Minnesota.
Four recent sample analyses of soil from the TT community garden contained 61, 100+, 100+, and 54 parts per million phosphorus. The University of Minnesota indicates that 25 parts per million is considered very high.
Bottom line. The garden does not need phosphorus. That is the easy part.
Now, we need to be convinced that any fertilzer that gets added should have zero as the middle number.
photo source - Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance ¶ 8:21 PM
According to gardening books, phosphorus is an essential nutrient. It is necessary for proper fruiting, flowering, seed formation, and root branching. It helps build strong stems and resistance to disease.
No wonder it is a basic fertilizer component. But excessive phosphorus is a signficant water quality issue In Minnesota.
Four recent sample analyses of soil from the TT community garden contained 61, 100+, 100+, and 54 parts per million phosphorus. The University of Minnesota indicates that 25 parts per million is considered very high.
Bottom line. The garden does not need phosphorus. That is the easy part.
Now, we need to be convinced that any fertilzer that gets added should have zero as the middle number.
photo source - Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance ¶ 8:21 PM
