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Warren · **Fertilizer 13-13-13 usage questions**

wrote:
This sounds more difficult that I thought. I was hoping that I can
simply get a fertilizer at my local homedepot or Lowes. What about
stuffs like Miracle pro? Do I have to go through the same exercise as
what you suggested --- have soil tested?

So how do you know what nutrients your soil needs unless you have it
tested?

Think about your own needs. Would you take a cholesterol lowering drug
without knowing if you have high cholesterol? Would you inject insulin if
you didn't know if you have diabetes, or if you did, but didn't know what
your blood glucose level was? Would you take a laxative if you weren't
constipated?

You need to know what the soil, and the plants growing in it need. You
might be able to diagnose possible problems by observation, but you still
need to test to understand what the real needs are.

Fertilizers and other chemicals are to your garden what drugs are to your
body. And just as many people don't need drugs, many lawns and gardens
don't need any of the chemicals that line the aisles at the home
improvement big boxes. If you just start applying those chemicals --
including fertilizers -- there's a long-shot you might just happen to get
just the right stuff. More likely than that is you might just waste money
on extra chemicals that can be washed away. At worst, you'll screw things
up -- possibly pretty bad.

In other words, chemicals -- including fertilizers -- are intended for
problem correction. Their use is not the default.

If you want to provide nutrients to your soil and plants, use compost.
Don't prescribe extra chemicals without a proper diagnosis as to whether
they're needed at all.

Of course this isn't what everyone believes. There are people who never go
to the doctor, never have any tests done, have no idea what their bodies
need, yet they'll spend half their paychecks on over the counter drugs and
"nutritional supplements." So if there are people out there who swear the
only way they can stay alive is to dump random chemicals into their
bodies, it's not surprising that there are also people out there who
advocate dumping random chemicals on your lawn and garden. And don't
forget that there are plenty of people out there who make a living selling
you these extra chemicals.

You want difficult? Dump random chemicals, and waste money on unnecessary
synthetic fertilizers for a few years, and then see how difficult it can
be to correct the problems caused by using the wrong stuff for so long.
Getting your soil tested, and reacting judiciously from the beginning is
far easier. Perhaps it is easier to blindly toss things in your cart at
Lowes today, just as it's easy to fill your basket down at Walgreens. But
wouldn't it be easier -- and less expensive -- in the long run to find out
what you really need to do instead of wasting money on guesses that could
be very, very wrong?

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

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