Understanding Fertilizer and Its Ingredients

Understanding what fertilizer is, how it helps your plants, and what makes it up, will help you pick a fertilizer that will work best for your garden.
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Thank you all so much for watching and Grow BIG!

[@joesqudy]

I love these refresher videos, and if you’re new to gardening Luke is the best instructor/inspiration to get your garden up and growing. Thank you. ❌⭕️🙏🏽♥️

[@margaretthompson6391]

As a follow up to this episode: I watch another channel called Veggie Boys. They fertilize differently for different plants and at different times of the plants growth. It would be Nice for you to explain what type of fertilizer should be used on what plants and at what time in their growth. Only at a basic level of course. That episode would flow naturally from this one. Thanks.

[@sarahcranedethloff3157]

Yes! I was hoping this video would address that very thing. Timing of different fertilizers is confusing for me.

[@kaitopet8048]

Here here, I love to watch this

[@whitestone4401]

Great information . Id love a video that explains when and how often to fertilize.

[@rachelbezile6299]

So educational, really needed this as a new gardener in containers ❤

[@rhondakeelin4779]

I use a 10-10-10 fertilizer on all my plants and a liquid one in-between. Had an outstanding abundance of tomatoes last spring.

[@truetexan2011]

Yesss freaking loved this!! I’m taking screenshots of this to print out until I’ve memorized all this stuff. Thanks Luke!!!

[@samanthamayville522]

Just ordered for the first time! Excited to try everything!!

[@teachingandlearningcenter5747]

Good video. I am hearing of more issues with persistent herbicides like Grazon in manures, so many want to let people know to be careful when using a manure-based fertilizer.

[@LenaeMaysWorld]

Agreed. I love my garden and yes, it encourages me to slow down. Im planning on crushing it with many things to freeze and use. Smart gardening this year. Trying new things and can’t wait! Thanks for stocking all the wonderful seeds. Keep up the greaT work and thanks again for all you do. It really matters; changes my life’s priorities. Plant food NOT grass. Lol

[@mattandbarbhartt2860]

I live in Alaska. Been gardening for over 20 years. Last year was my first year with a greenhouse. My first year growing tomatoes and peppers. I used trifecta and my plants were soooooo healthy! I won’t use anything else!

[@jackielambert7980]

I cant wait to try my Trifecta I ordered for this year. Still learning too.

[@mattandbarbhartt2860]

@@jackielambert7980 it's wonderful. Very well rounded!

[@Betterwayfarmga]

Such a great explanation! Simple and to the point. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and knowledge to all of us who just want to grow our own food.

[@michaelarcher9299]

So here in Michigan I'm gonna say the ground is/will be "workable" earlier than usual this year. Can you do a video on what seeds you might consider direct sowing now/soon in your area this year?

[@justuslightworkers]

He did that one a week or so ago.

[@teresacisneros6757]

Thank you so much for al the information on this episode. I wrote everything down. Hope it helps my up coming garden. I have used fertilizer in the past but just went with blood meal or worm castings. Now i feel i have a better understanding over all. Thank you again. I try on to miss any postings. Faithful viewer. Teresa

[@northsidedork_3043]

Thank you for yet another great video!

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I would like to see a follow up that covers organic homemade sources of the nutrients found in fertilizers. I've used all three categories of fertilizers, but I've been trying to steer away from overuse of synthetics because I'm afraid of burning my plants again. For nitrogen I use a fairly abundant source that normally just gets flushed down the toilet. For phosphorous I make bonemeal out of dried soup bones leftover from making bone broth. For potassium I would use wood ash, though I don't burn much firewood myself, so I have to ask my neighbors. This is the one that gives me the most trouble, as I'm not sure what else would be a good source.

[@WynterDragon]

Thanks for doing this deeper dive on fertilizers!

[@Edustakaa]

Hey Luke! Thanks for the videos. Just a correction, the element is “molybdenum” with an “n” (we use this all the time in radiology as the precursor for nuclear medicine imaging). Keep up the great work!

[@jewelweed7427]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@donnayoung5942]

Great job explaining! Trifecta is my one and only fertilizer and the results are impressive!

[@SugarBeeFarm]

Thanks Luke. Very informative 💕✌️

[@gailwilliams1083]

Love your fertilizer works amazing in my garden. even my roses have bigger flowers thank you ❤

[@siinamorin6251]

Thank you, that was so helpful!

[@kirieleturgez8626]

Fertilizer has always confused me, so I really appreciate you sharing this video! Very informative!

[@dalegaa4094]

A great overview of fertilizers. Many thanks.

[@cynthiahennessy7]

This is a very valuable video, thank you.

[@marysalholm2276]

Luke - I cannot overstate how helpful your videos are. And I love your seeds. My question: do you recommend anything more than trifecta and worm castings to feed strawberries? I want to encourage fruit rather than leaf production.

[@JS-od5sl]

Wish trifecta+ was more affordable. We have 39 garden beds and that would cost us hundreds of dollars to buy for just trifecta+. Would love to buy it if it was more affordable.

[@michele7417]

Great explanation of an often over complicated topic! YAY for Luke! Question: can Trifecta be dissolved in water and used on houseplants periodically? Any recommendations for how that might work?

[@robingirven4570]

Again, thank you!!

[@sowinthecity]

This is very helpful! Thanks for sharing - Taryn

[@kaiteemitchell9453]

Awesome video and explanation!

[@melindaroth5796]

GREAT INFORMATION LUKE. THANK YOU SO MUCH 💓 LOVE YALL ❤

[@kevinandjessl.3820]

Well done sir. Well done. 👏

[@DustBunny.101]

I'm surprised you don't have Gaia green up there!! Best fertilizer I use! Oh, now I see probably bc you sell your own fertilizers, awesome! Thank you for another informative video!

[@ericasmith1457]

Love the video. No fluff. Great info thoughout.

[@outlaw0987654321]

I would love to see a vid fir the uses of micro and trance nutrients. I'm growing some pepper plants for a friend and noticed that for some reason 2 of them started going yellow from the top. A dash of iron on the potting mix with a spray of light iron solution on the leaves had them nice and green in a day(was surpised at how fast it happened). Was kinda confused as to why it happened tho. All the other plantlings were fine and they used the exact same mix🤔.

[@hopemorrison2367]

You should get a Oscar award for your fertilizer

[@FloraM44]

I like remembering it like: NPK Shoots, Roots, Fruits Simplistic, but useful when I'm stocking up on fertilizer.. found it interesting he didn't mention plant reproduction for K

[@healthyfitmom]

I've really come around to using fertilizers. Compost is not enough. Thank you for explaining the difference between all of them. I've been binge watching David The Good channel and he made John Solomons mix and saw a huge difference quality of his crops when he tested out different amendments in his 12 test beds. I take many vitamins and it's not too much of a leap to think that soil and plants would benefit from natural "chemical" fertilizers.

[@chriswhinery925]

Yeah I watch a guy called The Millennial Gardner and his explanation really stuck with me. A vegetable garden of the sort that people grow is not a natural thing. These plants have been bred and modified by humans over centuries for bigger yields, better growth, resisting diseases/pests, etc. They're not naturally occurring plants. They're like an elite athlete compared to normal humans. And elite athletes need more nutrition than the average person. So it's not unreasonable that these plants need more than what normal soil can give them. Can they limp through life without extra nutrition while being scraggly and weak and maybe produce a tomato or two? Sure. But I want my plants to be the elite athletes that they've been bred to be. So I'm gonna feed them what they need to reach that potential.

[@bencarlos2555]

Well done, great explanation of the different types. Next might be ag=bout how and at what rates to apply.

[@deborahhaynes8361]

Soooo helpful

[@fbrooks1476]

Thank you for telling the truth.

[@Gardeningchristine]

I lucked out and found some organic granular deeply discounted, and a huge bag of 20 20 20 at a Yardsale very cheap. Hopefully it’ll last.

[@Gardeningchristine]

Also found some bonemeal at TSC for 75% off. Can you tell I love a deal.

[@mamaz1862]

Great overview!

[@MIgardener]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@elizaC3024]

Great info

[@janet-w]

Loved the video. Luke, perhaps a follow on video idea... I've recently had a soil test and found the PH of my raised bed garden to be 8.1 with N P K, calcium and magnesium all in optimal range. Even with the soil nutrients this good, I experienced blossom end rot on the tomatoes last year. In researching a possible cause for the high PH, the MSU extension talks about the water in Michigan being alkaline and a possible culprit. Further reading says that with the PH that high you can have all the available nutrients for your plants, but the bicarbonates in the soil from the alkaline water, are preventing the nutrients from being taken up by the plants. I'm thinking this may not be common knowledge, and that the application of fertilizer, though very important, could be futile if the bicarbonates in the soil continue to rise. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

[@justuslightworkers]

Following

[@KevinSmith-dq9tz]

Absolutely. That high of a ph will definitely lock up nutrients. Test the ph of your water and adjust accordingly. Some added Sulphur can slowly help lower the ph of your soil. Adding peat moss will also help.

[@jeas4980]

Question!!! You mentioned Calcium for blossom end rot... what about black spot? I have a very well established grape arbor and we've tried conventional methods to rid the issue of black spot since 2018 (we built a structure too close that shaded it perhaps for too long) Our only hope now it to feed it back to health or move it. Any suggestions?

[@DanlowMusic]

I have used Blood meal for N and Bone Meal for the P. What would you recommend to get the K?

[@sierraschaffer499]

When do you personally use the trifecta? When potting up your seedlings from a large cell tray into their own pot; mix it into your soil?

[@JohnWood-tk1ge]

I will be trying your fertilizer but for now I have my aquarium water and composted manure from horse goats and chickens. Thinking your fertilizer at planting just to help things going. Question I am trying your carrot starting trick with the pots and cardboard wondering how long you leave the cardboard on the plants.

[@Twyztid_Angel]

I believe he said around 10-14 days. For some reason that's what stuck after watching his video and its what I'm going to try this year as well.

[@krishigyan1010]

Very nice

[@miggy7165]

We live semi-rural... Would the blood meal attract "critters"? We have not only rabbits and deer, but possums, raccoons, foxes and coyotes. Would they be drawn to the smell of blood?

[@lauriedavis4045]

It can attract some meat eaters. On the other hand, it can repel their prey, like rabbits. I'll cover my garlic with screen when I feed blood meal, for example.

[@mneraasen224]

I usually use bone meal and blood meal to fertilize my garlic in early spring. Will just trif 10:28 e work or should I add it too the bone and blood?

[@glenbrooks2917]

With the trifecta plus. How did you come up with the 5-10-4? What made you make it that way?

[@salvi92]

Yes 🌻🍊

[@rhondamurff9101]

Very informative video, Luke!❤ Wish you would have touched on the fish emulsion there too. One final thing is I notice you don't say 'or Go Home' anymore, very wise decision!💚🤍💚

[@lizzomanizzo1326]

Love Espoma Holly tone due to not having just soil that needs it, but also because I have well water. Plus Espoma is made in the USA and its organic!

[@ale347baker]

Do you use it in your vegetable garden?

[@lizzomanizzo1326]

@@ale347baker Espoma carrys many fertilizers including ones for veggie gardens. Analyzing you soil is the key though to choosing the right mixture. Holly Tone I use for everything based on my soil content and well water. Primarily though Holly Tone is sold for Evergreens and Rhododendrons, but for my standards based on soil analysis and water content Holly Tones mixture works best to compliment my garden conditions.

[@tinab7791]

N, P, K - Shoots, roots, fruits.

[@tunggultv03]

Nice

[@justuslightworkers]

If your soil is already too high in one nutrient while deficient in others, will the fertilizer be adding to that as well as bringing in the more needed nutrients, or does it just balance it all out better?

[@kimjaeger7142]

Most of our garden is in the ground. The ground is pretty fertile. We did a compost lasagna in the fall and our soil has a fair amount of clay. Though I think we have to much brown. How should I fertilize through the season?

[@AndrewsArchives]

It depends what you're growing really. Research what those particular crops need more/less of.

[@PhosphorAlchemist]

A key difference between synthetic and liquid fertilizers vs organic/mineral solids is the release rate. With the slow release from organic solids, it's hard to dangerously OD your plants. With rapid-release soluble fertilizers, it's easy to overapply and actually stress/damage/kill your plant. The key is to carefully observe the dose recommendations as an _upper limit_ when using any soluble fertilizer, and if the plant looks worse afterward to back off rather than add more. The same way that we might enjoy a slice of dessert but feel ill if we try to eat the entire pie, plants can also have too much of a good thing. Your exact soil conditions and plant woes will dictate what you actually need. Personally, I turn in a mix of solid slow-release fertilizers at the beginning of the growing season, and apply soluble fertilizers very lightly at the appropriate time to promote leafy growth and bloom/fruiting. I'm also growing very concentrated -- slightly tighter than square foot garden guidelines -- and remediating for practically barren soil under my shallow raised beds. A friend who grows exclusively in containers has the best performance with a foliar spray -- direct absorption through the leaf is more effective than hoping an organic material breaks down in the container medium and is absorbed well as water levels fluctuate.

[@katkur9731]

I’m using organic fish fertilizer for my indoor seedlings. It doesn’t list any trace minerals. Recommendations? Thanks so much!

[@richm5889]

I'd always heard that NPK corresponds to growing shoots, roots, and fruits, respectively. I know in fact they work together, for instance phosphorus and potassium work together in cell building. Until this video I've never heard phosphorus credited specifically for growing flowers and fruit rather than potassium. I think a products like Espoma TomatoTone with NPK of 3-4-6, the highest number being potassium for flowers and fruit. Could you say more?

[@elletaylor9985]

I can only grow my veggies, herbs & flowers in containers and pots. At the end of the growing season how do I restore the soil back to its optimum ph level and replace the minerals and nutrients ready for the next season? I can’t keep buying bags of soil and throwing away the old soil. Eg. If I grow a tomato plant in a pot, which nutrients will need to be put back into the soil in the pot? What can I grow the next season in that pot? I have heard of crop rotation but I don’t know much about it. I want to be more efficient with the soil I have.

[@lesliekendall5668]

ANYBODY? I have an off subject question. My house was built in 1910 so it's anybody's guess when this was planted but it's "a garlic". NO MISTAKING with the star shaped flowers. But they were SO SMALL (like 3"? tall) that they blended in with the grass so I thought it was a weed and dug it up until I got close and POW, THAT'S GARLIC. And if memory serves, the flowers were on single stems, not in a globe formation. These could've been planted 100 years ago (if garlic can live that long) so I don't have a clue what they are. They were intentionally planted in a S facing bed and had grown into the lawn there. And not even much of a bulb to speak of. Just really teeny tiny.

[@aitzaacosta7571]

I have seedlings that are growing in a raised bed and they are yellowish and stunted. The water is one of my biggest issues, it is from well and has sulfates. I have to add nitrogen constantly and I have to use the synthetic as a fast way to help them recover. Do you recommend dumping nitrogen or iron to the plants to contrarest the effect of the water?

[@mlynnw7831]

Would it be possible to install rain barrels as a water source, as a solution to the problem?

[@aitzaacosta7571]

​@@mlynnw7831I have done that previously but the water starts to get algae over time, and I also run out of water. 😢

[@ebgstuff]

I mistakenly bought triple rock phosphate. Can I grind it to a powder and then use 1/3 in application and not burn roots?

[@FloraM44]

Blossom end rot is most often due to inconsistent watering

[@torontohomestead9254]

I used trifecta for everything 2 years ago and everything did well except the cauliflower didn't produce a head. Have you managed to get cauliflower heads using trifecta since your video about plants you can't grow for your life? I tried an organic 2:3:4 NPK fertilizer last year and I grew the largest most beautiful graffiti cauliflowers.

[@mlynnw7831]

I grew my best heads of cauliflower ever last year using Trifecta.

[@user-pe5pw5gj1u]

Do you no no longer recommend using trifecta in a seed starting mix?

[@terrynorthern38]

We use Ferttrell

[@Trevi_Andretti]

I got mushroom manure 😮

[@kevinchamberlain4578]

How do I know when to go to a stonger concentration of phosphate and potassium so that my vegetables fruit?

[@coralmarcin2063]

You always talk about how amazing trifecta is, but I'm not comfortable using a product with blood meal. I see you sell a vegan fertilizer and I was wondering if that is as good as trifecta?? Thank you!

[@MIgardener]

It is formulated slightly different, but still very great! Has all the same traits as Trifecta, but no animal products.

[@dianabasinger731]

??? Since I usually get end rot on my tomatoes should I just go ahead and add calcium when I put in the plant?

[@kythuatvuonnam1078]

OK chào bạn 👍 chúc bạn ngày mới vui vẻ 👍

[@lelaandrews5439]

😢😮, thank you.

[@CC-iq2pe]

I was doing some research and wonder why other things missing in soil aren’t added such as iodine and magnesium? These particular elements are necessary for human diet yet are not used.

[@lauriedavis4045]

My understanding is that some elements can be +/- depending on soil *regions* alone. In which case you may want to get a comprehensive soil analysis.

[@charitymachiela9754]

Thanks for Trifacta - I do not have to buy anything else. 🙂

[@tellittotheworld857]

I only use compost and my urine, plants do just fine.

[@justuslightworkers]

My husband is allergic to synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and a lot of other synthetic chemicals. I've never used them in my own gardens. It's also why I grow my plants from seed, because we don't know what kind of chemical beginning that greenhouse starts have had. I've worked in a greenhouse one spring and I hated having to put all that chemical fertilizer in with the plants.

[@rebeccareckers]

What is the best option for a vegan based organic fertilizer? Is that possible?

[@MIgardener]

Check out Vegagrow on our website! It is amazing and totally vegan.

[@kellysmoot3676]

Growing onions for my 2nd time, what fertilizer to use. Thanks.

[@reneejmj]

N (shoots), P (roots), K (fruits). Onions are a root. Not an expert in onion growing, so do more research. I would make sure that there is plenty of P in fertilizer

[@jeas4980]

Oh Kelly... you should absolutely dig through Luke's video history. He's got a great one on onions... I think he grows onions at the competitive level if I remember correctly. I'll see if I can find it.

[@jeas4980]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHmwoqdvidJ-aa8

[@jeas4980]

@@reneejmj Common misconception with onions... the bulb gets to size via it's leaves... so you would want to increase Nitrogen and trim back the tops just below the bend to take pressure off the neck. Those greens can be dehydrated to make green onion powder... or you can add them to soups and salads and potatoes fresh like a bunching onion/scallions.

[@hdrider2071]

Ammonium sulfate( onions meed sulpher to taste oinionee 😊)

[@ronalddavis5905]

Luke, what kind of nitrogen do you put on your green bean plants when they emerge out of the ground? I've asked this before and can't get an answer.

[@jennyumm89]

Fish fertilizer

[@mlynnw7831]

Luke uses Trifecta at planting time.

[@ronalddavis5905]

@@mlynnw7831 Ok, I just got 2 6lb bags in the mail about 3 weeks ago

[@judydrouhard2651]

CAN I USE TRIFECTA ON MY PLANTS ALL SEASON LONG?

[@MIgardener]

yes! :)

[@lorencharlie]

Hi Luke, thank you for all of the videos that you post, they are so helpful, but I do have a question for you. I ordered some seeds from your online store but they don’t have the stamp that I’d thought for sure your seeds would have, the USDA ORGANIC, are your seeds not 100% organic? So needless to say, I’m quite disappointed. They also took so long to get here.

[@MIgardener]

all our seed is grown using organic methods, but they are not certified organic. That is a very expensive label and one that we would rather trust the source, than the label but pay 2-3x more for it.

[@lorencharlie]

@@MIgardener thank you for your reply.

[@servofyah4392]

What about fertilizers that contain Amino Acid Chelated ?

[@youtubesucks-yx6kk]

👍

[@dustyflats3832]

Boron. If root crops don’t bulb up is it not enough water, too much nitrogen, PH or boron? If not enough even watering the plant can’t take up the nutrients and same with PH. I have sand and it’s difficult to figure out. Planning on an irrigation set up this year as it takes too long to water everything before the heat of day sets in and maybe that will improve things. I will check PH, but I’m not one to spend money on soil testing. Besides there are too many mixed soils here to get any kind of true reading.

[@ishanighosh304]

What is the brand of fertilizer you use? I couldn't catch the name.

[@MIgardener]

We use trifecta fertilizer.

[@matthew6454]

What info do you have on down to earth?? I have a ton of it.

[@briankubik5041]

You need to get right to the point it's your soil that your feeding so your plant takes up the nutrients. Synthetics go straight to the plant and leave salts behind what most farmers do and damage soil for many many years. Need to do cover crop to clean the soil and then add organics back to the soil and all the little creatures that feed the plants and your fertilizer is what feeds them. Feed the soil, soil feeds the plant!

[@harrymaciolek9629]

Milorganite is made from Milwaukee sewage.

[@theurzamachine]

If you hesitate to use cheaper synthetic fertilizers, use them in small amounts on weeds and then compost them. Let the weeds take the damage.

[@jennyumm89]

Why would you do this?

[@chrisshepherd8708]

There's over 3/4 Nitrogen in the ambient air.

[@andrewszabo1552]

I don't hesitate on synthetics. There's so much misinformation on this topic - similar to the diet and supplement industry. Synthetics are inexpensive because they're basic compounds, but they require a large scale production to make. If you're an organic operation, your product costs more per lb and has less NPK. So how do you compete? You paint the picture of synthetics like they're a bag of arsenic, mercury, and lead that you pour into your garden. It's a bit hyperbolic to say that, but many people treat synthetics as such.

[@ale347baker]

My concern is the salts left behind.

[@krishigyan1010]

गन्ने से मोथा घास खत्म करने का सबसे सस्ता उपाय क्या है, गन्ने में मोथा घास मारने की सबसे अच्छी दवाई कौन सी है, गन्ने से खरपतवार को कैसे नष्ट करें

[@StayPrimal]

You said there is no difference between a man made fertilizer and an organic fertilizer but usually the man made fertilizer is very bad for the environment.

[@MIgardener]

I didn’t say that. I said that organically synthetic reacts basically the same in the soil as organic does.

[@dontwantthis]

Chemically it's the same thing and the plant won't care

[@StayPrimal]

@@dontwantthis I'm not talking about the plant i'm talking about the environment tho. I know the plant don't care.

[@esmysyield2023]

Which fertilizer has boron? My watermelons need boron. Lol