Using fertiliser is all about making sure your plants get the correct nutrients, which is why it’s so important to select the correct type of fertiliser for the exact requirements of your project. It’s just as vital, however, to make sure that your plants get those nutrients exactly when they need them. This is why the availability of both quick release and slow release fertilisers is so valuable. Each have their own benefits making them suitable for different applications.
Quick release fertilisers
Usually sold in a water soluble form, quick release fertilisers provide their nutrients to plants immediately to give them a quick boost. This is ideal for issues such as specific nutrient deficiencies which you want to quickly rectify. Quick release fertilisers can allow a rapid improvement in the appearance and quality of your plants and are also useful for nutrient hungry crops such as tomatoes and potatoes.
Because they are water soluble, these kinds of fertilisers can be dissolved in water and applied with a watering can or sprayer, or used for top dressing where they will dissolve into the soil when they are next watered or it rains.
Slow release fertilisers
Under normal circumstances, most plants benefit more from a steady release of nutrients over a long period than the single large hit you get with quick release products. There is also the danger with quick release products of flooding the plant with too many of certain nutrients, in particularly nitrogen, which can lead to ‘fertiliser burn’.
Slow release fertilisers provide the required nutrients in smaller amounts on a regular basis over a longer period of time. This provides continuous nutrition for your plants without the need to keep going back and applying more fertiliser. This is especially beneficial when trying to establish new plants, such as when laying turf or seeding a new lawn. Using a granular, slow release lawn fertiliser placed under the new turf or in the soil alongside your grass seed will deliver a steady supply of nutrients directly to the roots of your new grass, helping it to establish itself.
If you need help deciding which type of fertiliser is best suited to your needs, the team here at Proctors are always happy to advise. Simply call 0117 311 1217 with your query or why not Ask John?
