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84-Landaster Farming, Saturday, February 21, 1998
All Gardens
Great & Small
-by
York Co,
Horticultural Agent
Tom Becker -.-l'
Understanding Fertilizer
This is the first article in a
monthly sines on soil and plant
nutrition Managing nutrients
for a gardener means applying
fertilizers properly, improving
garden soils with organic mat
ter and protecting soil in the
winter
Fertilizers are not plant food!
Why? Although it is common
practice to call them plant foods,
plants produce their own food
using water, carbon dioxide, and
energy from the sun
Seventeen plant nutrients
are essential to plant growth.
Nitrogen, phosphorous, and
potassium are considered fertil
izer macronutrients those need
ed in the largest quantities
What does the 10-10-10 sym
bol stand for on a bag of fertiliz
er 9 All fertilizers are labeled
with three numbers These
three numbers give the percent
age by weight of nitrogen (N),
phosphate (P 205), and potash
(K 2 O)
Nitrogen is important for leaf
and stem growth and provides
the rich green color in a plant
Phosphorous (derived by the
plant from phosphate) provides
for root and flower growth
Potassium (derived by the plant
from potash) helps build plant
tissue and aids the production of
chlorophyll
A fertilizer is said to be com
plete when it contains nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium.
Examples of commonly-used fer
tilizers are 10-10-10, 16-16-16,
and 20-10-5 An incomplete fer
tilizer will be missing one of the
major components A 100-pound
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295 Woodcorner Rd.
Lititz, PA 17543-9165
1 Mile West of Ephrata
717-738-7365
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bag of 10-10-10 would supply 10
pounds of actual nitrogen, 10
pounds of available phosphorus
and 10 pounds of soluble potash.
The remaining 70 pounds would
be a carrier like limestone.
Slow-release fertilizers re
lease nutrients (makes them
available to the plant) over an
extended period. Caution is
needed when slow-release fertil-
Raising' sensible Kids
HONESDALE (Wayne
Co.) Would you like for
your children to be money
smart? Do you hope they
won’t make some of the same
mistakes you’ve made with
money?
Money is a complicated
subject with lots of emotional
ties. It is easy to pick up bad
money habits like spending
more money than you have
and not saving any money.
Penn State Cooperative Ex
tension and the Alabama Co
operative Extension System
are co-sponsoring a satellite
conference Tuesday, February
24 from 10:45 a.m.-noon on
raising “money smart” kids.
sensible Kids will be
broadcast at the Wayne Coun
ty Cooperative Meeting room
in the basement of the Wayne
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r r- t ,
izers are applied around trees or
shrubs, as the later nutrient
release may keep the plants
growing into the fall when they
should be hardening off for the
winter.
Cottonseed meal, blood meal,
bone meal, hoof and horn meal,
fish emulsion and all manures
are examples of organic fertiliz
ers. Organic fertilizers usually
contain relatively low concentra
tions of actual nutrients, but
they perform other important
functions which the synthetic
formulations do not. These
functions include: increasing
organic content of the soil,
improving physical structure of
the soil, and increasing bacterial
and fungal activity.
. How do I choose a fertilizer
for my garden? Fertilizer mate
rials are prepared in various
County Courthouse, Hones
dale. This program will help
parents, teachers, and others
who work with youth to ex
plore principles that underlie
the development of financial
responsibility in children,
learn practical ways parents
can help their young children
develop “money sense,” and
use these principles according
to the child’s developmental
stage.
Call the Wayne Conty Co
operative Extension office
(717) 253-5970 ext 239 to
make your reservation. The
program will be videotaped. If
you or your group would like
to borrow the tape or have
Debra Bryant present the pro
gram to your group, call the
number above to schedule.
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ways to meet the needs of specif
ic plants. They include dry, liq
uids, solubles, slow-release,
tablets, spikes and packets.
Your best bet is to take a soil
sample, have it tested and follow
the recommended amounts of
fertilizer.
Fertilizers are salts, much
like our familiar table salt
except that they contain various
plant nutrients. If tender plant
roots are close to the fertilizer
granules, water is drawn from
these roots. Plant cells in these
roots begin to dehydrate and col
lapse, and the plant roots are
burned' or dried out to a point
where they cannot recover.
It is important to apply fertil
izer according to instructions at
the proper time and rate to pre
vent water quality problems.
Avoid getting fertilizer on side-
Get worn out
loading wood,
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Abbottstown Jonestown Ronks
MESSICK’S
RO «1 Box 255 A
717-259-6617
Allentown
LEHIGH AG EG. INC.
6670 Ruppsvllle Rd
610-398-2553
1-800-779-3616
Carlisle
TRI-BORO
CONSTRUCTION SUPPLIES
1490 RITNER HWY
1-800-240-6590
Dallastown
TRI-BORO
CONCRETE, INC.
435 Locuit St.
717-246-3095
1-800-632-9018
East Earl
GOODS LAWN &
GARDEN CENTER
Route 23
717-354-4026 Ext. 34
Elizabethtown
MESSICK’S
Rheems Exlt-Rt 283
717-367-1319, 717-653-8867
Ephrata
WES STAUFFER
ENGINES & EQUIPMENT
23 Pleasant Vallsv Bd
717-738-4215
phrata. Hershe
HOLLINGER’S LAWN &
UAnucn cuuir, » K SAW SHOP
Ephrata, Pa. 717.85|-5455
Hershey, PA 717 533 4060
walks and driveways where it
can easily wash into storm
drains and, eventually, into
creeks, streams, and rivers.
Nutrients, particularly nitrogen,
become a water quality problem
through leaching or run-off
Leaching is the effect of nutri
ents being washed through the
lower soil layers and into the
groundwater supply. Leaching
and run-off not only rob your soil
of nutrients, but also lead to ero
sion. Provide your soil with
holding power by planting
groundcovers in bare spots.
Any questions can be directed
to Tom Becker, horticultural
extension agents, at (717)840-
7408.
Information adapted from
Consumer Horticulture: Guide to
Nutrient Management , Diane
Relf
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BLUE MOUNTAIN
ENTERPRISES, INC,
Rt 72 South
717-865-2994
BOMBERGER’S LAWN
& GARDEN
Lititz: 717-626-3301
Lebanon: 717-272-4155
Loysville/Carlisle
GUTSHALLS INC.
Loysvllle • PA • Carlisle
717-789-4343 717-249-2313
McAlisterville
C.B. HOOBER & SON
717-463-2191
Oxford
DEER CREEK
EQUIPMENT, INC.
6600 Limestone Rd
610-932-8858
Palmyra
HERR’S REPAIR
SHOP
RD2, Box 115 A
717-838-1549
Palmyra
WEAVER’S LAWN &
GARDEN
740 W Main St
717-838-5999
Peach Bottom
A & B SALES
& SERVICE
3/0 Newport Road
2 Miles South of Rt 23
Along 772 Thru Monterey
Schaefferstown
MARTIN'S
EQUIPMENT CO.
Rt 501 1 1/2 Miles South of
Schaefferstown, PA
717-949-6817
Shartlesville
MOUNTAIN VIEW
SUPPLY, INC.
(Formerly Shartlesville
Farm Service)
PO Box 529
610-488-1025
Shippensbun
LEINBACH
FARM EQUIP.
1120 Rltntr Hwy
717-532-5511
Tamaqua
CHARLES S.
SNYDER, INC.
RD 3
717-386-5945
Waynesboro
QUINCY TRUE VALUE
HARDWARE
Rt 997 In Quincy
717-749-3653
Hagerstown. MD
EBY’S LAWN &
GARDEN
16409 Fairvlew Road
301-733-4158