Repsol YPF

The weather, soil type, diseases and pests, and other complications can affect correct  plant growth, highlighting the lack of essential elements to keep them strong and healthy. The solution to this problem often involves using specific fertilisers containing the substances which the plant requires, but healthy plants are also fed to get them used to this state of vitality and strength which can only be reached with regular doses of nutrients. 

The most commonly used fertiliser is organic fertiliser, such as compost, manure, humus, peat and humus extract, but chemical fertilisers are also used, particularly mineral ones, slow release ones and those which correct specific deficiencies or enrich specific plant types. 

Seaweed extract, amino acids and compensatory minerals   are lesser known nutrients because they resolve extreme situations, such as revitalising plants damaged by drought, frost or disease, in the case of the first two, and the correction of the soil’s pH, in the case of compensatory minerals. 

It is recommended to use organic and chemical fertilisers, always choosing that which is most suitable based on your own experience, looking at plants and asking experts at the nursery. As the years go by, as you acquire a certain intuition with your plants, you will be able to recognise their fertiliser needs perfectly. 

Organic fertilisers

These have increased in popularity in line with the progress in organic gardening, which seeks to remove chemical products from all kinds of   plant growing. Organic fertilisers encourage airing and oxygenation of the soil, generating greater root activity. They also improve the texture, structure and permeability of the soil, giving it a lightness and increasing its capacity to retain water from watering and the rain. 

In general, they are highly beneficial for the soil, for as well as reducing its defects, they strengthen its virtues considerably. They are applied in autumn and winter using a simple formula: you spread a 2cm layer, around the plant and bury it slightly using a hoe. 

The most widely used organic fertilisers are compost, manure, peat and humus extract. Manure is a mixture of the bedding and excrement of certain animals, mainly cows, goats, pigs, horses, chickens and pigeons. Manure from birds of Peru and Mozambique is also used. 

Compost is obtained from different organic materials (vegetable remains, food waste, mixtures of manure, etc), which undergo a process of controlled fermentation. Peat which can be black or light-coloured, is often used to make substrata for growing plants in pots.

Humus extracts contain the best quality part of organic matter. They encourage the growth of roots and help any kind of nutrient to establish itself in the soil.  

Chemical fertilisers 

The majority of chemical fertilisers achieve quick results with plants, something which does not happen with organic nutrients, the benefits of which can be seen in the long term. For this reason, they are perfect for correcting deficiencies and enriching specific species immediately. It is recommended to use both products, organic and mineral, and chemical, without overdoing it with either.

The most common chemical fertilisers are conventional ones, slow release ones, organominerals, foliar ones and   those which correct deficiencies. The former contain a single macronutrient or a combination of two or three substances. As such, nitrogenous, potassium, phosphoric, magnesium and binary and triple complexes stand out, which combine proportions of two and three elements respectively. 

Slow release fertilisers gradually dissolve and release nutrients progressively, such that the plant obtains results several months after it is applied. 

Organomineral fertilisers are a combination of organic and mineral matter, which makes them suitable for thoroughly enriching all kinds of plants. 

Foliar fertilisers are sprayed on the leaves and are products which are used together with other more complete fertilisers. Finally, deficiency correctors give plants the substances they are lacking, without which they cannot fully grow. They are sprayed either mixed with water or directly onto the soil.