This site will help you understand all you need to know about Slow Release Fertilizers.  www.slowreleasefertilizers.com is a site dedicated to teaching the world about the benefits of Slow Release Fertilizers.  The choices you have when creating your personal garden (or professional) can be too vast.  You have to think about price, about time, about results, about size, about nutrients, about shade, about sun, about moisture, about soil, about water, about colour, and about PH.  That is a lot of choice.  Choice can be great, but can also be intimidating.  The mission of www.slowreleasefertilizers.com is to help take the worry out of your fertilizer selection process.

It all also depends on what you are planting.  If you are planting popular Annuals and Perennials, than you might want to consider taking a look at http://www.annualsandperennials.com/ for more information.

Advantages of slow release fertilizers are that the nutrients are available gradually over time. This means that the gardener can fertilize less often, and the nutrients are provided slowly and steadily. This is how most plants prefer to be fed and helps them grow well.  Think of it like a baby being fed fruits and veggies, versus steroids.  One might have a great result for a short time period, but the other is more sustainable (and natural!). Most slow release fertilizers (organic and synthetic) release at specific (warm) soil temperatures. The benefit of this is that plant roots generally are most active in warm soil and therefore the slow release fertilizer will start to make fertilizer available as soon as the plants actually needs them. As the plant roots become more active (in warmer soil) more fertilizer will automatically be released.  

Lawn Fertilizer

Lawn fertilizers are a mix of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). The ratio will be printed on the package as three numbers (the first is nitrogen, the middle number is phosphorous, and the third is potassium). The recommended balance for lawn fertilizer is a ratio of 3-1-2. There are a few commercial fertilizers available that come close to this recommendation. Good proportions to look for are 10-2-6 or 5-2-4.

Apply natural, slow-release fertilizer in mid- to late May after the soil has warmed up enough to use the nutrients. Fertilize again in early September, and if you’re going for the “perfect” lawn, you can fertilize again in early November. More is not always better, over-fertilized lawns are more prone to disease, thatch, and drought damage. Always read and follow label instructions on the fertilizer bags.

Grass clippings left on the lawn every time you mow can supply up to half of a lawn’s fertilizing needs. In other words, don’t bother bagging the lawn clippings, leave them on the lawn to provide natural fertilizer every time you mow.  Truly Slow Release Fertilizers are tougher to find in the grass category than in the small package gardening category due to cost.  Producing a 9 month variety would be cost prohibitive for most consumers to buy, so most are 3 months.  If you live near a waterway of any type, it is the right thing to do.

Find out more Our Favourite Slow Release Fertilizers, then look at our Services to make your possibilities a reality.


Clean Up

Sometimes, you might have just a ton of debris, old fertilizer, old plastic pots, old workbenches and the like.  There are many easy options like calling 1-800-Junk or I might recommend trying our friends at www.rolloffdumpsterdirect.com, their 10 yard roll off especially make sense for the more mid-sized jobs or just learn more about it at www.10yardrolloff.com


Micronutrients – The Hidden Story…And, Often Only Delivered by Slow Release Fertilizers!

There are about seven nutrients essential to plant growth and health that are only needed in very small quantities. These are manganese, boron, copper, iron, chlorine, and molybdenum and zinc. Some consider sulfer a micronutrient, but it is listed here as a macronutrient. Though these are present in only small quantities, they are all necessary.

Boron is believed to be involved in carbohydrate transport in plants; it also assists in metabolic regulation. Boron deficiency will often result in bud dieback.

Chlorine is necessary for osmosis and ionic balance; it also plays a role in photosynthesis.

Copper is a component of some enzymes and of vitamin A. Symptoms of copper deficiency include browning of leaf tips and chloroses

Iron is essential for chlorophyll synthesis, which is why an iron deficiency results in chlorosis.

Manganese activates some important enzymes involved in chlorophyll formation. Manganese deficient plants will develop chlorosis between the veins of its leaves. The availability of manganese is partially dependent on soil pH.

Molybdenum is essential to plant health. Molybdenum is used by plants to reduce nitrates into usable forms. Some plants use it for nitrogen fixation, thus it may need to be added to some soils before seeding legumes.

Zinc participates in chlorophyll formation, and also activates many enzymes. Symptoms of zinc deficiency include chlorosis and stunted growth. Look for premium Slow Release Fertilizers hat carry the above important micros but also be aware of certain myths, which you can learn more about at:


Annuals and Perennials

If you are looking for some great information on the basic Annuals and Perennials, than consider http://www.annualsandperennials.com/ its a great and simple site with just information, and very few ads.  Its written as always, for the simple gardener who is just looking for clean and helpful information, that is easy to find.  Take a look at  http://www.annualsandperennials.com/

Beware the evil evil myths…..click here to learn