Every gardener is brought loads of joy from seeing their precious plants flourish!  Vibrant and colourful pot plants, lush green lawns, healthy vegetables and strong, disease resistant trees and shrubs laden with flowers and fruits.

Although compost is the number one source of food for your plants, there are times when they will need that extra boost. When flowering, fighting pests or dealing with inclement weather, a little more nutrition can go a long way. Bedding and container plants are also always grateful for that extra bit. Knowing when and how and with what to fertilise your garden and container plants is fairly simple.

Life is a Garden have these great tips for you:

Plants require three main elements known are macro-nutrients, for good health: Nitrogen (N) for green leafy growth; Phosphorous (P) for healthy roots and shoots; and Potassium (K) for fruits, flowers and hardiness. These three elements are required in greater quantities than any others, but smaller amounts of secondary elements and trace minerals also contribute towards optimal growth.

What to feed?  Firstly, you need to decide whether you prefer to fertilise with a chemical or organic fertiliser. Once you have established this, you will find a variety of fertilisers pre-made with the correct balance of nutrients for your plant’s specific needs e.g. roses, vegetables, fruit and flowers (shrubs and trees), general and lawn. Chemical fertilisers are available in a slow release form which means that you only need to reapply every 3 months in the growing season. Normal chemical fertilisers will last for a 6-week period.

Organic fertilisers have the added benefit in that they help to build the soil structure, which in turn assists with retaining soil water and nutrients. They stimulate microbial activity and are environmentally friendly, minimising toxic build up in the soil (which is detrimental to plants).