It’s a common misunderstanding

I have been helping homeowners with their lawns and gardens for over 10 years. When helping clients solve issues in their lawns and garden, I often need to ask “when was the last time you fertilised?”. It is surprising how many people answer something like “I put Seasol down X weeks ago”. Here is the problem, even though sometimes Seasol is advertised as a fertiliser, Seasol is not a fertiliser and we need to stop using it as a replacement for fertilisers.

Don’t get me wrong. Seasol – and other seaweed products – are great for lawns and gardens. But it can’t do the job that fertiliser does. Below, I’ll give you: the reasons why Seasol is not a fertiliser; some good liquid and granule fertilisers to use alongside Seasol; and the real advantages that Seasol truly has.

Seasol has almost no NPK

Your lawns and plants need nutrients to survive. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) are the main nutrients (macro nutrients) your plant needs. Micro nutrients like Iron (Fe) or Magnesium (Mg) are also needed, but N, P and K are required in the largest quantities.

The role a fertilizer truly plays is to supplement the plant with the nutrients – mainly NPK – that it is not getting from the soil. Seasol has only tiny, almost unnoticeable amounts of the most important nutrients your lawns and plants need to thrive.

Here is a breakdown from Seasol of what is in its product.

For comparison, a general NPK fertiliser analysis would look something like:

• Nitrogen (N) 14% (140x as much as Seasol)
• Phosphorus (P) 2% (200x as much as Seasol)
• Potassium (K) 8% (5.3x as much as Seasol)

The only macro nutrient Seasol has in any serious quantity is Potassium and even then it’s still five times less than a general fertiliser.

If you are looking for high quality nutrition to help supplement what your soil is missing, Seasol is not the answer. So what does Seasol do?

If Seasol isn’t a nutrient supplement, then what does Seasol do?

This list is taken straight from Seasol own website. They advertise that Seasol:

• Stimulates strong root growth and beneficial soil micro-organisms.
• Promotes vigorous flowering and fruiting and overall garden health.
• Helps plants cope with all kinds of stress, such as heat, drought and frost.
• Gives plants better resistance to sucking insects and fungal attack.
• Safe to use on all plants including natives at any time.
• Improves seed germination and reduces transplant shock.
• Helps to increase nutrient uptake, so when fertilisers are applied they are much more effective.

It’s clear that there are benefits to using Seasol. If you are using it on your lawns and gardens, don’t stop using it. However, my advice would be to also use a high quality complete fertiliser alongside it. That way you get the best of both worlds.

What products should I use to fertilise my lawns and gardens?

There are many great products out there and I don’t believe there is a ‘one size fits all’ solution. But if you are looking for some great products that can work alongside Seasol, here are four great, general-use options.

High quality granule garden fertiliser

Troforte M General Purpose

This is a great garden all-rounder that last six months in the soil. It is designed for all your gardens needs with up to 60 minerals and 24 species of beneficial microbes, bacteria and fungi.

Troforte M General Purpose is suitable for potted and in-ground trees, shrubs, flowering plants and all Australian natives.

High quality liquid garden fertiliser

PowerFeed PRO SERIES Plant Food All Purpose

This product is made by the same company that make Seasol. However, you will notice the difference in the nutrition analysis: Nitrogen (N) 12.0%. Phosphorus (P) 1.3%. Potassium (K) 7.0%. This product has the nutrition your plants need.

Liquid fertilisers are great at giving plants a quick boost and are also really effective with indoor plants and flowering annuals. If that is what you are looking for, then PowerFeed PRO SERIES All Purpose is a great option for you.

High Quality Granule Lawn Fertiliser

Eco-Prime Emerald

Eco-Prime Emerald is a complete rock mineral NPK fertiliser impregnated with beneficial microbes. It’s designed to enhance lawn surfaces by providing balanced nutrition and strong root growth.

Emerald is a very good growing season fertiliser that many people have used with exceptional results.

High quality liquid lawn fertiliser

Baileys Turfect Green Plus

Green Plus is a high quality, commercial grade liquid fertiliser designed to produce deep green colour and vigorous turf growth.

It can be applied throughout the year, particularly in cooler months to maintain colour and health, providing a readily available source of essential turf nutrients to rapidly address deficiency.

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If you reading this and everything seems too difficult and complicated, we are here to help. Silverstone Gardening hires qualified and experienced gardeners who can identify and solve your lawn and garden problems for you. If you would like a professional gardener to look after your lawns and gardens, contact us today for a quote.

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After more than 10 years of gardening, helping thousands of clients across Perth’s suburbs there have been several common mistakes that home owners and hobby gardeners make. Too many people under appreciate is the importance of fertiliser.

I am here to try and start a conversation about fertiliser and I hope that this simple blog will help you take your lawns and gardens to the next level. I don’t want this to be too complicated, we will keep things fairly basic. May this be the start of your lawn and garden improvement journey.

The basics

I believe that lawns and plants need 4 things to thrive,

1. Water
2. Light
3. Nutrients and
4. Protection from damage (bugs, disease, weeds, traffic etc.)

I think of these four points like four legs of a table. You can’t cut a leg off a table without it becoming shaky, unstable or even outright falling over. Likewise, you need all four of the above points for your plants and lawns to be beautiful and healthy, only having 3 is not enough.

So, to put it practically a lawn that receives plenty of water, enough light and is not being damaged by pests or diseases will still struggle if it is planted in poor quality soil lacking in nutrients.

The truth: Most WA soils have little to no nutrients.

It’s true. This is because Western Australian soil is, for the most part, sand. There are some areas, rare spots indeed, where this is not the case. But these spots are few and far between. The sandy soils in WA are very hydrophobic and are almost completely lacking in any of the core nutrients needed for most plants and almost all lawn varieties to survive without some supplementation.

The reason why fertilising is crucial is because fertilisers contain the nutrients that our lawns and plants need to thrive. This means that for most plants and lawns that we place in our gardens if we do not replace the soil they are in or supplement with fertiliser they will be completely missing one off the four legs they need to stand on.

More water is not the answer

An honest but common mistake that I see with those new to gardening is that when a plant starts to go yellow, they add more water. It is a very deceptive problem and maybe you have done this too.

It is deceptive because it is sometimes the case that a yellow leaf will indicate insufficient water (usually though this will be accompanied by wilting or drooping leaves). However, it is far more common that a yellow leaf (Chlorosis is the technical term) is actually being caused by a lack of nutrients. Minerals like Nitrogen, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese and others are essential for plants. Without them the plant cannot photosynthesize. When the plant starts to yellow it may be crying out for a good feed not a good drink and in some cases adding more water will actually do more harm than good.

If you need help with how to set your reticulation click here.

Take Action: Which fertiliser is best?

So now we know that fertilisers are needed, they give the nutrients our plants and lawns are lacking . The obvious question remains. Which fertiliser should you use?

Whilst there is a lot to learn about fertilisers here are 3 fool proof tips that will help even a complete novice to get great results.

3 Basic tips for picking fertiliser.

1. Don’t get so caught up in brand names or prices that you never take action. A general, cheap NPK fertiliser applied as recommended on the packet will do a great amount of good for most plants struggling for nutrients. Whilst there are differences in brands and some fertilisers are better than others, a good or even average fertiliser applied today is better than a perfect fertiliser that is never applied.
   
   However, if you are looking for some recommendations for great WA lawn fertilisers read our article here.
2. Follow the label. Many brands have specific fertiliser mixes for specific types of plants and they advertise these on their packaging. There are fertiliser mixes for lawns, citrus, roses, vegies, fruit and more. These are not gimmicks, the fertiliser have been mixed with these plants in mind. Some will be better than others, but a cheap citrus blend applied as recommended to a citrus tree will do a great job.
3. Don’t go crazy. Maybe your lawn is yellow and you are now super excited, having discovered the power of fertiliser, to make it green again. I have been there before. The temptation in this situation is to over apply, double the recommended dosage hoping that your lawn improvements will be twice as good in half the time. Unfortunately, it is not always that simple. Too much fertiliser can burn the lawns or plants you are caring for or even cause other issues. In addition if you over apply you may simply find that most of it just gets washed away.
   
   Remember that the fertiliser manufacturer wants you to succeed when you use their fertiliser. This way you will buy more of their fertiliser in the future. Trust their recommendations, they have done the tests for you and know the best ratios to apply for each circumstance to get great results.

Conclusion

Now you know the basics. Go and make your lawns and gardens thrive!! Also take some before any after pictures, it can be really rewarding.

If all this seems a bit to complicated or to time consuming for your busy schedule fill out a quote request and one of our gardeners will be able to come and help you achieve your goals for your lawns and gardens.

Have a great week.

The post Don’t underestimate the power of fertiliser for WA lawns and gardens appeared first on Silverstone Gardening.