Hello Gardeners!

Are you feeling desperate for signs of green and spring? I admit it—even one little tiny snowdrop would make me happy. One year, they actually bloomed under the snow! One way to reduce your cabin fever and get ready for the spring planting season is to review some gardening vocabulary. When you make garden selections, you'll be able use this basic knowledge to understand what your garden needs.

Have you ever wondered what the letters on the fertilizer labels mean? On your bag of fertilizer, the letters NPK are like the daily multivitamin that your plants need. The individual elements that make up that vitamin are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen (N) is the first element listed on the label. The first number indicates the percentage of nitrogen in the total mass (or of the whole vitamin). Nitrogen is one of the three primary plant nutrients. Although it is present in the air, plants must take it up through the soil—either from chemical fertilizers or from the breakdown of organic matter. Nitrogen is depleted rapidly, so it must be replenished regularly.

The best organic sources are in manures, fish emulsion, leaf mold and grass clippings. Nitrogen is responsible for leaf and flower production. Spinach and lettuce, for example, are foliage plants that we harvest for their leaves, so a nitrogen-rich fertilizer is perfect for them.

The second letter of the "big three" is P for phosphorus. It affects root systems and stimulates root branching and growth of root hairs. It aids plant maturation. Plants that require strong roots need phosphorus. When you plant your bulbs in the fall, adding superphosphate encourages root growth and enhances bulb strength.

Last but not least is potassium (K). Potassium is important for flowers and fruit vigor. It promotes size, number and color. Potassium is also known as potash. It can lower soil acidity and sweetens it by making it more alkaline, which is preferred by most vegetables. It helps plants build proteins and sugars and also aids plants in taking in other nutrients and withstanding the cold.

What does this mean when you choose your fertilizer? First, remember that all plants need these three essential nutrients for plant growth and health. You can purchase fertilizer that has a balance of all three as well fertilizer that has concentration of an element for a specific type of plant. Superphosphate for bulbs is an example. Another fact to remember is that organic material breaks down slower than a chemical fertilizer. For a healthy vegetable garden, a fertilizer that has the numbers 10-10-10 will be perfect.

Other fertilizer vocabulary to study includes: broadcast, side-dress, dig in, top-dress, and spray. To broadcast means to spread that fertilizer evenly over the soil. Side-dressing does not mean what you're serving with the Thanksgiving turkey (wrong season!). It means to add fertilizer in a ring or line beside a plant or row. If you're digging in a fertilizer, you are literally spreading it on the soil and incorporating it fully. Top-dress means to sprinkle the fertilizer on the surface of the bed. Spraying is just that—applying a liquid food directly on foliage.

Every plant needs its "multivitamin," and every gardener need something to talk about!

Happy Gardening!

Read previous columns by Edna Schron