Q.Last Year Connected To Our Automatic Sprinklers I Would Have A Fertilizer Running Through The Sprinklers. Now My Question Is Does
this fertilizer hurt insects that I want to attract. I have the sprinklers positioned so that the leaves get droplets on them and that sea shells pick up water to hold for insects is it okay if the fertilizer gets in them? Hello, hope you are staying safe! This year I am setting out on the goal of making my garden insect friendly. So absolutely no pesticides and planting many natives flowers and plants along with my usual vegetable garden. Bees, wasps, lady bugs, lace wings and many other bugs I want to attract. Heres the question: Last year Connected to our automatic sprinklers I would have a fertilizer running through the sprinklers. Now my question is does this fertilizer hurt insects that I want to attract. I have the sprinklers positioned so that the leaves get droplets on them and that sea shells pick up water to hold for insects is it okay if the fertilizer gets in them? All the best and thank you for the great content, Thomas
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
I did some research and fertilizer can negatively affect insects. For example, excess nitrogen can cause insects to ingest nitrates, and too much can be harmful.
When putting your fertilizer in the sprinkler system are you able to monitor how much each plant is getting? Too much fertilizer isn't good for plants, either. It might be just as easy to drop some slow release fertilizer around each plant.
