Nitrogen amount for plants for local farmers

Question

Hi!

Thanks for making this website. I love it!

I want to ask you about amount of fertilizer to put on plants.

So Im working on this social project to teach local farmers about introducing a new type of fertilizer for them. I want to be able to teach them the basics of amount of N P K inside a fertile soil thats best for plants, specifically tomatoes, chillies, and other vegetables. For them to also cut their cost on fertilizers. I already know how to calculate the amount from your website 🙂 (Information On Fertilizer Content: Understanding Fertilizer Rates And Applications) but I havent been able to find the right amount of Nitrogen that is best for veggies. I read from you that is 1 lbs per 1000 sq feet for lawn. But I cant find the appropriate amount for veggies. Can you help?

Thank you
Regards
Ren from Indonesia
HAPPY NEW YEAR

Answer 1

We don't usually deal with larger farms such as that, but generally, each plant has a different requirement for nitrogen. This is closely related to the pH of the soil as well. Unfortunately this is a very complicated subject, as there are a lot of factors that affect the uptake of nitrogen.

One way that I like to use to add nitrogen to an area is to plant legumes in between crop harvests, and even near and around the crops themselves. These will fix nitrogen into the soil, and when tilled in at the end of the year, can help with this as well.

Most plants can deal with slight overfertilization, especially when there are other plants nearby to help take out the excess.