What are potash fertilizers, what are they, their use in the garden

Potassium fertilizers, as an important mineral supplement, are applied to vegetable crops before sowing and in the summer at certain stages of development. The natural potassium content in the soil depends on its type:

• clayey - 4%;
• loamy - 2.5%;
• sandy – 1%;
• sod-podzolic – 1.5%.

Potassium is necessary for all life processes, therefore the chemical industry produces a line of potassium mineral fertilizers.

What are potash fertilizers?

Potash ore mined from the ground is not used in its pure form. Reasons: expensive, contains inclusions that are harmful to plants. Ore is processed at industrial enterprises. Types of potash fertilizers produced there:

• complex;
• simple.

Simple fats include preparations containing one nutrient, for example, potassium. There are fertilizers containing only nitrogen and phosphorus as active substances. Complex potassium fertilizers, in addition to potassium, contain other active elements.

What potassium fertilizers are said to be simple?

All simple fertilizers are divided into two groups. The first group contains chlorine, the second does not. When using potassium fertilizers, prepare fertilizer mixtures:

• for watering at the roots;
• foliar treatments;
• application to the soil.

Agronomists recommend giving preference to mixtures without chlorine, especially when feeding by leaves.

A high concentration of chlorine in the soil causes harm to plants in the garden and in the garden, so chlorine-containing preparations must be applied strictly according to the scheme contained in the instructions for use.

Chlorine-containing fertilizers

Potassium salt is a substance with a high concentration of chlorine. The raw materials for the production of 40% potassium salt are potassium chloride and the mineral sylvinite. Potassium salt with a lower chlorine content (30%) is obtained by mixing kainite ore with potassium chloride.

Potassium salt is a fertilizer that benefits fruit and berry crops when added to soil:

• peat;
• sandy;
• sandy loam.

Correct timing of application is needed: potassium salt is not added in summer and spring; in the fall it is added once when digging the soil.

They adhere to the established norm - 40 g/sq.m. m. Salt is dangerous for a number of vegetable crops and shrubs:

• raspberries;
• gooseberries;
• strawberries;
• cucumbers;
• tomatoes;
• legumes

Potassium chloride is a fertilizer for complex plant nutrition. Potassium chloride is combined with other drugs (phosphorus, nitrogen) or used only. Available in the form of crystals or granules. Their color can be white, gray, pink. The percentage of potassium depends on the production technology and can vary from 52 to 99%.

Potassium magnesia is a concentrated product; it contains up to 30% potassium, 10% magnesium, 17% sulfur. There is chlorine, but it is very small (from 1 to 3%). Potassium magnesia is available in the form of granules or powder, dissolves well in water, its properties are more pronounced when applied to loamy soil. Potassium magnesium should be added to clay soils in the fall, and to light soils in the spring. The standards are given in the table:

About fertilizers that do not contain chlorine

It is better to apply potash fertilizers that do not include chlorine to your summer cottages:

• Potash.
• Potassium nitrate.
• Potassium sulfate.
• Ash.

Potash

Potash (potassium carbonate) does not contain chlorine, which is dangerous for plants. In addition to 55% of the main active substance (potassium oxide), it contains a small percentage of sulfur and magnesium. In a potato field, the addition of potassium carbonate is common. Current standards for vegetable crops:

• summer feeding - 20 g/sq.m. m.;
• spring soil preparation – 100 g/sq.m. m.;
• for digging in the fall - 65 g/sq.m. m.

Potassium sulfate

It is produced from two natural minerals containing potassium - langbeinite and schenite.They are made according to GOST 4145-74, according to which the drug also contains sodium and iron in addition to 50% potassium.

Summer residents have found use for potassium sulfate during the spring and summer feeding of garden crops. If potassium salt needs to be added due to chlorine during autumn work and under certain plants, then potassium sulfate can be used in any form without fear. Apply to most vegetables regardless of season.

This product has two names, the second is potassium sulfate. Both names are usually present on the original packaging. Potassium sulfate is produced in the form of a finely crystalline substance of white or yellow-white color. Potassium sulfate improves acidic soils by normalizing acidity.

More benefits are obtained from adding potassium sulfate to red soil, sandy or peat soil. These types of mixtures are not used on solonetzes; they contain a sufficient amount of their own salts.

Ash

Many summer residents fertilize their gardens with ash. Make your own fertilizer or buy it at a gardening store. It is useful not only because of potassium, of which it contains about 10%. Plants, along with ash, receive all the micro- and macroelements necessary for growth: iron, boron, copper, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus.

Ash can replace many fertilizers; it is applied to garden soil from spring to autumn, and in winter it enriches the soil of greenhouses. After this, the acidity level noticeably decreases in acidic soils. Ash for potatoes from potash fertilizers is the most popular option. It is applied in the fall when preparing the soil, and in the spring - in the holes during planting. It is permissible to add a liter jar of ash per square meter of field.

Complex fertilizers

The production of complex fertilizers is a global trend.There are double and triple tuks. Double fertilizers are two types of potash fertilizers:

• nitrogen-potassium;
• phosphorus-potassium.

Triple fats contain 3 main elements: potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus.

About potassium nitrate

It is used in greenhouses during mass fruiting. This is a double nitrogen-potassium fertilizer, containing 46% potassium and less nitrogen – 13%. Saltpeter is produced in the form of gray-white crystals that quickly dissolve in water.

Prepared from saltpeter liquid forms of fertilizer, apply them at the roots to enhance plant growth or fertilize the leaves in the evening. The norm that should be followed when preparing 10 liters of working solution: 20 g. This volume of organic fertilizer is enough to feed 1 square meter of plants. m. ridges.

Benefits for vegetables

Thanks to fertilizers containing potassium, the nutritional value of fruits increases and the amount of sugars in plant tissues increases. Vegetable crops are less likely to get sick, fruits are better stored, and they are less often damaged by gray rot.

In perennial plants, frost resistance increases. Potassium fertilizers applied in the fall to the trunks of fruit trees and shrubs help them withstand winter frosts. Fertilizers increase productivity and stimulate the development of the above-ground parts of plants and their root system.

About potassium fasting

There are general signs that clearly indicate a lack of potassium in them. Even an inexperienced gardener can identify plants suffering from potassium deficiency; this is indicated by the appearance of these symptoms:

1. The leaf surface along the edge of the perimeter begins to turn yellow.
2. A large number of stepchildren are formed.
3. The leaves on the lower tier lose their natural green color, turn pale, and yellow chlorotic spots are visible on them.
4. The structure of the tissues of the stem and shoots deteriorates, they become fragile.
5. Low yield.
6. Leaves on fruit trees and bushes become smaller.

How to properly apply fertilizer on your beds?

Vegetables deplete the soil, taking nutrients from it. Most cucumbers consume potassium and tomatoes are the most favorite garden vegetables. Radishes are among the least consumed plants. By annually introducing potassium fertilizers containing various macroelements, summer residents better restore soil fertility.

For tomatoes and cucumbers

Adding fresh organic matter to tomatoes is not always beneficial; they begin to fatten – accumulate excess vegetative mass. Tuki used by summer residents improve the taste of tomatoes and reduce the risk of fungal diseases. When using potassium salts, you should adhere to the following standards when growing tomatoes:

• for digging in the spring per hundred square meters - about 100 g;
• 10 days after planting seedlings - 150 g per hundred square meters;
• while pouring fruits - 300 g per hundred square meters.

Before sowing cucumber seeds or planting cucumber seedlings per acre, add 100 g of potassium fertilizers, during the first feeding - 200 g, when feeding cucumbers the second time - 400 g. Peppers can be fed like tomatoes.

Fruit trees and shrubs

Garden crops have a constant need for potassium. The most intensive consumption of potassium salts occurs in the spring – autumn seasons. At the same time, potassium fertilizers applied in late autumn bring the greatest effect. Many people add potassium to the soil with manure, as well as compost made from it.

Grapes intensively consume potassium. Fertilizers are applied to it annually. Many gardeners prefer the application of natural nutrient mixtures based on ash to industrial fertilizers.A good result is achieved by adding dry ash - a bucket per bush. Many people make an extract by infusing it in water for three days.

By wisely combining organic fertilizers and industrial fertilizers in your gardens, you don’t have to worry about the quality and quantity of the harvest.