LIVING SOIL

Tips & tricks to keep your soil "Living" all year round.

PAST ISSUES:

NITROGEN DEFICIENCY

About Nitrogen Deficiency

WHAT A NITROGEN DEFICIENCY LOOKS LIKE:

  • If you notice the bottom leaves on any of your plants are yellowing, it can be caused by overwatering and a nitrogen deficiency.
  • Nitrogen is a mobile nutrient within the plant. When there is low nitrogen in the soil or within the plant it will take nitrogen from the base leaves, the older foliage, and bring it up to the top of the plant. The plant will focus it so it actually uses that left over nitrogen leaving the bottom set of leaves yellow.

POSSIBLE CAUSES OF NITROGEN DEFICIENCY:

  • Over watering is a common cause of nitrogen deficiency. Some herbs like cilantro and parsley yellow as the leaves age.
  • The soil may be depleted from plants that are heavy feeders

CARE FOR NITROGEN DEFICIENCY

The plants will continue to yellow if left untreated so we need to add nitrogen to the soil. Dissolve a few Tablespoons of Nitro Booster (included in your Annual Amendment pack) in hot water and add to your basin once cooled. This step recharges the organic soil mix.

NITROGEN IS IMPORTANT IN PLANTS FOR:

Now for the Plant biology lesson....(for those that really want to know):

  • Major component of chlorophyll, the compound by which plants use sunlight energy to produce sugars from water and carbon dioxide (i.e., photosynthesis).
  • It is also a major component of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Without proteins, plants wither and die. Some proteins act as structural units in plant cells while others act as enzymes, making possible many of the biochemical reactions on which life is based.
  • Component of energy-transfer compounds, such as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP allows cells to conserve and use the energy released in metabolism.
  • Component of nucleic acids such as DNA, the genetic material that allows cells (and eventually whole plants) to grow and reproduce.

Source: CropNutrition.com/Nitrogen