Most farmers or gardeners use fertilizers to make plants grow faster and healthy. Nevertheless, determining how and when to fertilize is often an up-front task. The question is, when is the best time to fertilize your garden, before or after rain?
Given that rain is an important factor for plants’ natural growth, how should the gardeners go about fertilizing their gardens when the rain is about to fall. Over-watering and over-fertilizing are a great concern, so it is imperative to understand how to coordinate the fertilizer with the rain properly.
Table of Contents
Why You Need to Fertilize Your Garden
Healthy and prosperous gardens require a perfect combination of correct plant elements. Apart from the right amount of water, oxygen, water, carbon dioxide and sunlight, plant roots also require an appropriate amount of nutrients. Your garden requires adequate nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen for healthy growth.
Fertilizer replenishes nitrogen for optimum growth and attains the green colour of grass rather than the struggling grass brown patches. Fertilizing your garden makes the plants appear lovely and attractive. You can also control the weeds and pests by fertilizing your lawn.
Just like humans can consume vitamins and other supplements, the same thing happens to your plants. This should be the main reason why you should apply fertilizer in your garden to enable plants to get the right nutrients. Remember that too much application of fertilizers can be harmful to your garden and the environment too.
Fertilizing Before Rain
It is ineffective to apply fertilizers in your garden before heavy rains. Why so? Because rainwater leads to run-off and washes away the fertilizers before breaking down and being absorbed by the plants. So the fertilizer will be ineffective, and you will also waste money.
Consequently, heavy rains will wash away the fertilizers into the water bodies affecting their quality. This can lead to extreme long-term consequences for the surrounding community. Therefore, farmers and gardeners should be mindful of their actions and how they can impact the environment.
You can apply your fertilizer if the soil condition is mild because water is vital for plant growth and breaking down nutrients in the fertilizer for easy absorption into plant roots. But it is unhealthy to fertilize plants during drought. This is because fertilizers applied on dry roots can burn plant roots.
Fertilize After Rain
To avoid the risk of heavy rains washing away your fertilizer you wished to apply before it rains, you should use it after it rains. So wait for the grass blades to dry first. And, it is also imperative to check for a weather forecast for precipitation information.
You should also check for steady sunlight days after using the fertilizer. You understand that sunlight is an important element of photosynthesis. So stable sunlight and suitable weather conditions as the fertilizer is used appropriately improves its effectiveness and enhances plants’ quality in your garden.
Fertilizing after also reduces the amount of fertilizer being washed away into water bodies and causing pollution. Additionally, your plants receive nitrogen from rainwater, enhancing the general health growth of your garden. Therefore, your lawn can thrive due to the effectiveness of the fertilizer you applied.
According to the environmental point of view, fertilizing your lawn at least two days after rain is the best farming solution. Although heavy rains are good for fertilizing your lawn, it is unsuitable for the environment. This is because fertilizing before heavy rains greatly contributes to water pollution.
Fertilizer washed away after heavy rain always finds their way into large water bodies such as rivers, lakes and streams. But nitrogen is the main plant ingredient from the fertilizers impacting the plant quality and being healthy. Therefore, we can confirm that applying fertilizer on your garden two days after heavy rain is the best time for you as a farmer.
It’s important to choose when soil is wet, but the lawn is dry, to prevent nutrients from washing off. Don’t apply fertilizer before the rain, and it can burn the blades. Just follow this advice and make most out of your garden and make your grass green and strong.
Important Tips for Applying Fertilizer After Heavy Rainfall
Now that you know, applying fertilizer after rain is the best solution. You should follow the following tips during the application process:
- It is ideal for applying your fertilizer two days after heavy rain. This is because any stagnant water would be gone during this time, and the ground will retain some moisture.
- Apply fertilizer on dry grass blades
- Check the weather forecast reports to ensure the sunlight is in the correct order.
Best Pesticides for your Garden
Now that you know the best time to fertilize your garden, how do you keep your plants safe from pests? Both flying and crawling insects are your enemy because they frustrate your plants. Now, let’s be realistic, pests and insects are not the kinds of things you want on your farm at all cost.
If you want to have a healthy garden apart from fertilizing it, you should protect your farm from pests and insects. This is where an ideal insecticide or pesticide is appropriate for you. It is preferable to use an eco-friendly option to control and exterminate pests and insects.
Please check out some of the following products to kill dangerous pests and insects:
1. Monterey LG6135 Garden Insect Spray
This product can be used on different kinds of vegetables, fruits, and grass. It is highly effective and kills various pests such as caterpillars, spider mites, fruit flies, and any other flying or crawling insects. It is also suitable for exterminating fire ants in your garden.
The active ingredient in this product is spinosad, and it kills faster. Shake well before using to get the best result out of it. Please read the instructions of mixing it water to get the appropriate amount to kill the insects. Apply the chemical spray evenly in both the upper and lower of plant leaves.
Monterey LG6135 Garden Insect Spray is formulated to work in two days. Reapply it again if you don’t see any satisfying results. This product is not harmful to plants, pets, and you can store it in a safe place.
Pros:
- Great value for your money
- Acts fast on insects
- Highly effective
- Has concentrated formula
- It is biodegradable.
Cons:
- Not ideal for aphids
2. Southern Ag (10401) Natural Pyrethrin Concentrate
This is a highly effective insecticide, and you can use it to kill different kinds of pests and insects in your property. It is suitable for gardeners who want to kill the insects quickly. The main ingredient is pyrethrin, which is 97 percent in concentration.
Southern Ag concentrate can be used with a garden sprayer and works within one hour after application. You can use it to kill flies, spider mites, ticks, aphids, and deadly mosquitoes. Read the booklet carefully before using this product for exterminating pests and insects.
Pros:
- 97 percent pyrethrin concentrated formula
- Highly versatile product
- Suitable for both indoors and outdoors insects and pests
- Friendly to the environment
- Greatly effective.
Cons:
- Comes in a small bottle
- Unsuitable for beetles and flea dip found on dogs.
3. Natria (706249A) Organic Plant Protection from Pests and Diseases Neem Oil Concentrate
If both crawling and flying insects attack your garden plants such as fruit trees or roses, this product can exterminate them and bring back life to your plants. Natria uses highly concentrated neem oil, hence making it the appropriate choice for farmers. It is non-toxic and eco-friendly, but it is a threat to pests.
Mix about 1-gallon of mineral water and 2-ounces of natria into the spray bottle. And after a few days, your fruit trees and roses will thrive and spring back to life. This product contains a highly concentrated neem oil formula that you can use in small quantities.
Pros:
- Great value for your money
- Suitable for organic farmers
- Good for controlling insects and diseases
- Ideal for orchids
Cons:
- Works slow on roses
- Not entirely neem oil.
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Conclusion
Fertilizing your garden is an important step that your fellow gardeners can envy. Therefore, understanding the right time to apply your fertilizer, either to fertilize before or after rain is significant too. This enables your plants to grow in a healthy and nutritious condition.
Besides keeping your plants healthy through fertilizer application, you can also protect them from harmful pests and insects. The products highlighted above can help you keep away insects from your garden. We hope you will find this article informative and engaging to decide when to apply fertilizer and use appropriate products for controlling pests and insects.
