Fertilizers are an important part of your lawn care routine. They help to provide the nutrients that plants need for healthy growth and vivid color. One type of fertilizer is known as 7-9-5, which refers to the ratio of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). The numbers refer to how much percent by weight each nutrient is in the fertilizer.
What Does 7-9-5 Fertilizer Mean?
The numbers on a fertilizer label are referred to as the NPK value. The N stands for nitrogen, which is important in photosynthesis and helps plants grow taller; P stands for phosphorus, which aids cell production and root growth; K stands for potassium, which helps plants fight off diseases and has a role in the plant’s water-use efficiency.
What is 7-9-5 Fertilizer Good for?
A fertilizer with a ratio of NPK of (N) is best for leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach. Fertilizer containing more phosphorus than nitrogen (P) is best for fruits like tomatoes or strawberries. Fertilizers that have the same percentage by weight of all three nutrients but in different proportions are often called “complete” because it provides a balance to plants’ needs.
When to use it?
Use this type of fertilizer on most crops you grow — it can be broadcasted over your soil before planting, mixed into potting mix when transplanting seedlings outside, or applied directly to established landscapes after watering them well just prior to application so they don’t wash away young seedlings planted too close together; repeat if necessary every few weeks.
If you are using this fertilizer on established plants, use it every few weeks. If you plan to broadcast the fertilizer over your soil and not apply anymore for a while, make sure that is what you intend prior to applying; otherwise, wait at least four or five months before broadcasting again so as not to disturb the roots of the existing plantings.
Note: avoid phosphate-based fertilizers if soils have high levels of naturally occurring iron (e.g., red dirt) because they will cause nutrient deficiencies in other nutrients like zinc and copper.”
7-9-5 fertilizer benefits
- Provides a balance of nutrients, including nitrogen for plants and phosphorus to prevent fungus or other plant diseases.
- The ratio helps provide your lawn with the right amount of phosphorous so it doesn’t accumulate in the soil over time as many fast-release fertilizers do.
- Helps reduce weeds by lowering phosphate levels that have been shown to promote weed species.
How to use 7-9-5 fertilizer
Apply the fertilizer in late fall, early winter, or spring to make sure you get the most nutrients for your buck.
Apply the fertilizer in late fall, early winter, or spring to make sure you get the most nutrients for your buck. A general rule of thumb is to apply it when temperatures are below 50 degrees and avoid applying while rain is predicted within 48 hours. Wait at least two weeks after fertilizing before mowing again.
The ratio helps provide your lawn with the right amount of phosphorous so it doesn’t accumulate in the soil over time.
