NPK in fertilizers
What does NPK mean?
NPK is a mixture of minerals composed mainly of three primary nutrients needed for healthy plant growth. Chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers show their nutrient content by three bold numbers on the packaging. These numbers represent three different compounds: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which can also be described by the letters NPK. The agricultural industry relies on the use of NPK fertilizers to meet global food supplies and ensure healthy crops.
Our Czech organic fertilizer contains an NPK ratio of 3-4-2.5 in the package, which makes the fertilizer truly universal. See analysis and certificate .
N - nitrogen
Nitrogen is a fuel for plant growth. It occurs naturally in the soil and accelerates leaf growth. It is ideal for leafy vegetables such as cabbage. It is useful in the initial phase of plant growth.
P - phosphorus
Phosphorus is the basic pillar for building the body of a plant. Plants use phosphorus to build their stem structure. Phosphorus is essential for the development of roots and flowers.
K - potassium
Potassium is important for strength and yield. Improves the color of flowers and the taste of edible fruits.
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are very important elements you need for your plants to grow well. However, there are other equally important substances in the game such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, magnesium, copper, cobalt, sodium, boron, molybdenum and zinc. These elements are best obtained when choosing an organic fertilizer to be represented in your own natural form and thus support life in the soil. Thanks to this complexity that organic fertilizers offer, you will keep the soil still productive and you will not deplete it as it happens when applying mineral fertilizers.
Plants need NPK to get to their roots. The form of watering or insect tea is thus an ideal variant of the application of Czech organic fertilizer. After applying the fertilizer by sprinkling, the plants need to be watered enough to transport the nutrients to the roots
NPK fertilizer - what about the other elements?
Today, the market is flooded with chemical fertilizers that have been used for a long time and negatively affect the soil. The NPK values that the chemical industry can produce made it possible to achieve results overnight. Thanks to chemical fertilizers, flowering and plant production can be accelerated very effectively. If you look at the labels of organic and chemical fertilizers, you will notice that the NPK numbers do not exceed 100 percent. So what does the rest of the fertilizer consist of? It depends on the fertilizer. Chemical fertilizers can contain any number of other additives, including dirt, sand and even materials that are potentially dangerous to your health and the environment. These chemical fertilizer fillers are necessary so that the nutrients are not so concentrated that they do not damage or „burn“ your plants, skin and anything else they touch. Organic fertilizers do not necessarily contain fillers, because they are made up of a number of natural ingredients that will benefit your plants in one way or another. Our fertilizer does not contain any impurities and it is a 100% insect droppings which is only for the benefit of your plants.
With organic fertilizers, other equally important substances are at stake such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, magnesium, copper, cobalt, sodium, boron, molybdenum and zinc. In organic fertilizer are represented in their natural form and thus support life in the soil. Thanks to this complexity that organic fertilizers offer, you will keep the soil still productive and you will not deplete it as it happens when applying mineral fertilizers.
What does the value of the number in NPK itself mean?
On fertilizer packages we usually find numbers in the ratio as 2-2-2 or it can be 5-1-2. What does it mean? In fact, it represents the amount of each element present in the package needed for your soil. The higher the number, the more concentrated the nutrient is in the fertilizer. For example, if the numbers on the fertilizer are listed as 4-1-1, it means that it contains four times more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium. Fertilizer 2-2-2 has twice the concentration of all three nutrients than fertilizer labeled 1-1-1. The higher the number, the more concentrated the nutrient is in the fertilizer.
From the fertilizer numbers, you can calculate how much fertilizer needs to be applied to incorporate 1 kilo of nutrient (such as nitrogen) into the soil. Therefore, if the numbers on the fertilizer are 1-1-1, then the calculation is performed 10/1 = to add 1 kilogram of nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium) to the soil, you need 10 kilos of fertilizer. If the NPK was 2-2-2, divide by 10/2 = and calculate that you will need to use 5 kilos of fertilizer to add 1 pound of nutrient to the soil. A fertilizer that contains only one nutrient will have a „0“ in other values. For example, if the NPK is listed as 1-0-0, then it contains only nitrogen. These fertilizer numbers, also called NPK values, should appear on any fertilizer purchased, whether it is an organic fertilizer or a chemical fertilizer.
Different uses according to NPK ratios
The values of NPK numbers are given for recognition the specific role they play in plant growth. Understanding NPK values is an important part of deciding whether our selected fertilizer is suitable for the chosen purpose. In addition to other properties, nitrogen helps the leaves grow into strength. Phosphorus helps roots and stems to grow and develop. Potassium is important for overall plant health. It should be borne in mind that fertilizers with a high nitrogen content will contribute to rapid growth, but for weaker plants, which are more susceptible to disease and pests, there may not be support for rapid growth. necessarily the best. With our fertilizer, you don’t have to solve this dilemma so fundamentally, because thanks Chitinu you will increase the immunity of the plants enough to withstand the pitfalls of the surroundings.
A drop of history
German scientist Justus Von Liebig was responsible for the theory that nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels are the basis for healthy plant growth. This theory, which dates back to the 19th. century, however, does not take into account dozens of other nutrients and elements that are necessary for plant growth, such as sulfur, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, magnesium, etc. The theory also does not talk about the importance of beneficial soil organisms that help your plants thrive and fight pests and diseases.
