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If your plants in the garden, in the garden or on the windowsill look offended, their leaf tips have begun to dry out, which means they need potassium sulfate. This widely known, very common fertilizer is used on all types of soil for all plants, especially those that react painfully to excess chlorine.
Description of potassium sulfate
Wood ash has always been a favorite top dressing, the ash was used on various soils. Today, it is not so often that people heat the stove with wood, and potash supplements can be bought at the store. Potassium sulfate is available in the form of a white crystalline powder, it is yellowish or grayish in color, it is easily soluble in water. The fertilizer consists of 50% potassium, 18% sulfur, a small amount of magnesium and very little calcium. Unlike ash, it is easily soluble in water, which is why it is so easy to use.
Potassium sulfate helps to increase the content of sugars and vitamins in fruits. Thanks to him, the yield of fruit crops increases, plants endure winter better, no matter how severe it may be. Its use is good for greenhouse plants and in open ground. It is great for feeding houseplants.
Potassium sulfate is used in the cultivation of all types of soils: soddy-podzolic, peat, as well as chestnut, gray earth, even acidic. Potassium easily moves inside sandy soils, but does not change the horizon when it enters heavy loamy soils. Therefore, they try to make it exactly where the main roots of the plant are located. In autumn, it is advised to feed clay soils, and the fertilizer should be buried deep immediately, and in the spring it should be applied to light sandy soils and very close to the surface. It can be obtained from the natural mineral langbeinite; coal acts as a catalyst for the thermal reaction. But the industrial production of fertilizer, of course, uses the treatment of solid potassium chloride with sulfuric acid. The result of the exchange reaction of potassium chloride with sulfates or with acids containing sulfur or oxygen is such a widely used fertilizer by farmers.
Video “Fertilizer for trees and bushes – potassium sulfate”
This video talks about fertilizer for trees and bushes – potassium sulfate.
Application
When the leaves of plants begin to dry out, regardless of the amount of water, turn brown, then turn brown – this indicates a lack of potassium in the soil.
To avoid such an unpleasant moment, food is brought in advance. This can be done with a general digging of the site in autumn or spring, it can be combined with watering during plant growth. Potassium sulfate, like ash – this fertilizer can be used throughout the growing season. It gives good results on peat soils. But on chernozem, its use is justified for crops that consume a lot of potassium and sodium, for example, for sunflower, sugar beet, and potatoes. Application on chestnut and sierozem soils varies depending on specific plants or cultivation techniques.
When spring (for sandy soil) or autumn (for clay) digging a garden by 1 m2 account for 20–40 g of fertilizer. It is applied both as dry granules and as an aqueous solution, this is determined based on the degree of soil moisture. On vegetable beds between rows, they are applied to a depth of 6–8 cm at the rate of 50–100 g per m2. If liquid fertilizer is used, then 20 plants will need 10 liters of water and 30–40 g of dry matter. From 100 to 200 g are applied under one fruit bush, and from 150 to 300 g under one tree. Some summer residents prefer to water their gardens with potassium-enriched water all the time the plants grow, then 10–5 g of dry fertilizer are dissolved in 10 liters of water.
The use of potassium sulfate increases the yield of cabbage, radishes, cucumbers, eggplants, bell peppers. Fruit trees, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, wild strawberries, thanks to potash top dressing, endure cold winters more easily. No wonder our grandmothers buried wood ash from stoves under the trees, they said that the ash would help them bear fruit longer, and the fruits would be sweeter. Thanks to potassium sulphate, berries and vegetables become more useful – they, it turns out, accumulate more vitamins, but legumes practically do not need potassium.
How it is combined with other fertilizers
Do not recommend the use of potassium sulfate simultaneously with chalk or urea. You do not need to use it along with manure or compost (where manure is also present). Systematic soil fertilization with manure reduces the need for potassium. If the soil is acidic, then it is used together with lime – this combination increases the effect of its action. Most often, potassium sulfate is applied to the soil along with nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers to increase and improve crop yields. On peat soils, its isolated application is best, because there is already enough nitrogen there.
Purchase and storage
Potassium sulfate is a white crystalline powder, it can be purchased in different packages from 500 g to 25 kg (there are also large packages, but summer residents rarely buy them). It is perfectly stored in dry rooms, does not roll down, without causing any trouble to the owners. The fertilizer is produced in two varieties. The second grade is not as pure as the first, it allows the presence of dark impurities, the main substance it contains 2% less (48%), and chloride ions – 1% more (3%), acidic potassium sulfates – twice as much (3% ), which does not affect the quality of the fertilizer. The fertilizer is not poisonous, it does not contain any substances that pose a threat to human health, but if it comes into contact with the mucous membrane, it can cause irritation.
Video “Fertilizer through watering”
This video talks about fertilizing plants through watering.
