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Nitrogen: Friend or Foe?
by Dawn West, All About Lawns Columnist
Nitrogen -- without it your lawn's growth slows, its color fades, it thins and withers. But with too much of it, the story is just as bad: your lawn burns, turns brown, and dies.

Nitrogen can be lost in the soil by the leaching action of irrigation and rainfall. Legumes, such as clover, "fix" nitrogen into the soil, making them excellent additions to any garden.
Phosphorus ...

Nitrogen is used by plants for lots of leaf growth and good green color.
Phosphorous is used by plants to help form new roots, make seeds, fruit and flowers. It's also used by plants to help fight disease.

How Nitrogen Affects Compost
How to Grow Tomatoes Organically
How to Prepare the Soil for an Annual Garden ...

Soil Nitrogen Content
I had my soil tested and was told that it has poor nitrogen content. How can I build the nitrogen content in a safe, organic way?

TOTALLY PRACTICAL: Stop Nitrogen Drawdown
Mulch in the garden is a vital ingredient for suppressing weeds and reducing evaporation. Some mulches, however, can cause problems with nitrogen deficiency.

Nitrogen is needed for the green, leafy, vegetative growth of plants. When an element is lacking, the plant will show deficiency symptoms.

Nitrogen can really "green up" a lawn. However, some forms of it are very mobile and can leach through the soil to contaminate the water supply if not properly applied.

Nitrogen Deficiency
Decomposing wood requires nitrogen. If you add a quantity of, say, fresh sawdust to your garden soil, chances are your plants will suffer from a lack of nitrogen.

Nitrogen. Nitrogen is necessary for all vegetative growth-roots, leaves, stems, flowers and fruit.

Nitrogen helps plants make the proteins they need to produce new tissues. In nature, nitrogen is often in short supply so plants have evolved to take up as much nitrogen as possible, even if it means not taking up other necessary elements.

Nitrogen is a mobile nutrient it is in constant motion. Nitrogen applied to the soil can be used by plants, washed off the soil surface, lost to the air as a gas, or leached through the soil).

Nitrogen materials are usually green and wet (examples: grass clippings, freshly pulled plants, fruit & vegetable kitchen scraps, and coffee grounds.) When no nitrogen materials are available, ...

Nitrogen (N) is the main nutrient for strong, vigorous growth, good leaf color, and photosynthesis.

Nitrogen
Very important plant nutrient to help plants to develop foliage and stem growth. It is the main ingredient of lawn food and lawn greeners. A silly trick is to write your name on your lawn by sprinkling urea in the shape of the words.

Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
Plants need a lot of nutrients to grow, but the three major elements they require include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

Nitrogen - One of the three macronutrients essential for plant growth. Nitrogen is a major component of plants; it is a building block of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids (genetic material), chlorophyll, and enzymes.

Nitrogen-containing organic compounds; the building blocks from which proteins are formed.
angiosperm
n.

NITROGEN - contains proteins and is a food source for compost piles (grass clippings, green vegetable matter), and it stimulates green growth in plants. Sources are blood meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, fishmeal, and fish emulsion.

Nitrogen (N)--promotes development of new leaves Phosphorus (P)--aids in root growth and blooming Potassium (K)--important for disease resistance and aids growth in extreme temperatures Sulfur (S)--contributes to healthy, ...

NITROGEN CYCLE -- The transformation of nitrogen from an atmospheric gas to organic compounds in the soil, then to compounds in plants and eventually the release of nitrogen gas back into the atmosphere.

N Nitrogen produces strong, lush leaf growth. but used to excess it can delay flowering and cause a soft floppy plant.
P Phosphorus makes for strong root development and balances the nitrogen in strengthening top growth and excess can stunt a plant.

The nitrogen contained in grass clippings removed from a lawn almost equals the recommended application rate for healthy turf (about 5 pounds of nitrogen per year per 1000 square feet).

The nitrogen-based red pigments of beets, Beta spp., and other Chenopodiaceae, as well as flowers of Cactaceae, Portulacaceae, and others.
GardenWeb Glossary of Botanical Terms
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Keyword(s): ...

up: Nitrogen promotes top growth
down: Phosphorus promotes good roots
all around: Potassium benefits the whole plant
Add a definition to this term ...

NPK Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potash; the three main food elements necessary for plant life. Nitrogen is required for foliage and growth, phosphorous for flowers and potash for roots.
Nut A hard and single-seed fruit found in many trees and shrubs.

TYPE NITROGEN PHOSPHORUS POTASSIUM ANALYSIS ANALYSIS ANALYSIS (%) (%) (%) Milorganite 5 2 0 Tankage 8-10 5-12 0 Bone Meal, Raw 2-4 22-25 0 Bone Meal, ...

NPK: Nitrogen, phosphate, potassium - symbols for the three primary nutrients needed by plants.
Node: Region of a plant stem, which normally produces leaves and buds.
Perennials: Plants that normally live more than two years.

Surplus Nitrogen
Many gardeners waste nitrogen and manures; farmers do otherwise. Farmers only need a quarter to a third of nitrogen to mix with an inch of compost, horse, or cow manure.

Organic nitrogen sources, such as Milorganite 6-2-0 fertilizer, are an excellent source of slow release nitrogen. The nitrogen in Milorganite 6-2-0 is released by naturally occurring microbes in your soil.
Fertilize regularly ...

Too much nitrogen fertilizer after mid summer will keep a plant in a growth state when it should be going into dormancy.
Warm weather spells during the winter can break dormancy in a plant that has gone dormant.

Stop using nitrogen fertilizers just before the flowering stage. Add potassium to promote blooms.
Healthy plants with flowers, no fruit set ...

Use a high nitrogen water-soluble fertilizer year round on Cattleyas. Follow the directions on the container of fertilizer for information on rate and frequency of application.
Click picture to enlarge ...

Manufactured nitrogen fertilizers are normally made from petroleum or natural gas. Being relatively high in nutrient content, smaller volumes are required, and the fertilizer can burn if over applied.

Green matter-nitrogen rich organic material, like lawn clippings and kitchen scraps (no meat!)-is then added to the brown matter at ratio of 1:1.

If additional nitrogen is needed, apply approximately 0.15 pounds actual nitrogen per 3 bushels (3 3/4 cubic feet) of carbon rich materials such as leaves. Table 5 lists estimated amounts of various nitrogen sources to add.

Soil Nutrients:
Nitrogen (N) animal manures, fish emulsion (see below)*, dried bloodmeal, cottonseedmeal (lowers pH), chopped or shredded leaves, composted grass clippings.

The 'big three' are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) - the letters in brackets are their chemical symbols. Think of these as 'meat and two veg'.

Feeding
Use a high-nitrogen liquid fertilizer. Mix it 1/4 strength and feed the plant weekly from mid-spring until late summer. Discontinue feedings in winter.

Plants will not be able to utilize nitrogen and other food properly. Ultimately, the very process of photosynthesis will be adversely affected to such a degree that plants will weaken and die. They will give way to fungus and other disease.

Cultivate a half cup of low nitrogen fertilizer such as (5-10-10) into the soil when the stems are about 2 or 3 inches high. Use care not to damage the roots, and try to keep the fertilizer from direct contact with them.

Elements most necessary to them are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, with various mineral substances present in the soil. Carbon is the most abundant.

N-P-K (Nitrogen- Phosphorus- Potassium) are the 3 most abundant ingredients listed on every fertilizer label. They are always in this order. You will see them on the label as three numbers.

Maintain moderate to high nitrogen fertility during periods favorable for dollar spot development.

Fresh Sawdust Calls for Extra Nitrogen
Sawdust is often readily available, but is the least desirable source of organic matter. Sawdust ties up nitrogen as it decomposes in the soil, causing plants to suffer or even die from nitrogen deficiency.

That blue stuff (and most of the fertilizers available today) rely on water soluble nitrogen as their primary ingredient, and that is not a very good thing for our garden or the environment.

Some green manures can "fix nitrogen" by taking it in from the atmosphere. The nitrogen then becomes available to the soil when the green manure is dug in. Red clover fixes nitrogen and is sown in spring or late summer.

Clippings add nitrogen back into the soil and cut down on the need for fertilizer.

Shoot blight is most common on young succulent growth therefore, pruning systems and nitrogen fertilization practices that avoid excessive and prolonged shoot growth are important for limiting shoot blight severity.

Passionfruit are fast growing and need a lot of nitrogen for new growth and the flowers to form so require regular feeding - at least four times during the growing season.

Remember, however, that the more woody your mulch, the more nitrogen will be used by the soil bacteria to break it down -- nitrogen your raspberries need.

One should be careful not to over-fertilize this plant as too much nitrogen will cause heavy leaf growth and fewer flower clusters. They should be in a rich, deep and well-drained site in full sun with lots of water in the early years.

To prevent nitrogen deficiency in corn, which would result in premature yellowing of leaves and smaller ears, scatter fertilizer along the row or side dress when the plants are about a foot or two high.

Did you know that cool season grasses, such as fescue, bluegrass and rye will do just fine with only one annual application of nitrogen fertilizer in the fall? Fall fertilizing helps the lawn green up earlier the following spring.

Fertilizer: Roses are heavy feeders, and will benefit from a steady supply of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. You can provide these nutrients with either liquid or granular fertilizers, at a ratio of approximately 5-8-5.

Lawn fertilizers typically contain approximately 30 per cent nitrogen. Some lawn fertilizers also contain herbicides to control weeds making them convenient, if more expensive.

(Check your soil test results to see how much you need.) Slow release sources of nitrogen applied at planting can meet nitrogen needs for the entire season.

A complete fertilizer is one that contains all three primary nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. See How To Read a Fertilizer Label for more information on that.

The bacteria and other microscopic beasties in the soil require nitrogen whilst decomposing raw material, and they get it from the soil. If too much of the raw kitty litter etc.

For most bluegrass lawns, two to five lbs of nitrogen/1000 sq.ft. is sufficient. Apply this in a fertilizer balanced by phosphorus and potassium.

See also: Plant, Soil, Water, Fertilize, Organic