Potash fertilizers: what are they, instructions for use in your garden

Potash fertilizers, as an important mineral supplement, are applied under vegetable crops before sowing and in summer at certain stages of development. The natural content of potassium in the soil depends on its type:

clay − 4%;
loamy − 2.5%;
sandy - 1%;
soddy-podzolic - 1.5%.

Potassium is necessary for all life processes, so the chemical industry produces a line of potash mineral fertilizers.

What is potash?

Potash ore mined from the ground in its pure form is not used. Reasons: expensive, there are inclusions that harm plants. At industrial enterprises, ore is processed. Types of potash fertilizers produced there:

complex;
simple.

Simple fats are preparations containing one nutrient, such as potassium. There are fats containing only nitrogen, phosphorus in the form of an active substance. Complex potash fertilizers, in addition to potassium, contain other active elements.

Which potash fertilizers are said to be simple?

All simple fertilizers are divided into two groups. The first group contains chlorine, the second does not. When using potash fertilizers, fertilizer mixtures are prepared:

for root watering;
foliar treatments;
introduction into the soil.

Agronomists recommend giving preference to mixtures without chlorine, especially when feeding on leaves.

A high concentration of chlorine in the soil causes damage to plants in the garden and in the garden, so chlorine-containing preparations must be applied strictly according to the scheme contained in the instructions for use.

Chlorinated fertilizers

Potassium s alt is a substance with a high concentration of chlorine. The raw material for the production of 40% potassium s alt is potassium chloride and the mineral sylvinite. Potassium s alt with a lower chlorine content (30%) is obtained by mixing cainite ore with potassium chloride.

Potassium s alt is a fertilizer that benefits fruit and berry crops when added to soil:

peaty;
sandy;
sandy.

We need competent application dates: in summer and spring, potash s alt is not applied, in autumn it is added once when digging the soil.

Adhere to the established norm - 40 g / sq. m. S alt is dangerous for a number of vegetable crops and shrubs:

raspberries;
gooseberry;
strawberries;
cucumbers;
tomatoes;
legumes.

Potassium chloride is a fertilizer for complex plant nutrition. Potassium chloride is combined with other drugs (phosphorus, nitrogen) or only it is used. Available in the form of crystals or granules. Their color can be white, gray, pink. The percentage of potassium depends on the production technology, can vary from 52 to 99%.

Kalimagnesia is a concentrated agent, it contains up to 30% potassium, 10% magnesium, 17% sulfur. There is chlorine, but it is very small (from 1 to 3%).Potassium magnesia is produced in the form of granules or powder, it dissolves well in water, its properties are more pronounced when applied to loamy soil. In clay soil, potassium magnesia should be applied in autumn, in light soils - in spring. The rates are shown in the table:

vegetables20groot crops

Name of plants	norm per sq. m.
shrubs, fruit trees	30 g

25-40g

About fertilizers that do not contain chlorine

It is better to apply potash fertilizers that do not include chlorine in your summer cottages:

Potash.
Potassium nitrate.
Potassium sulfate.
Ash.

Potash

Potash (potassium carbonate) does not contain chlorine dangerous for plants. In its composition, in addition to 55% of the main active substance (potassium oxide), there is a small percentage of sulfur and magnesium. In a potato field, the introduction of potassium carbonate is a common occurrence. Current norms for vegetable crops:

summer top dressing - 20g/m2 m.;
spring soil preparation - 100 g/sq. m.;
for digging in autumn - 65 g/sq. m.

Potassium sulfate

It is produced from two natural minerals containing potassium - langbeinite, shenit. They are made in accordance with GOST 4145-74, according to which, in addition to 50% potassium, the preparation also contains sodium and iron.

Potassium sulfate summer residents have found use in the spring-summer feeding of horticultural crops. If potassium s alt due to chlorine must be applied during autumn work and for certain plants, then potassium sulfate, without fear, can be used in any form.Apply under most vegetables regardless of the season.

This remedy has two names, the second is potassium sulphate. Both names are usually present on the original packaging. Potassium sulphate is produced in the form of a finely crystalline substance of white or yellow-white color. Potassium sulfate improves acidic soils by normalizing acidity.

More benefit is obtained from the introduction of potassium sulfate in red soil, sandy or peat soil. These varieties of mixtures are not used on s alt licks, they have a sufficient amount of their s alts.

Ash

Many summer residents fertilize their garden with ashes. Make fertilizer with your own hands or purchase at a gardening store. It is useful not only because of potassium, which is about 10% in it. Plants, together with ash, receive all the micro and macro elements that are necessary for growth: iron, boron, copper, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus.

Ash can replace many fertilizers, it is applied to garden soil from spring to autumn, and in winter it enriches the soil of greenhouses. After that, on acidic soils, the level of acidity decreases markedly. Ash for potatoes from potash fertilizers is the most popular option. It is brought in in the fall, preparing the soil, in the spring - in the holes during planting. It is permissible to apply a liter jar of ash per square meter of the field.

Complex fertilizers

The production of complex fats is a global trend. Tuki are double and triple. Double Tuks are two types of potash fertilizers:

nitrogen-potash;
phosphorus-potassium.

Triple fats contain 3 main elements: potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus.

About potassium nitrate

It is used in greenhouses during mass fruiting. This is a double nitrogen-potassium fat, contains 46% potassium, less nitrogen - 13%. S altpeter is produced in the form of gray-white crystals that quickly dissolve in water.

Liquid forms of fertilizer are prepared from s altpeter, applied under the root to enhance plant growth or fertilized along the leaves in the evening. The norm that should be followed when preparing 10 liters of working solution: 20 g. This volume of organic fertilizers is enough to feed plants per 1 sq. m. ridges.

Benefits for vegetables

Thanks to fertilizers containing potassium, the nutritional value of fruits increases, the amount of sugars in plant tissues increases. Vegetable crops are less likely to get sick, fruits are better stored, they are less likely to be damaged by gray rot.

In perennial plants, frost resistance increases. Potash fertilizers applied in autumn to the near-stem circles of fruit trees and shrubs help them endure winter frosts. Top dressing increases productivity, stimulates the development of the aerial parts of plants and their root system.

About potassium starvation

There are common signs that clearly indicate a lack of potassium in them. Even an inexperienced gardener can identify plants suffering from potassium deficiency, the appearance of these symptoms indicates it:

The sheet surface along the edge of the perimeter begins to turn yellow.
A large number of stepchildren are forming.
Leaves on the lower tier lose their natural green color, turn pale, they show yellow chlorosis spots.
Structure of stem tissue, shoots deteriorates, they become brittle.
Low yield.
Leaves are shrinking on fruit trees and bushes.

How to properly apply fertilizer on your beds?

Vegetables deplete the soil, taking nutrients from it.Cucumbers and tomatoes consume the most potassium - the most beloved garden vegetables. Radish is one of the less used plants. By annually introducing potash fertilizers containing various macroelements, summer residents better restore soil fertility.

For tomatoes and cucumbers

The introduction of fresh organics is not always beneficial for tomatoes, they begin to fatten - accumulate excess vegetative mass. Tuks used by summer residents improve the taste of tomatoes, reduce the risk of fungal diseases. When using potassium s alts, you should adhere to the following rules when growing tomatoes:

for digging in the spring per hundred square meters - about 100 g;
10 days after planting seedlings - 150 g per hundred square meters;
while pouring fruit - 300 g per hundred square meters.

Before sowing cucumber seeds or planting cucumber seedlings, add 100 g of potassium fertilizers per hundred square meters, during the first feeding - 200 g, when feeding cucumbers the second time - 400 g. Peppers can be fed like tomatoes.

Fruit trees and shrubs

Horticultural crops have a constant need for potassium. The most intensive consumption of potassium s alts occurs in the spring-autumn seasons. At the same time, potash fertilizers introduced in late autumn bring the greatest effect. Potassium in the soil is replenished by many with manure, as well as compost prepared from it.

Grapes are high in potassium. Under it, fertilizers are applied annually. The introduction of natural nutrient mixtures based on ash is preferred by many gardeners to industrial fertilizers. A good result is achieved by adding dry ash - a bucket per bush. Many make an extract by insisting it in water for three days.

Properly combining organic fertilizers and industrial fertilizers in your gardens, you can not worry about the quality and quantity of the crop.