Soil Fertility
Soil fertility is a key component in growing healthy plants. There are many different factors which affect soil fertility and as a result, the soil makeup is constantly changing. There are at least 16 nutrients which are necessary for plants to grow and complete their life cycles. Of those 16, non-mineral elements are used in the largest amounts and are found in air and water. Those non-minerals are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Plants rely on the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide (carbon and oxygen) and water (hydrogen and oxygen) into food. This process is known as photosynthesis. The rest of the elements (minerals) are known as macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients and can be either found in the soil or added as fertilizer or lime. The 3 primary macro-nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). These are most commonly supplied as fertilizers and come in different ratios to ac...