You can tell that spring is just around the corner when you hear reports that the Stockade is threatened with flooding.  Last week’s thaw really brought home the idea that spring is actually out there somewhere and its only a matter of time before it arrives in our neck of the woods.  Even though I’ve lived here for 35 years, I’m still amazed by how quickly two and a half feet of snow can disappear.  Last week’s thaw was a treat and it looks like the “mud season” is upon us (and you thought we only had four seasons).

                When I was leaving for work this morning, I noticed some tulips starting to poke up their way up through the cold soil.  They’re fairly close to the foundation so that’s not too surprising.  I have to resist the urge to remove my protective layer of evergreen boughs from the perennial beds.  On early warm days it’s easy to get fooled into believing that spring is here.  We’re not done with freezing weather yet!  By keeping the beds shaded, I’m insuring that the plants will remain dormant through any  “false spring” weather that occurs.  Early spring weather with its freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw tendency is the reason I cover the beds to begin with.  The hard part is resisting the urge to uncover early.

                With any luck at all, we’ll want to get out into our yards in a month or so and start our early feedings of shrubs, trees, lawns and flowerbeds. But, what the heck with?  For the next couple of issues (before we can actually get out there and actually feed anything) I’m going to explain a bit about fertilizer.  Regular readers will have to bear with me on this.  You’ve seen this before but you may benefit from a refresher too. 

                The first step is to get a handle on those three mysterious numbers on all fertilizer bags.  You have noticed them haven’t you?  You may be familiar with 5-10-5; the most common vegetable food.  By law, the numbers represent the percentage, BY WEIGHT of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) respectively.  “WAIT A MINUTE” you say, “if the 5 the 10 and the 5 are percentages, they only add up to 20% of the bag.”   I gotta tell you, you’re really on the ball.  Guess what, the rest of the bag is filler!  The filler is in there to “make the product easier to spread evenly without burning” as the manufacturers will tell you.  This is all true but, the ability to adjust the amount of filler vs. nutrients is a device fertilizer producers can manipulate to make a lower quality appear better than it is but, more about that later.

                Anyway, the first number, N, or nitrogen shows how much of the fertilizer is devoted to green, upward growth.  The second number P, or phosphorus, shows how much is devoted to root growth and flower & fruit production.  The last number K, or potassium is an overall building block that benefits all parts of the plant.  The easiest way that I’ve found to remember this relationship is: UP-DOWN- ALL AROUND. As illustrated.  This is an easy way to remember the relationship between the three basic plant nutrients.  More on this next week.  Thanks for the read.