When you run a small commercial farm, one of your major expenses is fertilizer. Fertilizer is necessary to keep the soil fresh and to ensure that you are able to grow the crops you need. There are steps you can take to ensure you are using your natural fertilizer in the most effective ways possible.

Test Your Soil

The first thing you need to do is to test your soil. Testing your soil will let you know the nutrimental needs of your soil and will allow you to customize the fertilizer you apply to meet those nutritional needs. Don't just soil test once a year; soil test frequently in order to ensure your soil is getting just what it needs. Providing your soil with just what it needs can help you use your fertilizer in a more effective manner.

Keep An Eye On The pH Levels

Remember to keep an eye on the pH levels of your soil well. For most crops, you want to keep the pH pretty neutral. If you need to lower the pH, then you can apply lime to the soil. Keeping the pH at the right level will help increase the efficiency of your fertilizer.

Understand How In-Furrow Fertilizer Impacts Your Crops

Next, you need to make sure you understand how in-furrow fertilizer will impact your craps. Keep in mind that in-furrow fertilizer is designed to provide your plants with a jumpstart when they are seeds. It is not made to last for the entire season. Think of in-furrow fertilizer as a starter fertilizer that is used to start the season. You will still need to add additional fertilizer throughout the season when you start the season off with in-furrow fertilizer.

Know When To Apply The Fertilizer

Finally, you need to know the best time to apply fertilizer to your crops. The most effective time to apply fertilizer is when your crops really need nutrients. When your crop needs to be fertilized depends upon the crop.

For example, you may want to put fertilizer on the crop when you plant the seeds to provide the seeds with the nutrients they need to grow. Then, you may want to provide fertilizer again when your crop reaches a growth spurt period or when it starts to flower or grow fruits or vegetables and pulls more nutrients from the soil. Time your fertilizer applications to when your crops need fertilizer will allow you to use your fertilizer in the most efficient manner possible.

When applying fertilizer to your crops, make sure you understand the nutritional needs based on testing of the soil and that you apply the fertilizer based on the nutritional needs of the crop. This will help you minimize the amount of fertilizer you use and maximize the impact the fertilizer has on your crop.

For more information, contact a company like Nature Safe.