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As for humans, we might take supplements to keep ourselves healthy and away from diseases. For plants, fertilizer is equally important as supplements are to humans. In plants, being equally crucial, fertilizer and water play their important roles. Here is a guide to when to fertilizer your plants and to water them.

You should always keep in mind that fertilizer is absorbed by the roots of the plants. Since most fertilizer comes in the form of granules, it is important to water the plants according to your fertilizing schedule.

If you want to apply fertilizer to your plants, make sure they are not dried or browned up. Your plants should always be green or a little fresh at least when you apply fertilizer. Applying fertilizer to browned plants can cause them to dehydrate and die.

If you are applying fertilizer to the plants during dry seasons, water your plants thoroughly every day for at least three days before spreading fertilizer around the roots. This will ensure that the soil around the roots is moist enough for the nutrients from the fertilizer to travel through. Once you are done applying fertilizer, water your plants lightly once more to ensure that there is no fertilizer left on the leaves of your plants.

On the other hand, if you wish to apply fertilizer during the rainy season, be sure to predict the intensity of rain before applying the fertilizer. If it rains just enough to wet the soil till the roots, then the fertilizer will be efficiently absorbed. However, if you apply the fertilizer before a thunderstorm, it will end up being washed up before even reaching the roots.

Therefore, the moisture of the soil before and after applying fertilizer should be taken into count to enable maximum absorption of nutrients by the plants.

** Credit: Agus Andrianto/CIFOR @ Flickr for the featured image of a worker fertilizing on oil palm plantation in Papua, Indonesia