Best Manure, Soil and Fertilizers for Gardening

All you need for a thriving and yielding garden are the very best of soil, fertilizer and manure.
The best soil for gardening is the soil you make yourself to suit the kind of plants and other conditions in your garden. To do this, you have to first check out your soil by digging several holes to get an idea of the soil profile.

A typical garden soil should have a thin layer of top soil over subsoil where there is a lesser amount of organic matter. The soil may be heavy clay, rock, stony, builder’s rubble, or even a sandy type. While all types of soil can support attractive garden plants with little work, there are some plants that may require exceptional soil properties. As a gardener, you must work on improving all soil types by adding large amounts of organic material like autumn leaves, grasses, dung, and so on. You may also find it wise to import soil and balance up by integrating the new soil with the site soil, adding more organic material. Adding compost, mulching and an effective use of water will also improve the quality of your soil.

Manures add organic matter, which helps the retain moisture and structure, preventing compaction, and preventing plant nutrients from leaching away. Some very good sources of manure are cattle, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits and poultry(farm yard manure). Plant (green) manures are also good for garden crops. You can also add a combination of both (compost). Manures must be applied wisely in your garden at the right time, using the right methods of application. This is when you are sure to get the best out of the manures.

However, it is not encouraged to use manures from meat eaters as manure from dogs, cats, or other meat-eating animals have the risk of breeding disease organisms that can be transmitted to humans.
Fertilizers are chemical substances added to the soil to improve its fertility. Again, the best fertilizer for your garden depends on your garden and the crops planted therein, as well as the soil condition.

There are many chemical elements needed by the soil that are available in fertilizers. The good news is that there are fertilizers that have been specially developed to suit specific plants and particular green seasonal needs.

Basically, there are three main plant nutrients that are needed by plants in large amounts. They are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen is needed in large amounts for protein in plants. Plants also need phosphorous to grow roots and increase the leaf areas without hampering the transport of sugars. Potassium helps the plants to absorb water, increasing the protein synthesis from Nitrogen. You also need potassium in your plants top enhance fruits development. This is why NPK seems to be the most common type of fertilizer in use today.
In all, having a good knowledge of soils, manure and fertilizers will help you maximize their use to improve your garden.