While a balanced fertilizer might be 10-10-10, a fertilizer high in nitrogen would be 6-2-1 or 10-5-5.

Look for phosphorus-rich fertilizers if you’re growing root vegetables like beets, carrots, and onions.

Potassium keeps your plants healthy and strong so they can tolerate diseases and pests better.

If you keep a gardening journal, write down the fertilizer you choose to use during the season. If you are satisfied with it, you’ll remember what to buy the next time you need to fertilize.

Secondary nutrients like calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S). Micronutrients like chlorine (Cl), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), boron (B), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), sodium (Na), cobalt (Co), silicon (Si), selenium (Se), and nickel (Ni).

The directions will also tell you how long the nutrients are released and when you’ll need to reapply more fertilizer.

For example, if you need to distribute 25 pounds (11 kg) of dry fertilizer pellets over an area, but the bag contains 50 pounds (23 kg), you’ll know to use half of the bag.

You might find that your soil is low in nitrogen, high in phosphorus, and has trace amounts of potassium, for instance.

If you don’t want to include phosphorus or potassium in the fertilizer, buy an incomplete fertilizer that only lists a nitrogen number. Nitrogen is the nutrient that’s needed in the largest quantity, and it’s often the most deficient. [16] X Expert Source Ben BarkanGarden & Landscape Designer Expert Interview. 14 April 2020.

Balanced fertilizers are good for flowers with bulbs like irises, daffodils, and tulips. Tomatoes grow well with a balanced fertilizer, since the phosphorus creates healthy roots and the nitrogen helps the plant put on green growth.

If your plants have a potassium deficiency, you’ll find the damaged leaves closer to the ground or root of the plant.

Some dry fertilizers are coated with a material that takes longer to break down so the nutrients are released even slower.

Unfortunately, because the soil absorbs the nutrients immediately, they don’t last in the soil as long as dry fertilizer.