Once the garden soil has been tilled with the organic material and sand incorporated consider fertilization. Fertilizer increases plant growth only if it is a limiting factor. Plants grown in poorly drained soils, in excessive shade or in competition with tree roots do not respond to fertilizer. Fertilizer is organic or inorganic. Organic fertilizers are manures, bone meal, cotton seed or other naturally occurring materials.
Inorganic fertilizers contain manmade products.
The three numbers shown on fertilizer containers are the fertilizer analysis. They indicate the percent of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium present in the fertilizer. These figures are always listed in the same order. That equals 40 pounds of nutrients. The rest of the fertilizer is simply carrier or filler, such as sand, perlite or rice hulls.