Nutrients 101

Noreen Goodliff

Sep 30

2 min read

What Plants Need

As with all living organisms, plants require nutrition as a key to growth, health and longevity. In fact plants require many of the same components as most other living organisms: oxygen, water, and certain nutrients which fuel metabolic processes. Plants require 17 elements for plant growth, and these elements are divided into macro and micronutrients.

Macronutrients are required in larger doses, and most are mobile within the plant, having the ability to move from root to stem to leaf
Micronutrients are required in smaller doses, can be species specific, and most cannot move around in the plant. These nutrients are locked in place: Once the plant absorbs these nutrients and builds them into older leaves or structures, it cannot reallocate them if supplies run low. This means when the soil lacks these elements, new leaves and shoots cannot get what they need to grow properly. Signs of a shortage will appear first in young, new leaves or growing tips, rather than in older leaves

Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies can be tricky, as many symptoms can be caused by multiple things, such as lack of water, sunlight, pests and pathogens. But there are some plant symptoms that very specifically point to the lack of a certain nutrient.

The chart below divide these 17 elements into Macro, and Micro nutrients, and includes Oxygen Hydrogen and Carbon as the foundations for photosynthesis and building physical structures. Macronutrients are the first 6 and the remainder are micronutrients. Too much or too little can cause symptoms, so look for the bold lettering to find the telltale symptom.

Before you reach for a bag of anything, get a soil test. Guessing is how one problem becomes three. Once you know what your soil is missing, the next question is how to add it, and that's where this series is headed: Nutrients 102 covers inorganic fertilizers, and 103 covers the organic route.

Still staring at a yellow leaf and not sure which row it belongs to? Send me a photo, and we'll figure it out.