Arizona receives numerous days of sunshine, making the outdoors a prime hangout spot. This is why we install outdoor kitchens, outdoor entertainment spots, fire pits & beautiful landscaping accents to grow seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables from the garden don’t taste like your run-of-the-mill grocery store finds. They are much more flavorful and unique. Although it's not always realistic to grow everything that you eat, it is always a treat to grow what you can.
Gardening In The Desert
It's a common occurrence for towns in Arizona to have sandy, tough soil from the daily heat & sunshine. When incorporating plants into a landscaping design, understand that plants will need lots of attention. Plants will require additional nutrients to thrive and make it to the fruiting/flowering stage in Arizona.
What Are Plant Nutrients?
Plant nutrients are essentially plant food, or at least what the plant absorbs from plant food. Just like a human will absorb nutrients from the food they eat, plants need nutrients to live. Plant nutrients help to stimulate plant growth, increase crop yields and create happy healthy plants.
There are lots of different types of fertilizers for plants growing outside including both organic fertilizers and synthetic fertilizers.
Since plants cannot absorb nutrients as an element, they extract nutrition from compounds. This includes elements like nitrate or ammonium for nitrogen, sulfate for sulfur or phosphate for phosphorus. Fertilizers supply compounds that are best absorbed by plants for maximum nutrition.
Other than the major nutrients of Oxygen, Carbon and Hydrogen, primary elements are required in larger amounts for plant success. Secondary elements are needed in lesser proportions and micro nutrients are distributed in marginal quantities. However, for optimum growth and fruiting, all of these elements play a part and are necessary.
These 17 nutrients are categorized as Primary, secondary and micro nutrients based on their significance for plant growth.
Primary Elements
Nitrogen | Phosphorus | Potassium |
Nitrogen fertilizers Improve vegetative growth & imparts vigor to the turf. Vital for chlorophyll, synthesizing amino acids to form proteins and Regulates the uptake of other nutrients. | Paramount to root formation, root filter to absorb nutrients, plant development, maturity and seed formation. Helps form DNA, RNA and converts sugars to hormones, proteins and energy. | Supports stem and leaf development. Builds immunity and strength, prevents wilting, promotes iron uptake and improves size and quality of tubers, grains and seeds. |
Secondary Elements
Calcium | Magnesium | Sulfur |
Important for cell wall structure and new cell formation. Calcium deficiency can cause weaker stems and premature shedding of fruits or flowers. | A key ingredient for photosynthesis and greening of plants. Helps activate several plant enzymes essential to growth and development. | Constituent of 3 amino acids. Sulfur absorbs excessive sodium and allows better water absorption by the soil. |
Micro Nutrients
Iron | Phosphorus | Potassium |
Speeds up various biological processes including respiration, symbiotic fixation of nitrogen and photosynthesis. | A necessary element of major plant enzymes. It controls the synthesis of indole acetic acid which regulates growth compounds. Also aids in the intake and efficient use of water | Activator for enzymes in plants. Helps absorb and utilize the iron. Also assists the iron in chlorophyll formation rendering green color to the plants and preventing yellowness of the turf. |
Landscaping Ideas | Backyard Kitchen Garden Designs
Ground Zero Landscape & Construction can help you make the most of your front yard and backyard landscaping designs. We have worked on numerous landscaping projects and are here to help your plants grow successfully.
We offer an assortment of landscaping services in Scottsdale, Arizona. We are proud to serve the surrounding cities throughout the Phoenix Valley and the state of Arizona. So whether it’s landscape design, landscaping services or backyard design ideas we have you covered. Get a hold of us today for all of your Arizona outdoor living space needs.
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