Managing Phosphorus-Rich Soil: Suggested Plant Choices
Against High Phosphorus Levels in Soil: Strategies for Healthy Plant Growth
Welcome plant enthusiasts! Let's tackle a common gardening challenge: managing high phosphorus levels in soil to ensure healthy growth of your plants. Here's a simplified guide to help you navigate this issue.
Phosphorus, alongside nitrogen and potassium, is essential for healthy plant growth. However, having too much phosphorus can lead to deficiencies in other essential nutrients like zinc and iron, causing symptoms such as yellowing and withering in plants.
Strategies for Managing High Phosphorus Levels
1. Avoid Phosphorus-Containing Products
If you live in an area with high natural phosphorus deposits, steer clear of adding any phosphorus products to the soil. Excessive phosphorus can build up over several growing seasons due to repeated use of manures or non-organic fertilizers.
2. Use Low-Phosphorus Fertilizers
Low-phosphorus fertilizers are a great option to address high phosphorus levels. They provide enough phosphorus while preventing excessive levels. Look for fertilizers with a lower phosphorus content, like 13-2-13, 17-5-17, 18-3-18, or 20-3-19.
3. Grow Legumes and Nitrogen-Fixing Plants
Legumes, like beans, peas, vetch, alfalfa, and clover, prefer high phosphorus soil. They can fix their own nitrogen, increase organic matter, and release nitrogen back into the soil without adding more phosphorus.
In addition to legumes, some other nitrogen-fixing plants include peas, beans, soybeans, peas, lentils, peanuts, and various types of clover and vetch. You can plant these nitrogen fixers between your other crops or in idle garden beds.
Crops to plant
4. Employ Chemical Treatments judiciously
While there are no chemical treatments that can actively reduce phosphorus levels, you can manage and moderate high phosphorus levels by:
Legumes, brassicas, beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, Irish potatoes, rye, oats, wheat, barley, maize, clover, alfalfa, sorghum, sunflower, soybeans
- Avoiding phosphorus-containing fertilizers, manure, and bone meal.
- Using nitrogen-fixing plants to increase available nitrogen without adding phosphorus.
- Maintaining a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0, which optimizes phosphorus availability. If your soil pH is high, use garden lime to balance it and release previously unavailable phosphorus.
Bonus Tip: Soil Testing and Monitoring
Avoid adding phosphorus products to the soil, use low phosphorus fertilizers, use a mixed fertilizer with no phosphorus, use a combination of 33-0-0 and muriate of potash (0-0-60)
Regularly test your soil for pH and phosphorus levels to ensure you're making informed decisions about the fertilizers and growing practices you use.
By implementing these strategies, you'll be better equipped to manage high phosphorus levels, maintain healthy plants, and foster a sustainable garden. Happy gardening!
Other methods
If your soil presents extremely high phosphorus levels, you might consider using amendments with no phosphorus, like 33-0-0 and muriate of potash (0-0-60). Additionally, you could reduce phosphorus levels by growing nitrogen-fixing plants for several seasons, avoiding manure, and using low or slow-release phosphorus fertilizers. Implementing buffer zones, buffer strips, and vegetative barriers can also help prevent nutrient runoff into water bodies.
Incorporating these methods into your home-and-garden practices can help manage high phosphorus levels, fostering a lifestyle that promotes healthy plant growth. To practice responsible gardening, consider using low-phosphorus fertilizers, growing legumes and nitrogen-fixing plants, and chemical treatments used judiciously, while regularly testing your soil for pH and phosphorus levels.
