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The Importance of Slow and Fast Release Nutrients

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Roshe Mino



Organic nutrients come in many forms. Each one provides unique benefits to your plants and breaks down at a different rate. If you grow organic, you’ll be happy to know that is made up of a combination of fast- and slow-release nutrients, so your plants will have access to essential food over an optimal span of time, rather than using it all at once and risking nutrient burn.

So what’s the difference between fast-release and slow-release nutrients, and how do they affect your plants? Let’s take a look!


Fast-Release Nutrients

Fast-release nutrients are available immediately to the plant and are incredibly vital for early growth.

Quick-release nitrogen and phosphorus encourage rapid green growth and root development. Blood meal, feather meal, bat guano, fish protein hydrolysate, and alfalfa meal are Geoflora’s primary sources of fast-release nitrogen, allowing your plants to uptake vital nutrients for stem, stalk, and canopy growth almost immediately after top-dressing and watering in. Bat guano also features quick-release phosphorus to aid in photosynthesis and root development. 


Slow-Release Nutrients

Slow-release fertilizers allow plants to use nutrients when they need them, breaking down ingredients over time.

Geoflora’s slow-release nutrients include feather meal and crustacean meal for nitrogen, and bone meal, crustacean meal, and bat guano for phosphorus, allowing your crop to have access to multiple sources of each nutrient at all stages of the growth cycle. 


Beneficial Bacteria in Your Grow


It’s becoming increasingly important to cultivate healthy soil to support successful crops, and by far the best way to do that is through natural means. Organic soil is teeming with life of all kinds, including microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes, and more. There are many products on the market today that make beneficial microbes available to growers, and bacteria, in particular, are garnering a lot of attention for their ability to balance the soil, aid in nutrient breakdown, and provide overall improvement of soil and plant health. 

How Your Plants Benefit from Bacteria

Your plants’ root health is one of the essential factors in robust growth and a successful harvest, and soil microbes are a crucial part of a healthy rhizosphere. Beneficial bacteria have incredible effects on the decomposition of organic components, nutrient recycling, soil fertilization, soil structure, and even pathogen suppression. 

Nitrogen-Fixing

Plants can only uptake components in certain forms. Certain species of bacteria are nitrogen-fixing, meaning that they take nitrogen from the air and make it available in the soil. Because plants rely heavily on nitrogen for the green growth of stalks, stems, and leaves, the addition of these bacteria species boosts nitrogen availability to the plant. 

Organic Breakdown

Other species of beneficial bacteria break down organic matter, and in the process, make chemically unavailable components more easily accessible to your plants. For nutrients like iron and phosphorus, bacterial activity can provide a massive boost to the availability of these components and increase yields significantly. 

Protection from Pathogens

Lastly, beneficial bacteria help balance soil health by inhibiting the activity of harmful pathogens. Certain species of bacteria directly combat the spores of harmful fungi, while others are known to insulate the plant from infections by forming a protective layer over the roots. 


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Roshe Mino
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