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Potassium
Potassium is a nutrient
your plants need for good internal chemistry. Plants use potassium
to produce the sugars, starches, proteins and enzymes they need
to grow and thrive. Potassium also helps your plants regulate their
water usage, and better withstand the cold - kind of like a conservationist
in a wool cardigan.
Interestingly enough,
plants take more potassium out of the soil than any other element
except for nitrogen and calcium. Why, you ask? Because only 1% of
the potassium that naturally occurs in soil is in a form plants
can use. The usable stuff is called exchangeable potassium. (Not
to be confused with the conservationist's exchangeable cardigan.)
When shopping for plant foods and fertilizers, make sure that the
potassium you're buying will actually go into your plants.
Another good thing to
know is that plants get their potassium by moving their roots through
the soil. You should mix fertilizers and plant foods deep into pots
and containers, where the roots are. You can also use fertilizer
sticks to reach the root areas of plants and flowers that are already
well-established in containers.
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