How to feed your plants

For most gardens, your plants' leaves may need some extra help retaining their healthy color. All it takes is a close look at your garden plants' foliage to see whether your plants need a quick fertilizer pick me up. One key warning sign that your plants' health is not optimal is when they develop a pale color. Besides pale coloring, some other signs of sickly plants include slight mottling or pale yellow coloring. If you see these signs, it may indicate that your plants are low on nitrogen. Why do plants develop this condition? Although moderate rain is always welcome, heavier than normal rains drain away a lot of the soil's soluble nutrients. This means your plants become malnourished as the rain drag away nutrients out of the reach of your plants' roots. One key nutrient that is susceptible to this leeching effect is nitrogen. This nutrient is crucial for green shoots and leaves. Unfortunately, nitrogen is very water-soluble. No wonder many gardens' plants turn pale after a few weeks of heavy rains.

To add some nitrogen back into the ground, take a look at your leaves to see if they need feeding. You can start out with liquid feed. However, if it is still raining outside, you can try powdered or grain fertilizer. No need to dissolve these when applying to your plants-the rain will dissolve them so they reach your plants' roots. Keep feeding your plants fertilizer, spaced a week or more apart, until you see improvement.