Increase Nitrogen in Soil
Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants. It is the element that plants use to make their proteins and DNA. If your soil is nitrogen-poor, here are some suggestions for improving the soil quality.
Steps
- Plant starflower, peas, or beans. These plants don't use all the nitrogen they get from the atmosphere, and release the extra nitrogen into the soil. It's a good idea to rotate your flowers and crops with one of these nitrogen-enrichers to keep your soil healthy.
- Fresh compost is rich in nitrogen. Mix compost with the topsoil for the best and most even infusion of nitrogen.
- Used coffee grounds are high in nitrogen, but they are also acidic, so use this with caution. Be ready to balance the pH of the soil if necessary.
- Using commercial fertilizer, look at the first number, which is the nitrogen number ... the higher this number, the more nitrogen in the fertilizer. Commercial fertilizer is like junk food for plants: the soil gets a huge quick boost of nitrogen that fades quickly.
- Reuse clover weeds.
- When weeding, keep back some of the clover plants in between your plants. They're the ones that bloom with little yellow flowers.
- Replant the clover plants. This is an old time solution that works well and is free.
- Pick seeds from their pods to keep them in check.
- A nice accent plant that adds nitrogen back to the soil.
