Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
3) to provide 2 oz. of nitrogen, 1.25 oz. of phosphorus and 3.5
oz. of potassium, the equations look like this:
(F1 x 2.5/100) + (F2 x 2/100) + (F3 x 0/100) = 2
(F1 x 0/100) + (F2 x 21/100) + (F3 x 1.5/100) = 1.25
(F1 x 2/100) + (F2 x 0/100) + (F3 x 7/100) = 3.5
The system of equations can be solved via the substitution
method or using matrices and determinants. Or, because we
live in a wonderful age, you can literally type the equations
right into a web site and it will solve them for you. The
website
www.solvemymath.com
has such a calculator at the
time of writing, but there are several others that show up via
Internet searches.
Solving the system of equations shows that, for every 100 sq.
ft, 77 oz. of soybean meal, 4 oz. of bone meal and 28 oz. of
greensand would be needed to provide the necessary
elements. These numbers differ from those obtained using the
easy approach because they take into account the fact that
most organic fertilizers supply more than one nutrient. If the
solution to the system of equations gives you a negative
number for the amount of one of the ingredients, then come
up with a different set of ingredients because that
combination won't work.
Using these methods will allow you to mix a custom
combined fertilizer to meet any likely need for nutrient
augmentation.
Micro-nutrients
