Fertilizers that Contain Nitrogen

Sodium Nitrate

Sodium nitrate, sometimes called nitrate of soda, is a compound that is made up of nitric acid and sodium.

It is a whitish colored crystalline salt.

Sodom nitrate is 15 ½ percent nitrogen.

It is very fast acting, and is immediately available for plants to use as food.

Because rain easily washes away sodium nitrate, you should only use it when your plants are growing or it will be washed away and wasted.

Sodium nitrate releases inert potash (potassium) from clay soils, which can be beneficial. However, it can make clay soil runny so it should not be used on clay soil too often.

Ammonium Sulfate

Ammonium sulfate, also called sulfate of ammonia, contaikns  21 percent nitrogen.

It is a gray, yellow or blue fine salt that easily dissolves in water.

Ammonium sulfate acts almost as quickly as sodium nitrate, but it is more likely to destroy lime in the soil.

Therefore, if ammonium sulfate is often used, lime should also be added to the soil.

Unlike sodium nitrate, ammonium sulfate is not washed away easily. It usually needs to be applied in only one dressing.

You may safely add ½ to ¾ of an ounce of ammonium sulfate to each square yard of soil. It is preferable that you apply it two or three times in two or three week intervals, after plants have already begun to grow.

It is important that ammonium sulfate be distributed evenly. Mixing it with two or three times the bulk of sand, ashes, or dry soil will help with even distribution.

Potassium Nitrate

Potassium nitrate, also known as nitrate of potash, or saltpeter, contains soluble nitrogen and soluble potassium (potash).

Potassium nitrate can help with the growth of tomatoes and indoor lettuce.

During their early stages of growth, these plants should occasionally be watered with a 5 percent solution of potassium nitrate. This should be followed by watering with plain water.

You should avoid applying this treatment too often.

Chilean Potash Nitrate

Chilean potash nitrate (potassium nitrate) is alkaline in and tends to preserve the lime content of the soil.

It contains about the same amount of nitrogen as ordinary sodium nitrate.

It also has traces of iodine, boron and magnesium.

Both the nitrogen and the potassium in Chilean potash nitrate can easily be used by plants.

You can mix Chilean potash nitrate with steamed bone flour and superphosphate, as long as the superphosphate is dry and well made.

Nitrate of Lime

Nitrate of lime has of 15.5 percent nitrogen.

It is believed to be as close as possible to the form in which a plant takes in nitrogenous food.

Nitrate of lime does not appear to do any harm to soil.

Pure samples of nitrate of lime tend to pick up moisture and become sticky, so ammonium nitrate is often added them.

Nitro Chalk

Nitro Chalk is a fertilizer that comes in granular form so that it is easy to apply.

It has 15 ½ percent nitrogen and 29 percent calcium oxide, which appears in the form of calcium carbonate.

If Nitro Chalk is scattered among crops, the granules will not sit on the leaves and scorch them.

The lime in Nitro Chalk prevents heavy soils from becoming more acidic. It is often applied to heavy soils in which brassica crops are grown.

Calcium Cyanamide

Calcium cyanamide is a dark gray, dusty, soot-like material that normally contains 20.6 percent nitrogen and 60 percent calcium oxide, and therefore has a large amount of free lime.

You should apply it at least 48 hours before you sow seeds or put plants out.

It is useful with brassicas, such as savoys, that grow in autumn and winter.

It also helps to control club root disease.

Rape Dust

After rapeseed is crushed and oil is extracted in from it, residue, which is known as rape dust, is left. Rape dust may also be made from fragments of rape cake.

Rape dust has about 5 percent nitrogen, as well as traces of phosphoric acid and potassium.

It breaks down quickly and will supply nitrogen to plants all year long.

Because it is organic, it enhances the texture of the soil.

It is also good to use under glass.

Rape dust releases nitrogen almost as quickly and effectively as ammonium sulfate and sodium nitrate do.

Rain will not wash rape dust away.

Rape dust is believed to help eradicate wireworm.

You should apply 2 to 4 ounces of rape dust to every square yard.

Castor Seed Meal

Castor seed meal resembles rape dust in its composition and in how it behaves. It should e used the same way.

Soot

Soot is an effective nitrogenous fertilizer.

The amount of nitrogen in soot largely depends on the amount of ash that the soot also contains.

Dressing the top of the soil with soot helps whenever the crop needs to be pushed along gently, particularly in the spring.

Soot helps lighten the texture of heavy soil.

It helps soil retain the heat from the sun by making the soil darker.

If you dust soot over foliage when it is covered in dew, it will keep slugs and other pests, such as onion flies away.

Shoddy

Shoddy, also known as wool refuse, is made up of fragments of wool or silk that cannot be made into cloth.

The best shoddy is made from wool.

In addition to wool or silk, shoddy may contains rags, fur, hair, feathers, cloth or dirt.

The amount of nitrogen in shoddy will vary but usually ranges from about 5 to about 15 percent.

Shoddy works slowly and lasts a long time.

Many fruit and hop growers use it as a substitute for farmyard manure.

One ton of good shoddy is equivalent to about 10 tons of farmyard manure.

You should apply shoddy early in winter and plow it or dig it in as soon as you can.

Poultry Manure

Poultry manure, like farmyard manure, varies in composition.

Its quality depends on the amount of water and litter that it contains, and on how it is stored.

Dry poultry manure that has been covered contains about 2 ½ percent phosphoric acid and about 3 or 4 percent nitrogen.

It can be used for everything for which farmyard manure is used.

However, you should only use one third as much poultry manure as you would farmyard manure.

Poultry manure needs to be supplemented with potash (potassium).