New Zealand Fertiliser Blog

Before we tackle a problem, it’s often best to step back and look at the bigger picture. If we can understand the whole issue – its symptoms, causes and possible solutions – we’re usually better placed than if we concentrate solely on the problem.
Agriculture works with things of nature…… with natural systems, with living biological species of plants and animals, with the natural environment. Nature, of course, is incredibly complex – even a tiny cell is more complex than any man-made machine. Continue Reading »

Soil is the absolute basis of agriculture – and, therefore, of human existence. We survive by eating plants grown in the soil, or by eating animals that eat plants grown in the soil.
Quite clearly, soil is our most important national resource. Wise use and management of the relatively thin upper layer, the topsoil, is crucial for us to maintain good health and a high standard of living. Continue Reading »

Plants are a lot like people really. They just love stretching out and soaking up sun and moisture.
True, plants are different organisms from us and the animals we’re familiar with. Plants do not have eyes or ears, bones, nerves or muscles. They can’t walk or run around from place to place. Continue Reading »

Most of us are astounded to discover just how extensive and complex the plumbing system in plants is. Not only do plants take up water and nutrients through their roots, but also through their above-ground upholstery – their leaves.

Plants can take minerals from the air in the form of dust particles and floating ions. Indeed, some scientists believe the air contains all the nutrients plants need. A year’s rain delivers ample supplies of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium, and these can be absorbed directly through the waxy cuticle that covers the outer cells of plants, or through the tiny openings (known as stomata or stomates) on the leaf surfaces. Continue Reading »

There’s a forgotten – or, more accurately, a largely unknown war going on in our soil. It’s all about the interactions going on among the many species of micro-organisms that live in the soil, and the interactions between these micro-organisms and plant roots. Continue Reading »

The food chain is often described as a pyramid – or, more precisely, a “biotic pyramid”.
Soil forms the base of the pyramid, plants are on the lower level, then plant-eating animals (herbivores), with animal-eating animals (carnivores) on the top level. If humans are included, they are placed at the very top. Continue Reading »