Which fertilizer is better to choose: carbamide (urea) or ammonium nitrate?
To grow a good harvest, you need to apply a variety of fertilizers. The most popular of these are nitrogen fertilizers. Experienced gardeners usually use ammonium nitrate or urea. To decide what to choose for your garden, you need to find out the properties and differences of these fertilizers.
A big plus in using ammonium nitrate is the cheapness of this fertilizer. Ammonium nitrate can be purchased at any specialty store. In addition to all of the above, this fertilizer has no impurities, and the nitrogen content is more than 30%. Another big advantage is the fact that ammonium nitrate can be used all year round. It dissolves perfectly in water and is able to "work" even in winter. Many gardeners, taking advantage of the fact that they have more free time in winter, scatter fertilizer directly onto the snow. And already in early autumn, the soil is enriched with nitrogen, which is very useful for saturating the soil.
Despite the fact that ammonium nitrate dissolves well in water, it should never be sprayed with plants: this can lead to significant burns to leaves and stems. The solution can be used for root dressing.
What does ammonium nitrate give to plants?
- fast growth;
- building up a powerful leaf mass.
Proceeding from this, it is not necessary to apply this fertilizer to perennial plants closer to autumn, so that the young shoots, not having time to get stronger, do not die from frost in winter. And in the fall, when we harvest, I would not want the fruits to have an excess of nitrates.
Using urea in the garden also has several advantages:
- fertilizer is not expensive;
- it contains more than 40% nitrogen;
- excellently soluble in water (preferably warm water).
But unlike ammonium nitrate, urea has impurities: one of them is "biuret". This impurity is toxic and does not affect plants very well.
The urea solution is suitable for spraying plants. Along with nutrition, it fights pests and is able to prevent some diseases. But, like ammonium nitrate, it is preferable to add urea to the soil without dissolving it in water. It is better not to use this fertilizer in winter. It is most effective to use urea just before planting.
Both fertilizers are best applied before the second half of summer. Which fertilizer is better to use - ammonium nitrate or urea - it's up to you.
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