Beginner Gardening: Question about fertilizer, 1 by slowrelease

slowrelease wrote:
Advantages of slow release fertilizers are that the nutrients are available gradually over time. This means that the gardener can fertilize less often, and the nutrients are provided slowly and steadilly. This is how most plants prefer to be fed and helps them grow well. Think of it like a baby being fed fruits and veggies, versus steriods. One might have a great result for a short time period, but the other is more sustainable (and natural!). Most slow release fertilizers (organic and synthetic) release at specific (warm) soil temperatures. The benefit of this is that plant roots generally are most active in warm soil and therefore the slow release fertilizer will start to make fertilizer available as soon as the plants actually needs them. As the plant roots become more active (in warmer soil) more fertilizer will automatically be released.

http://www.slowreleasefertilizers.com might help take the worry out of your fertilizer selection process.