Dear gardeners, are you looking to improve your garden? Hold on tight, because we have crucial information to reveal to you for a prosperous and abundant harvest. So, here are the valuable tips from Laurent Courtade, gardener in Ariège: in addition to maintaining your plants properly, do not neglect adding organic fertilizer to feed them at this time of year! Explanations!

Our tips to maintain your garden in February and March 

February   and early March have a reputation for being unpredictable for gardeners:

• The days are becoming warmer and encourage you to discover the vegetable plants that until now have been covered by winter veils. Of course, it would be important not to forget to cover them at the end of the day to protect them from night frosts.
• If you want to protect the seedlings, it is essential to mulch the soil surface, but make sure you don’t put more than enough! In fact, a mulch that is too thick prevents the soil from evacuating the cold and risks burning the roots of the plants.
• To improve the quality of your soil, you can continue improving your plots and gardens using manure, compost or even green manures. This practice provides nutrients to your soil and improves the texture of your soil, which is often compacted by rain and the cold of winter.

That said, these days, you also have to think about feeding your plants,   using a very special type of fertilizer: urea.   It is a combination of chemical and organic substances that has managed to attract the attention of gardeners and farmers!

The characteristics and composition of urea (formula 46% nitrogen) 

If you don’t know, dear readers, urea is an organic fertilizer that is beneficial for the soil and plants because it improves them by providing them with nitrogen. Although it is sold in dry and granular form, it is important to understand how to use urea correctly to avoid potential drawbacks and reap the full benefits of its benefits. But first of all, don’t you think it would be more useful to know the characteristics and composition of this fertilizer? Let’s find out together!

• Urea is a chemical compound with odorless white or yellow crystals.
• It is a concentrated mineral supplement with a high nitrogen content that reaches 46%.
• Urea offers optimal solubility with low risk of leaching.
• Its slow degradability combined with its high mobility makes it a very effective fertilizer.
• 1 kg of urea is equivalent to 3 kg of sodium nitrate or 2.25 kg of ammonium sulfate.
• Its acidifying effect is significantly less than that of ammonium sulfate, making it ideal for sandy and clay soils.
• Without sulfuric acid salts, the chlorine present in urea even has a beneficial effect on microbiological processes.
• Usable in all types of crops, urea dissolves easily in water, releasing volatile chemical elements for the healthy growth of your plants.

But when should you use it to fertilize your plants?

How to use urea in plants?

Urea is a true ally for all types of soils, but to get the most out of it you need to know when and how to use it.

When to use urea as a fertilizer?

Although you can introduce urea to your   garden   in the fall, its effectiveness may be compromised. In fact, when used during this period, the released nitrogen decomposes very quickly under the effect of microorganisms. Additionally, some nitrogen is washed or leached into the deeper layers of the soil during the winter, leaving few nitrogen compounds available for plant growth in the spring. However,   in early spring, many gardeners   use urea  in their garden. For an effective application, we advise you to apply it 7 to 10 days before sowing, depositing it at a depth of 6 to 8 centimeters. You can apply this method even in a closed environment (in a greenhouse or inside your house).

That said, for optimal effectiveness, we recommend applying it on slightly acidic peat soils with an optimal level of moisture. However, it is essential to bury it carefully in soils with a neutral and alkaline reaction to avoid any loss of nitrogen.

How to correctly apply urea as a fertilizer?

When it comes to   feeding your plants   with nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea, you should also consider different types of fertilization:

Urea, agricultural fertilizer: instructions for use. 

To determine the appropriate amount of urea to apply, you must absolutely take into account the structure of your soil, its moisture content, the feeding mode and the condition of your crops. We recommend that you respect the doses specified below:

• For vegetable crops, pour 3 to 4 grams of fertilizer into the hole when planting.
• To feed plants such as tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, garlic, strawberries or cucumbers, dilute 25 to 30 grams of urea in 10 liters of water (use 1 liter of solution per plant).
• For currants, use 20 grams of urea per 10 liters of water until the buds swell, while for currants, 2 tablespoons are more than enough.
• For flowering plants such as hyacinths, hippeastrums, roses, lilies and calla lilies, use 5 to 10 grams per square meter.
• For fruit trees and ornamental shrubs, spread the  fertilizer   in a circle near the trunk along the projection of the entire crown. Then, finish the operation by embedding it in the soil and watering it well. Young apple trees, on the other hand, require around 140 to 150 grams of carbamide, while plums and cherries only need 60 to 70 grams. Adult fruiting apple trees require about 200-250 grams, while adult plums and cherries require up to 130 grams.
• For fruit and berry crops, feed 5-7 days after the end of the flowering period, followed by a second treatment after 3-4 weeks (1 tablespoon per bucket of water).
• For foliar dressing, do it in the morning and evening with a sprayer. For the solution, dissolve one tablespoon of the substance in 10 liters of water.

How to dilute urea to use it in liquid form in your garden?

To defeat the eggs of the hibernation stages of pests while having a weak fungicide effect, here is our practical advice for you, dear gardeners: spray your garden or orchard with this urea-based solution in early spring, before that sprout, at the rate of 800 grams per 10 liters of water.

As you may have understood, dear readers, the use of urea is essential to nourish plants and green spaces, both indoors and outdoors. It allows faster growth, more intensely colored leaves and a more abundant harvest.