Boosting plant nutrition with foliar sprays: The role of Biomin mineral nutrition

Plant nutrition plays a critical role in the quest for healthier plants and bigger, juicier, more plentiful fruit and veg from our gardens. Many home gardeners use a variety of methods to ensure their gardens are producing well and, when it comes to plant fertilisers, the ‘go-to’ method is to sprinkle fertiliser directly onto the soil. But, did you know, applying fertiliser directly to the leaves (foliar feeding) using liquid fertilisers, leads to quicker, targeted results?

Keep reading to find out how foliar sprays and liquid fertilisers can benefit your garden and why Biomin mineral nutrition is a game-changer in this approach.

What is Foliar Feeding?

Foliar feeding simply means applying liquid fertiliser directly to plant leaves. This allows nutrients to be absorbed through the leaf rather than the roots and stem and ensures that plants are getting the nutrition where and when it is needed. 

The Benefits of foliar applications of Biomin plant nutrition

1. Faster Absorption
   Soil applied fertilisers provide long term fertilisation but they can take longer to address deficiencies, which may impact the quality of your produce.  Foliar sprays of liquid fertilisers deliver nutrients straight to the plant’s metabolic centre—the leaves. This leads to faster nutrient uptake, providing plants with an immediate boost, especially during key growth stages.
2. Address Nutrient Deficiencies
   Plants often struggle with nutrient deficiencies which can be caused by poor soil conditions, weather stress, or other environmental factors. Foliar feeding with Biomin mineral fertilisers quickly corrects deficiencies in plant nutrition, providing bio-available organic mineral nutrients which might otherwise be locked up or inaccessible via soil application.
3. Complimentary to Soil Nutrition 
   Liquid fertilisers, when used alongside soil-applied fertilisers (Biomin may be applied to the soil too) ensure that your plants are getting a balanced diet, especially when root uptake is limited due to drought, cold temperatures, or poor soil structure.

Are all Foliar Sprays created equal?

In short, No, they are not !
Biomin mineral nutrition stands out in the world of foliar sprays because of its innovative and patented glycine chelation technology, which, for all you science pros out there, is a process whereby every metal ion is bonded with two Glycine (smallest amino acid) molecules creating a fully chelated product.

Glycine chelated micronutrients have improved access and higher mobility, enabling the plant to transport these minerals wherever they are needed and they remain available for longer. This is true even for elements like Zinc, Boron and Calcium, which in elemental form are known for low mobility.

The most common plant nutrition formulations available to gardeners are in the form of oxides, sulphates and EDTA chelates.
EDTA are synthetic chelates, not organic, and so are not recognised by plants and their ability to correct deficiencies is slow and inefficient. Nutrients in an oxide form are generally water-insoluble, so they should not be applied as a foliar spray, and it takes a long time for oxides to be taken up by plant root systems as the minerals must first be broken down by living biology which takes time. Sulphates are usually quite available, but they are a synthetic salt, developed from sulfuric acid and require multiple applications.

How to use Biomin Foliar Sprays

Using Biomin mineral nutrition for foliar application is simple. Here’s how to get the most out of your foliar feeding regime:

1. Timing is Key
   Apply liquid fertiliser during key growth stages, such as early vegetative growth, pre-flowering, and fruit set, or during ripening when plants require the most nutrients.
2. Conditions  
   For best effect, apply foliar sprays in the early morning or late afternoon when temperatures are cooler, as water alone can burn a plant under hot conditions.
3. Regular Applications 
   Foliar feeding can be done at any time throughout the growing season to ensure that plants consistently receive the micronutrients and macro elements they need, improving plant nutrition during the growth cycle.

Whether you’re aiming to correct deficiencies or give your plants a quick organic nutrient boost, our Biomin Bundles offer an ideal solution.  These bundles have been specially designed to bring together all the elements required for your garden to produce tasty, colourful, nutrient dense fruit and vegetables all year round.