During this post we’ll cover the essential nutrients that plants require to thrive along with the role these nutrients play in the plants life cycle.
There are seventeen elements known to be necessary for plants to complete their life cycle, the essential elements.
Of the seventeen essential elements, hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and carbon (C) come from the air and water and are readily available. Although nitrogen can also be found in the air, its gaseous form is not useable by plants.  Along with nitrogen, the rest of the elements are found in the soil. Depending on the soil properties, however, some of these elements may be present but not in forms that are useable for plant use.   Still, some soils may lack one or more of these elements. Â
When one or more of the essential elements is deficient, plants cannot complete their life cycle. Such deficiency will be expressed in deformed plant growth and supply of the lacking elements will need to be provided in order for the plant to survive.
Macronutrients Â
Macronutrients are essential elements that are required by the plants in large quantities (parts per 100 of dry plant matter). Macronutrients are not more important than the other essential elements, they are simply required in larger quantities.Â
1. Nitrogen (N)
2. Phosphorous (P)
3. Potassium (K)
4. Calcium (Ca)
5. Magnesium (Mg)
6. Sulfur (S)
Micronutrients
Micronutrients, also known as trace elements, are elements that are required by plants in small quantities (parts per million of dry plant matter). Micronutrients should not be mistaken as less important than their macro counterparts.Â
1. Boron (B)
2. Chlorine (Cl)
3. Copper (Cu)
4. Iron (Fe)
5. Manganese (Mn)
6. Molybdenum (Mo)
7. Nickel (Ni)
8. Zinc (Zn)
There are also other elements that although not essential to plants can be considered beneficial.
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Beneficial Elements are elements that help optimize the growth and development of plants but they are not essential for growth. When they are absent in the soil, plants can still live a normal life. Here are some criteria that separate beneficial elements from the essential ones:
1. It can compensate for the toxic effects of other elements.
2. May replace mineral nutrient in some other less specific function such as the maintenance of osmotic pressure.
3. May be essential to some but not to all plants.
Examples of beneficial elements are:
Silicon (Si)
Silicon increases the resistance of plants to pathogen and pests. It also increases drought and heavy metal tolerance of plants. Overall it improves the quality and yield of agricultural plants.
Cobalt (Co)
Cobalt is essential for the growth of Rhizobium bacteria for N fixation and thus beneficial for the plant. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which the atmospheric molecular nitrogen (N2) is reduced to form ammonia (NH3). This process is carried out by nitrogen-fixing bacteria which are found in the roots of most leguminous plants. Ammonia is the form of nitrogen that is used by plants and other living systems in the synthesis of organic compounds.
Lithium (Li)
Affects transport of sugars from leaves to roots. Production of food (carbohydrates and sugars) happens in the leaves during photosynthesis. This food will be transported to the different parts of the plant such as the roots, fruits, new shoots, and stems. Lithium enhances the transport of such food to the roots.
Mature compost can provide all the essential and beneficial elements to your garden soil where your plants can access them. Growing certain plants and using them for mulch can also provide more of certain elements that may be needed for certain types of crop production, and I’ll be posting more on the details of this in the future.
Fortunately, there is a very simple and effective means to ensuring an adequate supply of these elements to you garden ecosystem, adding Compost 🙂
NITROGEN
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· Necessary for formation of amino acids, the building blocks of proteinÂ
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· Essential for plant cell division, vital for plant growthÂ
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· Directly involved in photosynthesisÂ
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· Necessary component of vitaminsÂ
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· Aids in production and use of carbohydratesÂ
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· Affects energy reactions in the plantÂ
PHOSPHORUS ·Â
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Involved in photosynthesis, respiration, energy storage and transfer, cell division, and enlargementÂ
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· Promotes early root formation and growthÂ
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· Improves quality of fruits, vegetables, and grainsÂ
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· Vital to seed formationÂ
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· Helps plants survive harsh winter conditionsÂ
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· Increases water-use efficiencyÂ
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· Hastens maturityÂ
POTASSIUMÂ
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· Carbohydrate metabolism and the break down and translocation of starchesÂ
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· Increases photosynthesisÂ
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· Increases water-use efficiencyÂ
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· Essential to protein synthesisÂ
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· Important in fruit formationÂ
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· Activates enzymes and controls their reaction ratesÂ
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· Improves quality of seeds and fruitÂ
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· Improves winter hardinessÂ
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· Increases disease resistanceÂ
CALCIUM
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· Utilized for Continuous cell division and formationÂ
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· Involved in nitrogen metabolismÂ
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· Reduces plant respirationÂ
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· Aids translocation of photosynthesis from leaves to fruiting organsÂ
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· Increases fruit setÂ
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· Essential for nut development in peanutsÂ
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· Stimulates microbial activityÂ
MAGNESIUM
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 · Key element of chlorophyll productionÂ
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· Improves utilization and mobility of phosphorusÂ
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· Activator and component of many plant enzymesÂ
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· Directly related to grass tetanyÂ
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· Increases iron utilization in plantsÂ
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· Influences earliness and uniformity of maturityÂ
SULPHUR
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 · Integral part of amino acidsÂ
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· Helps develop enzymes and vitaminsÂ
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· Promotes nodule formation on legumesÂ
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· Aids in seed productionÂ
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· Necessary in chlorophyll formation (though it isn’t one of the constituents)Â
BORON
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· Essential of germination of pollen grains and growth of pollen tubesÂ
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· Essential for seed and cell wall formationÂ
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· Promotes maturityÂ
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· Necessary for sugar translocationÂ
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· Affects nitrogen and carbohydrate
CHLORINE
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 · Not much information about its functionsÂ
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· Interferes with P uptakeÂ
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· Enhances maturity of small grains on some soilsÂ
COPPERÂ
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· Catalyzes several plant processesÂ
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· Major function in photosynthesisÂ
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· Major function in reproductive stagesÂ
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· Indirect role in chlorophyll productionÂ
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· Increases sugar contentÂ
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· Intensifies colourÂ
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· Improves flavour of fruits and vegetablesÂ
IRONÂ
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· Promotes formation of chlorophyllÂ
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· Acts as an oxygen carrierÂ
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· Reactions involving cell division and growthÂ
MANGANESE
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· Functions as a part of certain enzyme systemsÂ
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· Aids in chlorophyll synthesisÂ
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· Increases the availability of P and CAÂ
MOLYBDENUMÂ
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· Required to form the enzyme “nitrate reductas” which reduces nitrates to ammonium in plantÂ
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· Aids in the formation of legume nodulesÂ
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· Needed to convert inorganic phosphates to organic forms in the plantÂ
ZINCÂ
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· Aids plant growth hormones and enzyme systemÂ
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· Necessary for chlorophyll productionÂ
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· Necessary for carbohydrate formationÂ
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· Necessary for starch formationÂ
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· Aids in seed formation
 NICKELÂ
As previously mentioned, in addition to the 14 nutrients listed above, plants require carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are extracted from air and water to make up the bulk of plant weight.
Applying good compost to your soils will provide all of the nutrients your plants require. For how to make your own compost see our previous post here .
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If you appreciate the work we are doing you can show your support in several ways.
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Become a member of the Bloom Room. A $70 annual or $7 per month subscription to our Substack provides you with access to live sessions, design tutorials, a members forum and more, see details here.
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Make a purchase of plants or seeds from our Nursery or Online StoreÂ
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Joining us for one of our Practical Courses or Online Courses
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Comment, like, and share our content on social media.
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