How to Fertilize with Zinc

All plants require zinc to metabolize and create enzymes necessary for growth and survival. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, plants devoid of zinc show wilting leaves, limp stems and very wide, pale stripes along the central ribs of the leaves. Though plants only need trace amounts of zinc, its absence shows very acutely. Fruit trees and edible crops, especially, need zinc to produce bountiful, well-formed fruit. If you note signs of zinc deficiencies in your kitchen garden or orchard, it may be time for a zinc supplement.

Zinc sulfate solution
Gallon spray bottle
Distilled water

Instructions

- 1
  Add a tablespoon of zinc sulfate solution to a gallon-sized spray bottle. You can get zinc sulfate in liquid form at most garden supply stores. The solution is extremely concentrated; use no more than 1 tbsp. per gallon of water.
- 2
  Fill the spray bottle to the top with distilled water. You may also use rainwater or the water you usually use to water your plants, but distilled water won't clog leaves and soil with unnecessary minerals.
- 3
  Spray the leaves of your plant heavily with the zinc solution. The liquid should drip a little from the crowns of trees or the tips of crop seedlings to the ground. The plants will absorb this foliar fertilizer very quickly.
- 4
  Apply zinc fertilizer to fruit trees in the fall, after the trees go dormant. The bark absorbs the fertilizer then.
- 5
  Apply zinc to edible crops, like tomatoes and corn, in early spring right after the seedlings develop three true leaves. You may also apply foliar fertilizer to fruit trees in spring, right after they bud.

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