Understanding Fertilizer Labels

Understanding Fertilizer Labels

The numbers on any fertilizer bag refer to the percentage of primary nutrients found inside. Primary nutrients are: nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). The first number represents the percentage of nitrogen. The second number indicates the percentage of phosphorous, and the last number, the percentage of potassium.

For example, a bag labeled as 24-5-11 (N-P-K) contains 24% nitrogen, 5% phosphorous and 11% potassium.