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Should You Fertilize Your Quinoa Plants?

Gardening Guide: The Easy Quinoa Growing Guide: Your Complete Guide to Growing, Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating the Mother of All Grains

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Should You Fertilize Your Quinoa Plants?

By Norann Oleson

Quinoa requires a lot of nutrients to grow to its full potential

Quinoa requires a lot of nutrients to grow to its full potential

Quinoa is a hungry plant! It needs lots of nutrients to properly grow, and fertilizers can provide the extra nutrients that quinoa needs to grow quickly and fully.

The use of quinoa fertilizer depends on the current nutrient content of your soil. To be certain, the best thing is to have your soil tested. If your soil is correctly balanced or high in nitrogen, you should use a fertilizer that is slightly lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus, such as a 5-10-5 or a 5-10-10 mixed fertilizer. If your soil is lacking in nitrogen, use a balanced fertilizer like 8-8-8 or 10-10-10. If you can’t get a soil test, just go ahead and use the 10-10-10 quinoa plant fertilizer.

Too much nitrogen will give you lush, green quinoa plants, but very little fruit. Using straight-up phosphorus, and not a complete, mixed fertilizer, can solve this problem by minimizing the effects of too much nitrogen in the soil.

Fertilize your quinoa seeds when you first plant them by mixing the quinoa-plant fertilizer in with the soil, along with other soil amendments. If transplanting, put some fertilizer in the plant hole and cover with a layer of unfertilized soil to serve as a buffer between the fertilizer and plant roots, so the roots don’t burn. Side dress your quinoa plants with nitrogen fertilizer four to six weeks after planting, being careful not to place the fertilizer directly on the plant.

If you’re planting quinoa in containers, be careful not to over-fertilize. Quinoa grown in a container will not have the buffer of large volumes of soil and humus to protect the plants from toxic levels of fertilizer. Prior to adding additional fertilizer, determine the initial nutrient levels of the potting mix being used. For a total nitrogen (N) rate of 1/4 pound N per 100 square feet, a 12-inch diameter pot would require 2 teaspoons of blood meal (an organic source of nitrogen).

Do you fertilize your quinoa plants? What type of fertilizer do you use? How often do you fertilize? Please tell us exactly how and when you fertilize your quinoa plants.

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balanced fertilizer, blood meal, fertilizer, nitrogen fertilizer, potting mix

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Types of Quinoa Plants
  • A Word About Varieties of Quinoa Plants
  • Choosing to Grow Quinoa from Seeds or Seedlings
  • Growing Quinoa in Open Land, in Containers, or in Raised Beds
  • Starting with the Right Soil for Your Quinoa Plants
  • The Right Sunlight for Your Quinoa
  • Should You Fertilize Your Quinoa Plants?
  • How—and When—to Water Your Quinoa Plants
  • How to Spot, Treat, and Prevent Quinoa Diseases
  • What to Do About Pests that Can Harm Your Quinoa Plants
  • The Right Way to Weed Your Quinoa Garden
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing Quinoa
  • Plant Profiles

  • Oro De Valle Organic White (Golden) Quinoa
  • Red Head Organic White Quinoa
  • French Vanilla White Quinoa
  • Shelly Black Quinoa
  • Biobio White Quinoa
  • Brightest Brilliant Rainbow Red Quinoa
  • Recipes

  • Quinoa, Brussels Sprouts, and Strawberry Salad
  • Garlic Mushroom Quinoa
  • Autumn Apple, Kale, and Quinoa Salad
  • Indian-Spiced Quinoa
  • Quinoa Tabbouleh with Feta
  • Mexican Quinoa Wraps
  • Cinna-Vanilla Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
  • Quinoa Bowl with Shrimp
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Quinoa
  • Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Quinoa
  • Resources about Quinoa
  • Quinoa Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • Three Types of Quinoa You Can Grow at Home

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