Hopping around the internet trying to find some data on things and I came across this little chart on the percentage and ranges a typical plant has of 14 nutrients found in soil. Nitrogen has the biggest percentage which was expected.
A discussion was happening on Shed's thread regarding Ca to Mg ratios and the importance of it if any. Studies show it is not, but if you were to use the numbers from the example above the plant is almost at a 3:1 ratio Ca to Mg.
Also note, as several of us have pushed here too, is how low the P value in a plant is. Contrary to popular belief plants do not use a lot of P rendering bloom nutes with high P levels useless.
The range for phosphorus in soil is between 10 and 60 ppm. Below 10 ppm, plants will emphasize root production at the expense of vegetative growth. Plants will be highly responsive to applications of phosphorus fertilizer when it tests in the single digit range.
When soil phosphorus is greater than 60 ppm, additional fertilizer will have minimal benefit. It is not detrimental to plant growth if soil tests greater than 60 ppm phosphorus, however, soil erosion may lead to water pollution and algal growth.
The next chart shows those same nutrients and the role they play in the plant, along with a rating on their mobility.
I added an explanation of what ATP and ADP are when looking at the P value in the chart above.
ATP (Adenosine tri-phosphate) is an important molecule found in all living things. Think of it as the “energy currency” of the cell. If a cell needs to spend energy to accomplish a task, the ATP molecule splits off one of its three phosphates, becoming ADP (Adenosine di-phosphate) + phosphate. The energy holding that phosphate molecule is now released and available to do work for the cell. When the cell has extra energy (gained from breaking down food that has been consumed or, in the case of plants, made via photosynthesis), it stores that energy by reattaching a free phosphate molecule to ADP, turning it back into ATP. The ATP molecule is just like a rechargeable battery. When it’s fully charged, it’s ATP. When it’s run down, it’s ADP. However, the battery doesn’t get thrown away when it’s run down–it just gets charged up again.
Hope some found it interesting as I did.