Mineral fertilizers can be both natural (of natural origin) and synthetic. The first include dolomite and phosphorite flour, Chilean nitrate, ash. The second group includes the vast majority of mineral fertilizers produced by the chemical industry.
Mineral fertilizers usually contain nutrients in a form readily available to plants. Obviously, a high concentration of salts can be dangerous for plants. When using mineral fertilizers, it is important to take into account a number of factors that can reduce their effectiveness. It is very important that nutrients are applied with fertilizer in a balanced way, because the lack of even one element leads to a significant decrease in the absorption of other elements.
Potash and phosphate fertilizers are well retained in the soil, so they can only be applied once a year.
It is desirable to calculate the application rate based on soil analysis. Mineral nitrogen compounds are very mobile and are not retained in the soil, so nitrogen fertilizers are usually applied several times during the growing season. Despite the fact that nitrogen is an essential element for plant life, its excess is much more dangerous than its deficiency (plant winter hardiness and disease resistance decrease).