Soil nutrients come in three basic categories: macro, meso and micro elements.
- Macro elements are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K).
- Meso elements are magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulphur (S).
- Micro elements or trace elements are iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), boron (B), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo) and silicon (Si).
In order for growth to occur there has to be a proper balance between these categories. The table gives you an idea of the optimum nutrient element ratios in plant tissue.
| Element | Ratio in plant tissue |
| Molybdenum | 1 |
| Copper | 100 |
| Manganese | 1000 |
| Calcium | 100,000 |
| Nitrogen | 1,000,000 |