N-P-K on that bag of fertilizer

I have long been mystified by the N-P-K numbers on fertilizer bags. What do these mean? Well, lucky you, I looked it up so you don't have to.

This is a really dirty bag of fertilizer outside near the vegetable garden. Come to think of it, everything near my garden gets dirty. Especially me. (Note: You should probably not store your fertilizer outside. I just realized this had been outside all winter). 

Anyway, going from left to right:

N is for nitrogen - for plant growth. Nitrogen boosts new leaf and stem growth.

P is for phosphorus - for healthy root growth and good flowering.

K is for potassium - for the plant's general health.

N, P and K are the primary nutrients in fertilizer. Secondary nutrients include Ca (calcium), Mg (magnesium ) and S (sulfur). Micronutrients include Zn (zinc), Fe (iron), Mn (manganese), Cu (copper), Mo (molybdenum), Cl (chlorine) and Wh (whateverium). Just checking to see if you read all the way to the bottom.