Did the fertilizer wash away?

[Tom7227]

I put down some granular fertilizer three days ago. Since then we have had two light rains with maybe a total of a half inch. Just now we had a gully washer that has dropped at least 1.5 inches and there may be more on the way. Did the fertilizer wash away or did it sink in before this last hit?

I was amused today when I saw the green squirters out doing there thing in a light rain. I am sure that the weed killer that had to be part of the application did a lot of good before it was washed away.

[Big Dave2]

If it was granular this rain was probably exactly what you needed. Granular fertilizer needs a little rain or watering to get it to soak in down by the roots where it can work. I would worry more about the weed killer part if it was weed n' feed. That stuff needs to stick to the leaves for a while to work.

[Tom7227]

No weed stuff in it. I do it the old fashioned way - with a weed puller.

[Tom7227]

But I guess that I wonder about two things.

How much rain does it take to dissolve the fertilizer?

If you get that correct amount of rain and that water soaks in does a 1 inch rain in 2 hours cause that fertilizer to wash away? The rain was heavy enough at my place that it was running off, not all was soaking in. I guess I don't know if the nitrogen and potash bind with the soil or can be re-suspended and wash away.

Thanks for your time.

Tom

[outdoors247]

I agree with Dave, it should be ok. The one thing you want to be sure to do is sweep all the granular fertilizer off your driveway and sidewalks. It will only wash into the storm drains and to your local watersheds. I always take a broom and sweep it into the grass.

This guy echo's the same thing Dave and I saying.

Myth Debunked

[fishersofmen]

With a granular it can depend on how thick your grass is. If it is a really thin lawn with a lot of dirt surface the granules can move around and wash away much easier than if it is in a thick turf. Also as far as break down of the product there are slow release fertilizers with a percentage of the fert being a sulfur coated urea, stuff I use at work is often a 30% slow release. There is also just a quick release granular with 0% slow release that would break down much quicker. For my lawn this rain did wonders it looks amazing right now.

[gunner55]

When I worked on the golf course we would use the sulfur coated urea quite often,usually around this time of year.Usually mid to late May even early June.