Fertilizer Shelf Life?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Hunt98
01-Nov-22
I’m looking at stocking up for next years food plot planting.
What’s the shelf life of fertilizer(17-17-17)?
Can it be stored in a garage at -20 F?
From: t-roy
01-Nov-22
I would think you should be fine. The only thing I’d be careful of, is keeping it from getting wet.
From: Treefarm
01-Nov-22
As long as it stays sealed you should be fine. As stated, keep dry, store on a pallet or other wood product.
Of the N-P-K, the nitrogen .(urea) is volatile. The good old days of ammonium nitrate are gone so you are stuck with urea.
One other point, when you top dress, hope for rain so the urea doesn’t volatilize, especially hot days. If possible, till it in fertilizer before you plant, even the fall before. .
From: t-roy
01-Nov-22
Good point, Treefarm, however I’m able to get a product in my area, called SuperU. It is urea with a coating on it that prevents the urea from volatizing. It can be spread and it remains stable for (supposedly) several weeks. It’s not available everywhere, but it’s fairly prevalent in ag country.
From: JohnMC
01-Nov-22
Help a no nothing. What does volatizing mean?
From: Norseman
01-Nov-22
Volatilization is a fancy word for off-gassing or a chemical with a high vapor pressure. Keep it away from demagorgans as well.
From: t-roy
01-Nov-22
It’s spelled “demogorgon”, Norseman…. I had to look it up….;-)
From: drycreek
01-Nov-22
In layman’s terms, the chit will runnoft ! :-)
From: Catscratch
01-Nov-22
Urea turns into ammonia which evaporates into the air. A soaking rain will incorporate the nitrogen into the soil, but a little bit of moisture actually speeds up the conversion to ammonia.
Best to store it sealed, out of the heat, and in a low humidity environment (it draws moisture out of the air, speeding up the conversion to ammonia).
