# Fertilizing in winter over snow



## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Here the other day I was out and seen someone out fertilizing his field over snow. I have never seen anyone do this and it struck me as being odd. We always fertilized in the spring. Are there any advantages to doing this. The one thing I can see is you definitely know where you have been.


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

It is against the law here, and also was against the law over in Ireland when I was there.

Its not a stupid law, it causes the fertilizer/manure to just get washed into the watersheds when the snow melts.

I am no environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination, but waste is waste, and spending good money on fertilizer/moving manure just to foul watersheds is silly financially, and unethical as far as I am concerned.

Now here in Maine we can go to the Commissioner of Agriculture, as a variance on the law, but that is granted only if your manure pit is about to overflow. Then it makes sense to disperse it over acreage instead of in a concentrated spot.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

CowboyRam said:


> Here the other day I was out and seen someone out fertilizing his field over snow. I have never seen anyone do this and it struck me as being odd. We always fertilized in the spring. Are there any advantages to doing this. The one thing I can see is you definitely know where you have been.


What were they spreading? Manure or dry fertilizer?

Ralph


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

It would pay to remember that we are in the high desert. Largely sandy soil. There is rarely run-off from farm fields when the snow melts.

With that being said I have tried to catch the last big snow storm in the spring several times. The heavy wet snows. It melts the fertilizer into the ground as opposed to washing it into the waste ditch with the first irrigation.

It is usually exactly the opposite of what was described above.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

It was dry fertilizer


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

It's a very dumb idea if it was nitrogen. If it was potash maybe they will be ok. Phosphorus not good practice.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I like to do it right before a snow. In fact every other time we fertilize I do it right before irrigation. Like Lostin55 says very little runoff from snow. Has to be a huge rain and previously wet ground for it to run off due to rain. If I somehow knew that the snow on the ground was the last snow of the season I would spread it on top also.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

I just pick a time when it has snowed, usually March or April, when the snow is really heavy and wet and have at it. Hopefully it is one of the last storms. The again, I have irrigated in 8 inch of snow in May also.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Depends where you live, here all snow runs off. Frozen saturated clay soils under the snow guarantees run off.



Teslan said:


> I like to do it right before a snow. In fact every other time we fertilize I do it right before irrigation. Like Lostin55 says very little runoff from snow. Has to be a huge rain and previously wet ground for it to run off due to rain. If I somehow knew that the snow on the ground was the last snow of the season I would spread it on top also.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I made the mistake of applying it on a smaller field on 1/2" of snow once. It actually starts snowing half way through a field and I needed to finish. When I was applying it, it would instantly melt the snow and I had some run off. Luckily no big deal, but another hard lesson learned from teaching myself how to farm.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

slowzuki said:


> Depends where you live, here all snow runs off. Frozen saturated clay soils under the snow guarantees run off.


Yep differences in location make it a difference on how fertilizer is applied. Also here there is a very good chance that if you don't apply fertilizer with snow in March you won't have any moisture for a month or so and the irrigation water might not be available until the middle of May for some. So it's a good idea to have the fertilizer soak into the soil when you get a chance. So some practices aren't as dumb as it may seem depending on the area.


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