# Nutrient Leaching



## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

I know that this will depend on rainfall, tillage etc. just how fast do they move in the soil, 3" per year, 6, a foot.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

It depends...you've asked an open ended question for which there may be no good answer. What nutrients? How much rainfall? What soil texture? Etc.


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

vhaby said:


> It depends...you've asked an open ended question for which there may be no good answer. What nutrients? How much rainfall? What soil texture? Etc.


N, S, around 30" of rain, clay soils.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Think of it this way: The tighter the soil, the slower it moves.

They used to make a lot of bricks hereabouts because the deeper soil (6" or more) is heavy, fine clay. So that means very slow movement of water which, in turn, means slow movement of nutrients. (Water carries the nutrients.)

I can have a 1/4" of rain which will result in standing puddles for days whereas, in Florida, a 1" rainfall on their sandy soil is absorbed in minutes.

Then, factor in what nutrient. Rock-like nutrients, such as potash, need to dissolve to move through the soil--and this takes time and rainfall. More gaseous-like nutrients, such as urea, have smaller particles and can move much faster.

Bottom line: Soil type and nutrient particle size affect movement.

Hope this helps.

Ralph


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