It is important to avoid fertilizing before a heavy rainfall although fertilizers work when water is offered in soil. Time every fertilizer application so that the nutrients will move into the soil as opposed to be transported off the yard or garden by excess water.
Avoiding Runoff
It can contribute to contamination instead of sinking to the soil if compost is taken out. Fertilizing before a rain results in most of the fertilizer washing into nearby storm drains and natural waterways. By waiting till after a rainstorm to 7, that problem is reduced. Compost runoff can be also controlled by you by not overfertilizing and by amassing.
Fertilizing Gardens
When applying fertilizer following a heavy rain to garden plants and shrubs, wait till their leaves are dry. Fertilizer that lands wet leaves instead of the soil surface may result in burnt marks on the leaves. Gently watering the plants after giving them fertilizer eliminates the fertilizer which dropped in their leaves and moves the nutrients to the soil. Then combine 1 tablespoon of the fertilizer with 1 gallon of water if you want to give plants a water-soluble, all-purpose plant food with a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ratio of 24-8-16. Apply the mixture to the soil surface to 14 days in a rate of 1 gallon per 10 square feet. Applying a slow-release, dry fertilizer with an N-P-K ratio of 14-14-14 requires functioning its granules to the upper 1 to 3 inches of soil or mulch at a rate of 1 ounce of fertilizer per 2 1/2 square feet of soil surface in spring and fall for perennial plants and only at planting time in spring for vegetables.
Feeding Lawns
Lawns also should be fertilized after, rather than before, a heavy rainfall. Apply fertilizer to bud once the soil is moist, but make sure that the grass blades are dry. A normal lawn fertilizer with an ratio of 20-0-10 is employed by spreading it around the yard at a speed of 3 to 4 pounds per 1,000 square feet on a windless evening once the temperature is below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Lawns may be fertilized every four to six months throughout the growing period to provide around 4 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet every year. A lawn needs to be watered to dilute the dirt and also to work it. Watering prevents fertilizer burn the yard and leaves the nutrients accessible to plant roots. Either apply fertilizer the day before a rain after giving fertilizer to it or lightly irrigate the yard.
Using Compost
The principle about fertilizing following a rain instead of earlier applies to organic fertilizers as well as chemical fertilizers. Generally their nutrient amounts are lower than those of chemical fertilizers, although natural fertilizers, such as compost, have the additional advantage of improving soil conditions. Apply compost by spreading it across the soil surface of garden or a yard watering or then functioning it. Composts can be spread 2 to 3 inches thick and manure-based composts 1 inch thick. During the growing period to avoid burying grass during one application under a layer of compost, the compost amount can be broken up for a yard.