Storing Fertilizer Through Winter
I recently watched a video made by Braandon Davis about storing fertilizer long term, which for me is through the winter months.
Having just finished building a new workbench in my garage, I spent a lot of time moving the surplus fertilizer that is stored underneath the workbench.
Some of the bags are unopened, some have been opened and used, with the excess folded and taped. It’s not the best organization, and probably an accident waiting to happen-there is always the chance of something catching on one or several of the bags and ripping them, releasing smells of success throughout the garage at an unplanned time.
Speaking of smells… new smells were introduced to me as I followed Braandon’s advice for this project.
Braandon recommended storing the extra fertilizer in 5 gal. buckets. I really liked that. So I got started. I went to my local Firehouse subs store. They sell their used pickle buckets for $2/each, lid included. That's a couple of bucks cheaper than Home Depot. I picked up 5 to get started. They are (mostly) washed, but they do carry a pickle odor. **Note: does not smell of success, even in the slightest.* I’m hoping that after I fill the buckets with fert, the smell of pickles will be replaced.
Ideally, a 50lb bag of fert will fill a 5 gal bucket, but depending on prill size, that may not be the case. (Looking at you, CarbonX) 👀
If you need more than one bucket for a given product, you can just copy the label!
Once the product is in the bucket, toss a couple of silica packets on top to help absorb any moisture that might creep in, and you're good to go!
The biggest pros about using buckets is they take up less space, are more durable than the bags, and you can stack them if you need to. Also, when it’s time to use the fertilizer, I think the bucket is easier to handle during the pouring process than a bag. And on top of it all, the bucket is reusable. Lots of wins here.
Thanks Braandon for sharing another helpful tip, and helping me realize that I do not like the smell of pickles…
