Snow and nitrogen

notjustair · Feb 24, 2013

I have the tractors and ready for the next round of snow we are supposed to get. Latest forecast I saw was for 15-20 inches here with blizzard conditions. We were snowed in for two days last week. I could get down the dirt road with a tractor but not the 4 wheel drive pickup.

Made me think about folk plowing in snow for the nitrogen. I have heard it both ways. Some folks say there isn't any nitrogen in snow, but some say there is between 2 and 12 lbs per acre. That's not a lot, but still something. I read somewhere where they think it is from pollution in the air.

So which is it? Nitrogen in snow or an old wives' tale?

McBride · Feb 24, 2013

Yes there is nitrogen in snow and also in rain but you do not have to take my word for it.
Google it, if it"s on the internet it has to be true. Al Gore told me that.

old · Feb 24, 2013

I have heard it also and been told it is in fact very true and that is why snow is very good. As for where it comes from well the air is what 75% nitrogen so it is just picked up by the snow and put in the ground as the snow melts

oj · Feb 24, 2013

Yeah, there is nitrogen in snow, just like there is in rain, thunderstorm rain has more N though, due to the lightning... not sure how much is in snow, no much i wouldn't imagine, but a little.

Why plough it in though? The snow will melt, and soak into the ground (unless it's frozen).

Just take it as a gift, and don't worry about it.

John B. · Feb 24, 2013

Many years ago a neighbor from back home told my mom that onions needed to have a snow on them and you'll have the best onions ever. Well one year it happened and he was right. He was already gone by then bless his soul. I've never forgotten that.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 24, 2013

Snow on newly seeded oats usually makes for a good oat crop, at least that is our experience.

fixerupper · Feb 24, 2013

Yes, there is nitrogen in snow, but I don't know how much if there even is a definitive figure. I plowed under 8 inches of snow once and the neighbors told me I had poisoned the soil by plowing under snow. The next year my crops were just as good as theirs. Jim

LA in WI · Feb 24, 2013

Snow is a form of frozen water.

Water is H20. (2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen).

Where is the N in that mixture?

LA in WI

MarkB_MI · Feb 25, 2013

Thunderstorms produce nitric acid. No lightning, no nitrogen.

JRSutton · Feb 25, 2013

Not an expert, but I believe it's not really a question of "IS there nitrogen in rain or snow" -

I think the real question would be - is there enough of it to justify the gas, time, and wear and tear to go out and plow the snow in to capture it before it evaporates.

Leroy · Feb 25, 2013

Why Plough it in though? Because you were going to plow the field anyway and you had the time and the ground conditions under the snow were good for plowing. Plowed during the snowfall many a time. Had a homemade cab on the John Deere B and later the A and was comfortable in there.

44 massey · Feb 25, 2013

How do you plough under snow, here in my part of the country ground is usually froze if theres snow on top!!!

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 25, 2013

No nitrogen in snow. Old wives tale.

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 25, 2013

Little more complicated than that otherwise we would put air compressors on NH3 knives and drag them around and try not to cover the slot instead of actual NH3.

mkirsch · Feb 25, 2013

(quoted from post at 21:51:34 02/24/13) Snow is a form of frozen water.

Water is H20. (2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen).

Where is the N in that mixture?

Nitrogen gets caught in the snowflake crystals along with dozens of other molecules as the flake falls to the ground. It's like a tiny net.

You need to plow it under while it's still snow because if it melts on top, most of the nitrogen just gets released back into the air.

The amount of nitrogen you get from plowing in snow is very small, definitely not worth the fuel unless you're going to plow the field anyway.

paul · Feb 25, 2013

Think the 2 lb rate of N is about right. Enough to green up a grass for a bit, but not enough to matter, certainly not to try to plow it in or anything like that - be like spreading a cow pie over an acre......

What we are missing these days is sulphur. Used to come down with the rain - the pollution in the skies has a lot of sulphur in it. Now adays most of us, if we want a top yield, need to put 10 to 15 lbs of sulfur per acre, Esp on grass crops like corn.

Not saying I don't like the cleaner air, but it is adding to the fertilizer bill now.

Paul

Jimmie D. Phelps · Feb 25, 2013

In 1951 I had college prof.(Old-Old man) (Colorado A&M) when I asked him how come the wheat was so much better after a good winters snow compared to a winter free of snow. His ans. "I don't know". Does anyone disagree that crops are better after good winter snows compared to no snow in the winter??

old · Feb 25, 2013

Well ya but for terms used here that was enough to get the point across

old · Feb 25, 2013

So your saying rain puts 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen in the soil?? Well yes and no but as water but nitrogen being the gas in the air that is the highest amount the snow picks up the nitrogen in the frozen flakes and then as it melts the nitrogen is deposited in the soil

Jimmie D. Phelps · Feb 25, 2013

I agree to that. In 1961 I planted 180 ac. of oats starting on the first day of March and most of it was planted in snow coming down. from one round to another the ground was covered. Had 80 bu oats. Great for our country --western NE-Northern CO

LA in WI · Feb 25, 2013

mkirsch,

Where can I learn more about this information? Am interested in the "tiny net" theory. Is the amount of N in snow measurable? How is it measured?

LA in WI

LA in WI · Feb 25, 2013

The fact of N in snow brings up a question that I am wondering about:

A friend of mine says that wet sidewalks cause rain? I say he is full of it. What do you think?

LA in WI

JayinNY · Feb 25, 2013

My grandpa called snow in the spring poor mans fertilizer!

Drill · Feb 25, 2013

My dad told me to never plow or disc in snow. Works for me.

JRSutton · Feb 25, 2013

a late spring snowstorm - not during the winter.

Leroy · Feb 25, 2013

Might also be before the ground froze in the fall

Leroy · Feb 25, 2013

The snow insulates the wheat so it does not get the extra cold and as it stays warmer it will not winter kill as bad.

Texasmark1 · Feb 26, 2013

H20 + N20 = H202N2. Agree on the snow insulation, but around here it never got that cold and the wheat did in fact do better with snow. Besides, down here it can snow right at freezing temps, unlike sleet that usually occurs at lower temps. I realize that the atmospheric circulation/moisture process is different but none the less.

But I am still confused as to how you go about plowing snow under? That is a tough one.

Mark

mkirsch · Feb 26, 2013

Obviously being from Texas you have some misconceptions about winter.

The ground doesn't instantly freeze solid the moment snow touches it. Take a run up to Amarillo and see for yourself.

In areas where people experience winter, there is usually several days of warm weather in early spring where the ground thaws, then a sudden storm that dumps several inches of snow.

Snow and nitrogen

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