Greenhouse fertilizer storage guideline document
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EmailThinking about making changes to your injector system? This document will guide you in proper placement and secondary containment to fulfill state and federal requirements.
Most greenhouses use a water soluble fertilizer that is diluted in a 55 gallon drum and hooked to an injector system. After the injector, the diluted fertilizer solution is piped though the greenhouse to the appropriate location for irrigation of the plants. Some systems are very simple while others are complex. A greenhouse may have one central injector room or system, while others have several injector systems within the facility. In almost every case, where there is an injector system there is a fertilizer concentrate barrel.
The laws associated with fertilizer storage and handling are focused on liquid fertilizer. Our water soluble fertilizer while bagged is not as high of a risk of “potentially entering the environment” as our liquid concentrated solution. Nevertheless, proper handling of your fertilizer is important to assure that your operation is doing everything possible to eliminate the potential for fertilizer to enter the environment such as surface or groundwater.
This document, Fertilizer Storage and Handling Guidelines for Greenhouses, along with Pesticide Storage and Handling Guidelines for Greenhouses, are tools that are associated with the Greenhouse *A*Syst program. The Greenhouse *A* Syst program is intended to help growers become more aware of federal, state and local environmental regulations. Once all issues in your greenhouse are addressed, then the next step is to apply for the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP), which is highly accredited within the state of Michigan for all agriculture producers.
For more information on the Pesticide Storage and Handling Guidelines for Greenhouse document, see a previous MSU Extension News for Agriculture article, Michigan pesticide storage and handling guidelines for greenhouses.
